General enquiries - Consumer policy

Better bills helps build consumer trust and participation in the energy market by helping them make more confident decisions.

Our strategy seeks to tackle the enduring issues that prevent consumers experiencing vulnerability from getting what they need from Australia’s energy system.

On 18 March 2021, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) made a final rule requiring us to publish a Better bills guideline (the Guideline) by 1 April 2022. The purpose of the Guideline is to provide guidance to retailers on preparing and issuing bills that make it easy for residential and small customers to understand billing information.

Under the National Energy Retail Rules, rule 75A(1) requires the AER to develop, maintain and publish a binding and enforceable Customer hardship policy guideline.

Consultation is open on the draft Customer engagement toolkit: Better practices for identifying and supporting consumers experiencing vulnerability.

Our issues paper investigates changes to the framework that would ensure that consumers experiencing payment difficulty receive effective, tailored assistance.