Retailers’ support for people who are struggling to pay their energy bills needs to be more effective and consistent. Too often people in need are rationing energy, food and medicine just to pay their bills, but aren’t getting access to retail support. Comprehensive reforms are needed.
That’s why we broadly support the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) rule change proposal as a positive step. But the proposed changes are limited, and further reforms are required. We made detailed recommendations in our joint submission in response to the AEMC consultation paper, Strengthening standards for payment difficulty assistance, which include:
- Explicitly inserting an early response principle to payment difficulty and hardship;
- obliging retailers to identify and help consumers experiencing payment difficulty and hardship;
- setting up objective triggers for intervention from retailers, or default definitions for when consumers are assumed to experiencing payment difficulty due to hardship;
- consumer-centred payment plan processes that are accessible, low-friction and responsive to changing circumstances, with clarity for consumers on their rights to negotiate, and;
- prioritising individual capacity to pay as the primary consideration for retailers when setting up and reviewing payment plans.
What’s next?
The AEMC will make a draft determination in September. We will continue to engage with this work, alongside other processes considering reform the National Energy Consumer protection framework, as well as following up our Joint Submission in response to the AEMC’s Streamlining Payment Difficulty Protections – draft determination.
