This message first appeared in our April 2025 newsletter. To stay up to date with the latest news and research on energy issues that impact consumers, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter below.
As the energy market becomes increasingly complex, it is seemingly more and more difficult for consumers to get good outcomes. Many Australians want a simple, reliable and affordable service. And even for those who want greater choice, control and flexibility over our energy use; the current landscape is a confusing maze of offers, contracts, and unclear information.
This is why we see the Better Energy Customer Experiences (BECE) process as an important opportunity for real reform. It’s time for a fundamental shift in responsibility for ensuring good consumer outcomes: from responsible consumers to responsible energy providers.
Energy Consumers Australia has been advocating for the introduction of a consumer duty, as a central component of a more effective energy consumer protection framework.
We've been asking some important questions: should we simply hope energy companies do the right thing, or should they be required to? Is treating customers fairly and ensuring they’re getting a good outcome from an energy product or service a nice ideal – or should it be a real, enforceable duty?
We’ve seen a consumer duty work well as part of reforms in other sectors, such as financial services, and we strongly believe there’s a need for a consumer duty for energy. We’ve commissioned research from Professor Jeannie Paterson of Melbourne Law School to explore what this could look like for the energy sector.
We also want any reforms to ensure that the protections provided to consumers should not depend on where you live, or how your energy is supplied. This needs to include access to effective external dispute resolution, meaningful support for people experiencing hardship, and ensuring consumers have access to information they can trust.
These are complex problems, but important ones that the BECE process must tackle head on. In our recent submission, we’ve outlined what needs to occur to ensure we have a framework that is fit for purpose and delivers good outcomes for consumers into the future.
In the coming months, we’ll be refining what a consumer duty of care might look like, and would welcome your input on how to make this vision a reality.
