Reviewing the Energy Retail Code of Practice

Overview

We are reviewing the Energy Retail Code of Practice to:

• address key actual or potential harms to Victorian consumers in a proportionate manner    
• clarify or update obligations identified as unclear or inconsistent
• further support consumers experiencing vulnerability.

The review is split into two stages. 

• Stage 1 considered the energy consumer reforms proposed by the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council (ECMC) in July 2024.
• Stage 2 will be informed by issues raised in our issues paper published in June 2024. 

On 30 September 2025, we published our final decision paper on the energy consumer reforms in stage one of our review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice. On the same day, we published version 4 of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, which incorporates administrative updates. Version 4 is now in effect. 

The stage one reforms will be implemented in the following three tranches:

Reforms applying from 1 February 2026

Improving the awareness of independent dispute resolution services 

Retailers will be required to include the name and telephone number to contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) on the front page of an energy bill. 

Reforms applying from 1 July 2026

Protections for those paying high prices 

Retailers will be required to ensure customers on contracts older than four years are paying a reasonable price for their energy.

Improving the application of concessions on bills

Retailers will be required to request concession information from residential customers when it is reasonable to do. Retailers will also be required to request this information in prescribed circumstances. Where a retailer becomes aware that a residential customer holds or is eligible for a concession, it will also be required to take all reasonable steps to ensure the customer receives that concession. 

Extending protections for customers on legacy contracts

Retailers will be required to limit all additional retail charges and conditional discounts for all contracts to reasonable costs. This applies to all contracts entered into before and after 1 July 2020. Any benefits that have not yet expired since 1 July 2020 will be required to be maintained.

Reforms applying from 1 October 2026

Automatic best offer for customers experiencing payment difficulty

Retailers will be required to automatically switch residential customers experiencing payment difficulty who meet certain criteria to the best offer. Customers can opt-out of this automatic switch.

Increasing the best offer threshold

The threshold for receiving a best offer message has been increased from $22 to $50.

Increasing the minimum debt amount for disconnection 

The minimum debt amount for disconnection has changed from $300 to $1000.

Improving access to cheaper offers

Retailers will be required to accept an expanded variety of payment types for small customers.

Retailers will not be able to use a payment method to restrict access to cheaper offers and additional retail charges will be capped at reasonable levels

Improving the ability to switch to the best offer  

Retailers will also be required to provide customers with an effective process to switch to the best offer.

We will begin stage 2 of our review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice in early 2026. The scope of this review will be informed by the issues raised in our June 2024 issues paper. 

We will continue to proactively engage with consumers, industry, community organisations and advocacy groups, government departments and agencies as stage 2 of this review progresses.  

We can be contacted via email, mail or phone.

• Email: energyreform@esc.vic.gov.au
• Mail: Essential Services Commission, Level 8, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
• Phone: +61 3 9032 6290

On 16 May 2025, we published a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) as our draft decision on the energy consumer reforms proposed in stage one of our review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice. The RIS outlined the options for each proposed reform that we considered and evaluated. It also outlined our preferred options for each reform based on this analysis.

We invited submissions to respond on our Engage Victoria page which closed on 26 June 2025.

We held an in-person workshop on 12 June 2025. A summary of the workshop is included below.

On 24 October 2024, we released our discussion paper on the energy consumer reforms proposed by the ECMC.

Stakeholders were able to provide their feedback in the form of written submission via Engage Victoria or by making general comments over email, mail or phone.

Our consultation process closed on 26 November 2024.

We received a total of 20 written submissions which can be found below.

We held two consultation workshops, one online on 5 December 2024 and an in-person workshop on 10 December 2024.

In these workshops we engaged with representatives from industry, consumer groups, and community stakeholders. These workshops provided a platform for open dialogue and discussion, allowing participants to share their insights, concerns, and suggestions for achieving the desired outcomes of the proposed rule changes.

On 6 November 2024, we held an online information session where we provided information and highlighted key issues for stakeholder feedback on the first stage of our review.

A recording of the information session is available below: