The eighth meeting of the AER’s Customer Consultative Group (CCG) was held on 17 August 2012. It was the second meeting for 2012 and the second for the newly reconstituted Group. The meeting started with a joint session with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Customer Consultative Committee on door-to-door marketing issues. Representatives from each of the energy ombudsman schemes were also present for the joint session, which covered a range of topics, including:
- the ACCC Chair and the AER Chair’s perspectives on how the agencies will work together to improve door-to-door energy marketing practices
- an overview of recent ACCC enforcement and compliance activity in the energy door-to-door marketing sector by ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court
- discussion of research commissioned by the ACCC into the door-to-door selling industry, and
- a presentation on the AER’s ‘Energy Made Easy’ price comparator website (www.energymadeeasy.gov.au).
In the afternoon session, with CCG members only, the AER Chair briefed the group on the AER’s activities since the last meeting in February 2012. Members also updated the AER on their current activities and priorities and the issues affecting the groups they represent. The meeting concluded with an update from the President of the Australian Capital Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), Ms Linda Crebbin.
The Customer Consultative Group meets up to three times a year and has nine current members—Australian Council of Social Service, Australian Council on the Ageing, Consumer Action Law Centre, Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Queensland Council of Social Service, Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Tasmanian Council of Social Service and Uniting Communities. The final meeting for 2012 is scheduled for late November.