sec.44Minimum requirements for customer hardship policy

sec.44 Minimum requirements for customer hardship policy

The minimum requirements for a customer hardship policy of a retailer are that it must contain— processes to identify residential customers experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship, including identification by the retailer and self‐identification by a residential customer; and processes for the early response by the retailer in the case of residential customers identified as experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship; and flexible payment options (including a payment plan and Centrepay) for the payment of energy bills by hardship customers; and processes to identify appropriate government concession programs and appropriate financial counselling services and to notify hardship customers of those programs and services; and an outline of a range of programs that the retailer may use to assist hardship customers; and processes to review the appropriateness of a hardship customer’s market retail contract in accordance with the purpose of the customer hardship policy; and 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 any variations specified or of a kind specified by the AER; and any other matters required by the Rules.

• (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.