Latest news with #vulnerableconsumers
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
AEMC announces new rules in retail energy market, limits price hikes to once a year
Electricity retailers will be limited to hiking prices on consumers once a year in a major shake-up to the country's retail energy market. The Australian Energy Market Commission announced the changes on Thursday, entrenching a sweep of new rules designed to protect consumers from price shocks. Retailers are now limited to lifting prices once a year and must ensure customers who sign up to a plan with a temporary benefit do not roll over to one that is higher than the default price. Further, there is now a ban on what AMEC calls 'unreasonably high penalties' for not paying bills on time, and a ban on fees, except for network charges, for vulnerable customers. Providers must also limit fees charges to reasonable costs for all other consumers. AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the new rules, which follow from requests submitted by state energy ministers in August last year, marked a 'significant milestone in consumer protection'. 'These reforms will help ensure that Australian households can have she said. 'For the first time, we have formally applied our updated equity guidance across these rule changes, explicitly considering how contract terms, benefits and fees may disproportionately impact vulnerable consumers.' She said limiting energy price increases to once a year would help households 'predict' their energy costs and avoid unexpected price rises across the year. The AEMC also announced a draft proposal to improve the visibility of the 'better offer message' that appears on energy bills. The regulator claims as many as 40 per cent of customers do not always open their bills and so miss important messages about potential savings. The draft rule would require retailers to present better offer messages in cover emails and bill summaries. 'The primary opportunity is visibility – ensuring customers know when better deals are available to them,' Ms Collyer said. data insights director Sally Tindall said the changes were 'a step in the right direction' but more needed to be done to 'lift the clouds of confusion that hang over our electricity bills'. 'The new rule to limit price hikes to just once a year is a fantastic measure that will give Australians greater confidence when comparing their options,' she said. 'It means that Australians will be more likely to be comparing apples with apples when they do their research, particularly if the majority of retailers opt to implement any price hikes in July in line with the reference price changes. 'Right now, Australians looking for a competitive deal on their electricity plan really need to be checking on their rates at least once every six months. 'Limiting the number of price hikes to just one a year could reduce the need to check on your bill, freeing up time to focus on other expenses.' The new rules come into effect from July 1, 2026, giving retailers 12 months to implement them.
SBS Australia
5 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Optus faces $100 millon fine over unlawful sales to vulnerable First Nations customers
Optus has agreed to a $100 million penalty, subject to court approval, over conduct that saw many First Nations people from remote communities sold services they did not want or need. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said many of the affected consumers were vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage, such as living with a mental disability, or English not being a first language. Many of the consumers were First Nations Australians from regional, remote and very remote parts of Australia. The consumer watchdog sued the telco in October last year over the practices, which affected hundreds of vulnerable customers. In one instance outlined by the ACCC, a First Nations consumer who speaks English as a second language and lives in a remote community with no Optus coverage, was sold a phone. "The customer was approached by Optus staff outside an Optus store and pressured to enter," ACCC said in a statement. "They thought staff were offering them a free phone and other free products and felt pressured by staff to accept," the statement read. Optus has admitted that its sales staff acted unconscionably when selling products and services to more than 400 consumers at 16 different stores across Australia between August 2019 and July 2023. Optus CEO Stephen Rue said the misconduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. 'I would like to sincerely apologise to all customers affected by the misconduct in some of our stores,' Mr Rue said in a statement. 'Optus failed these customers, and the company should have acted more quickly when the misconduct was first reported. "I am leading the implementation of extensive changes across the company with active responses to the issues raised well underway," Mr Rue said. Optus has also signed an undertaking, accepted by the ACCC, that it will compensate impacted consumers and improve its internal systems, the commencement of which is subject to the Court making relevant orders. 'The conduct, which included selling inappropriate, unwanted or unaffordable mobiles and phone plans to people who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage is simply unacceptable,' ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. 'During our investigation into this case, the ACCC heard many stories of the impact of this conduct on affected consumers.' 'Many of these consumers who were vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage also experienced significant financial harm. They accrued thousands of dollars of unexpected debt and some were pursued by debt collectors, in some instances for years,' Ms Lowe said.
