The AER today released its final decision on its Compliance procedures and guidelines (Guidelines) for retailers and distributors in jurisdictions that have adopted the National Energy Retail Law (Retail Law). This decision follows public consultation on the draft decision in March and April 2024.
The Guidelines set out the manner and form in which regulated entities are required to submit information and data on their compliance to the AER and the process for managing compliance audits under the Retail Law.
The Guidelines serve two primary purposes within the AER’s compliance monitoring framework:
- To monitor the extent to which retailers and distributors have complied with key obligations under the Retail Law and National Energy Retail Rules.
- To identify emerging or systemic compliance issues that may warrant further attention.
The amendments are intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the reporting process as a compliance monitoring tool for retailers, distributors and the AER. We have endeavoured to balance what information the AER requires to effectively monitor, investigate, enforce and report on compliance with the cost of administration that any changes to the Guidelines places on regulated entities.
The information will also assist the AER in carrying out our work under our updated compliance and enforcement priorities.
The new Guidelines will commence on 1 April 2025.
We considered a range of stakeholder submissions in reaching our final decision. View our explanatory statement for an overview of our responses to stakeholder submissions on the draft decision.