The Justice and Equity Centre led a joint consumer and community response to the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Draft Determination on the proposed National Energy Retail Amendment Assisting Hardship Customers rule change. The submission was co-signed by Financial Rights Legal Centre, Mob Strong, ACOSS, SACOSS, QCOSS, ACTCOSS, Ethnic Communities Council of NSW, Financial Counsellors Association of NSW, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW and the Council of the Aging.
The rule change seeks to find a solution to hardship customers not being on the best available offer from their energy retailer. Households experiencing payment difficulty are often materially impacted because they are not on the best available deal from their retailer. Paying more than necessary (and often accumulating larger debts than necessary) not only contributes to them being in payment difficulty but exacerbates and protracts existing experience of payment difficulty.
Our submission highlighted the detailed input and evidence provided in our response to the consultation paper, and reiterated the necessity and urgency of making substantial reform to resolving this issue and improve outcomes for people experiencing energy payment difficulty.
While we strongly support the intent of the rule change to make the required meaningful steps to improve outcomes, we continue to have concerns regarding the detailed solutions proposed in the preferred rule change proposal. Similar to the initial rule change, the proposal involves significant risks and limitations which were – detailed in our submission to the consultation paper – acknowledged but not resolved by the AEMC in the Draft paper.
