Energy Consumer Reforms Consultation
Consumer Action supports the objectives of the Essential Services Commission (ESC’s) proposed reforms to ensure people experiencing payment difficulty are receiving the best price for energy from thei...
Network Outage Review
Consumer Action Law Centre is delighted to make a submission to the Network Outage Review. We were contacted by a small number of consumers impacted by the network outages in February 2024, and som...
2024-25 Victorian Default Offer: Request for comment paper
Consumer Action reaffirms the importance of the policy intent underpinning the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) to provide a simple, trusted and reasonably priced electricity option that safeguards consu...
Wholesale energy upheaval should not push default electricity prices higher
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has written to Kate Symons, Chairperson of the Essential Services Commission (ESC), urging caution before accepting electricity retailer arguments to r...
Review of the Victorian Default Offer Order in Council
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Victorian Government’s review of the Order in Council (the Order) that was used to give effect to the Victorian Default Offer (the...
Victorian Default Offer electricity tariffs 2022-23
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the ESC) Draft Decision for Victorian Default Offer (the VDO) tariffs to apply...
Calls for stripping Sumo Power’s energy licence & compensation for those wrongly disconnected
Consumer groups* have written to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) calling for Sumo Power’s (Sumo) licence to operate in Victoria to be investigated and monetary compensation for those wrongfull...
Inhumane energy disconnections must end: $500K Sumo Power fine
Consumer Action has welcomed the Essential Services Commission (ESC) imposing $500,000 in penalties on energy retailer Sumo Power Pty Ltd for wrongfully disconnecting hundreds of families in the lead...
Victoria’s Embedded Networks Review: Our response to the Draft Recommendations
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Embedded Networks Review Draft Recommendations Report. We agree with the Panel’s vision that, “...consumers should have equal protections,...
2022 Victorian Default Offer
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the Commission) consultation paper, Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer (the Consultation Paper). The...
Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources (DER) dra...
Tougher rules banning aggressive energy & solar sales a big win for all Victorians
Consumer Action has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today that it is banning high-pressure sales tactics like unsolicited door-to-door sales and cold-calling to protect people from be...
Victoria’s energy reforms positive but enforcement needed: Report
Victoria has taken the lead among Australian states in recent years with significant reforms designed to protect Victorians from being ripped off by energy retailers and ensure people receive appropri...
‘Bills here, bills there’: Report on the lived experience of Victorian energy reform
This report is a deep dive into how energy reforms of recent years are impacting Victorians. Taking a qualitative approach, we draw on interviews and case studies to examine how recent reforms are hel...
Lower bills a welcome relief for people on the Victorian Default Offer but room for further reductions
The Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement today that electricity bills will decrease for households on the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) is good news, but it is disappointing that the cos...
Energy efficiency and targeted rebate plan to help with big energy bills the right approach
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today to help thousands of concession holders manage their energy bills. For many people in our community, home ener...
Victorian Default Offer 2021 – Draft Decision
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Service Commission’s (the Commission) Victorian Default Offer 2021 Draft Decision (the Draft Decision)...
Submission to the Essential Services Commission on the Victorian Default Offer
Consumer Action has made a submission to the Essential Services Commission on the Victorian Default Offer electricity price that is to apply from 1 January 2021. We consider that there is room to r...
Supporting energy customers through the coronavirus pandemic – Draft Decision
COVID-19 has caused significant disruption to households in Victoria and has highlighted the need to ensure that people’s health is not put at risk because of barriers to accessing energy for appropri...
A joint submission to the Electricity Distribution Price Review (2022-2027 Victorian EDPR)
Affordable electricity remains critical for vulnerable Victorians and a lack of energy affordability denies people sufficient access to an essential service. Further, high energy costs are a major cau...
Australians urged to share their stories about financial hardship during COVID-19
Today, Consumer Action Law Centre has launched an online form to enable people to share their experiences of financial hardship during the Covid-19 emergency. The goal is to help track the severity an...
$3.7 million package announced for Victorians struggling with energy bills
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody says that the Victorian Government’s $3.7 million package for people having difficulty paying their energy bills is a well-timed funding boost as we head in...
Over 1,000 requests to disconnect Victorians for not paying their electricity bills during Covid-19 health crisis
The latest figures from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) reveal that more than 1,000 requests have been made to disconnect Victorians from electricity for not paying their bills since late Marc...
Keep communities connected, urge more than 40 community organisations across Australia
As more people face the prospect of losing work due to the COVID-19 health crisis, community organisations are calling on banks, telcos, energy retailers, and rental providers to help people stay con...
A little relief will go a long way for thousands struggling due to COVID-19
Widespread disruption caused by COVID-19 is being felt across Australia. It won’t be long before we have thousands of people trying to survive on a reduced income, worried about whether they can pay t...
Households in embedded networks need fair electricity prices
Households in embedded networks are often in effective monopoly situations with little regulatory oversight. For this reason, they need the same or better protections than their peers with conventiona...
New report reveals how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communities
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) are launching a new report on how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communit...
Consumer Issues in Victorian Aboriginal Communities: Integrated Practice Project Report 2020
‘Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities’ reports findings from Consumer Action Law Centre’s (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service’s (VALS) Integrated Practice proje...
Energy contracts can only be fair if all Victorian energy users have the same protections
Despite the introduction of the Victorian Default Offer for electricity, the state’s most vulnerable energy consumers still face challenges in the market. Energy prices changing unexpectedly, excessiv...
Lack of minimum efficiency standards put renters at greater risk of energy debts
The financial counsellors working on Consumer Action's National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality...
Tricky terms in electricity and gas contracts to be abolished
Victorian energy users are set to benefit from more clarity and fairness when it comes to their energy bills. This comes as a result of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) draft decision on Recomm...
Victorian Default Offer price determination protects everyone’s right to a fair price for electricity in 2020
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement of ongoing price protection for household electricity supply in Victoria. The Victorian...
Giving energy users access to fair finance for new energy tech
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the AA1000439 – New Energy Tech Consumer Code— consultation on proposed amendments to draft Code (Proposed Amendment...
All Victorians deserve access to fair energy pricing
Since its implementation on 1 July 2019, the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) has given more Victorian energy users access to fairer pricing for their essential electricity services. In our comment to...
Fairness needs to be at the forefront of the energy market
It is our firm stance that fairness should be at the forefront of all markets. In our comment on the Energy Security Board (ESB) Post 2025 Market Design Issues Paper (Issues Paper), Consumer Action...
Making sure Victorian energy is safe for those requiring power for life support purposes
Most people would take the reliability of electricity services for granted. When the power goes out, it is frustrating, but not life threatening. But for many Australians, a loss of electricity is...
Looking after the needs of Victorian energy consumers
The Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) plays an important role in ensuring Victorian households have ongoing access to fair outcomes in relation to the provision of essential energy and wate...
Keeping energy market prices down during energy shortages or network constraints
Demand response service providers could play an important role in the event of energy shortages, coordinating high energy users to consumer less to help keep energy prices down across the market. Curr...
Preparing vulnerable Victorians for electricity outages
Consumers rely on energy distribution businesses to ensure a consistent supply of their essential electricity services. It is important that these businesses are regulated effectively so that consist...
Ensuring energy contracts are clear and fair, ESC Issues Paper
Deregulation in Victoria’s energy retail market has not delivered fair outcomes for all households accessing their essential energy services. The State Government has taken a number of steps to hel...
Enough talk on electricity, governments must walk the walk and guarantee lower prices
In light of the disappointing Federal Government decision on the National Energy Guarantee, consumer and end-user groups (the ‘Group’) representing regional and urban communities have joined together...
Submission to the review of electricity and gas retail markets in Victoria
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the review of electricity and gas retail markets in Victoria discussion paper following the consultation forum t...
The real stories of Victorians forced to choose to heat, or eat
Victorians have shared their stories of energy disconnection as part of research by RMIT for Consumer Action Law Centre’s ‘Heat or Eat’ report released today. The report details six unique stories...
Submission to the Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of energy retailers
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Essential Services Commission's (the Commission) Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of ene...
Media release: Victorian energy retailers failing struggling customers – disconnection on the rise
The Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) Annual Report for 2013/14 suggests energy retailers are failing to offer sufficient assistance to customers struggling with high bills. During the year,...
Media release: Energy retailers given the green light to increase prices at will
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is set to rubber stamp energy retailers’ ability to increase prices for consumers as often as they like. Energy retailers would have been banned from inc...
Media release: End energy retailers’ free ride
New proposal to fix energy prices for length of contract Energy retailers would be banned from increasing a customer’s tariff mid contract under a proposal to be considered by the Australian Energy M...