Proposed amendments to the Electricity Industry Code and Gas Industry Code in light of the Australian Consumer Law
On 1 January 2011, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) commenced. As a national law for fair trading and consumer protection, the ACL provides consumers and businesses with the same rights and obligations wherever they are in Australia and replaces provisions in numerous national, state and territory consumer laws.
The ACL affects some aspects of an energy entity's obligations in terms of its relationship with a customer. The Electricity Industry Code and the Gas Industry Code (the Codes) also set out rules for energy retailers and distributors in relation to their service obligations to customers, marketing conduct and provision of information to customers.
The Authority has reviewed the Codes to identify any areas of overlap or conflict between the ACL and the Codes and to identify other changes needed to reflect the introduction of the new law.
The Authority released its Final Decision on the amendments to the Codes on 21 July 2011. The Final Decision can be accessed below.
The Code amendments required to implement these changes are outlined in Annexure 1 of the Final Decision.
Final Decision
Draft Decision Submissions
Draft Decision
