We welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER)'s draft Retail Guidelines.
While we support the introduction of design principles, such as requiring retailers to communicate “fairly and honestly”, our submission highlights the structural limits of what guidelines can do on their own and calls for an overarching consumer duty (duty).
Without an overarching duty, the regulatory framework, products, and communications will continue forcing consumers to navigate complex pricing, avoid loyalty penalties, and seek out support, which is an unrealistic burden to place on households and small businesses relying on an essential service.
Our submission (PDF, 309.93KB) calls on the AER to explicitly highlight the design principles as an interim step towards a duty and genuinely lean into the outcomes-based principles by clarifying the hierarchy and compliance of the requirements.
We also explore key areas of the draft guidelines, including design principles, comparative information, plan information requirements, benefit change notices, and customer hardship policies. We recommend that the AER report on good industry practices (modelled on the UK Financial Conduct Authority), ensure communications reach consumers through reliable channels and support timely upgrades to Energy Made Easy.
