109CReporting of systemic issues referred to Commission

109C Reporting of systemic issues referred to Commission (1) A person administering a customer dispute resolution scheme may refer a matter in relation to a licensee to the Commission if the person believes that there is a problem with, or change in, the licensee's policy, practice or conduct that adversely affects, or has the potential to adversely affect, a number of customers (a ***systemic issue***). (2) Without limiting subsection (1), a systemic issue includes any of the following— (a) a change to the licensee's billing, metering, supply or other systems; (b) an absence of a policy, procedure or guideline in relation to a matter; (c) inadequate policies, procedures or guidelines; (d) a failure to comply with applicable legislation (including any regulations), licence conditions or Codes of Practice; (e) the conduct of the licensee's employee, agent, officer or contractor. (3) If a person administering a customer dispute resolution scheme refers a systemic issue to the Commission, the Commission must— (a) as soon as practicable after receiving the referral, provide a copy of the referral to the Minister; and (b) report to the Minister— (i) the action (if any) it proposes to take to address the systemic issue; and (ii) the time within which it intends to take that action; and (c) as soon as practicable after the period referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) ends, report to the Minister the outcome of the action referred to in paragraph (b)(i). (4) The Minister may direct the Commission to give a copy of a report given to the Minister under subsection (3)(c) to the person who made the referral under subsection (1). (5) A person who refers a systemic issue to the Commission must also provide any information about the systemic issue that is available to the person to the Commission. ***applicable legislation*** means— (a) the **Essential Services Commission Act 2001**; or (b) this Act; ***customer dispute resolution scheme*** means a customer dispute resolution scheme approved by the Commission referred to in section 28. Pt 6AB (Heading and ss 109D–109M) inserted by No. 12/2023 s. 3. Part 6AB—Electricity outage emergency directions S. 109D inserted by No. 12/2023 s. 3.