44Minimum requirements for customer hardship policy

44 Minimum requirements for customer hardship policy

44 Minimum requirements for customer hardship policy

The minimum requirements for a customer hardship policy of a retailer are that it must contain—

(a) processes to identify residential customers experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship, including identification by the retailer and self-identification by a residential customer; and

(b) processes for the early response by the retailer in the case of residential customers identified as experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship; and

(c) flexible payment options (including a payment plan and Centrepay) for the payment of energy bills by hardship customers; and

(d) processes to identify appropriate government concession programs and appropriate financial counselling services and to notify hardship customers of those programs and services; and

(e) an outline of a range of programs that the retailer may use to assist hardship customers; and

(f) processes to review the appropriateness of a hardship customer’s market retail contract in accordance with the purpose of the customer hardship policy; and

(g) processes or programs to assist customers with strategies to improve their energy efficiency, where such processes or programs are required by a local instrument; and

(h) any variations specified or of a kind specified by the AER; and

(i) any other matters required by the Rules.