Div 6Customer hardship

Division 6—Customer hardship 43—Customer hardship policies (1) The purpose of a retailer's customer hardship policy is to identify residential customers experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship and to assist those customers to better manage their energy bills on an ongoing basis. (2) A retailer must— (a) within 3 months of being granted a retailer authorisation— (i) develop a customer hardship policy in respect of residential customers of the retailer; and (ii) submit it to the AER for approval under this Division; and (b) publish the policy, as approved by the AER, on the retailer's website as soon as practicable after it has been approved; and (c) maintain and implement the policy. (3) If, as a result of the exercise of the AER's functions and powers under section 204, the AER forms the view that a retailer's customer hardship policy requires review— (a) the AER may direct the retailer to review the policy and make variations in accordance with any requirements set out by the AER; and (b) the retailer must— (i) vary the policy in accordance with the AER's requirements; and (ii) submit it to the AER for approval under this Division; and (iii) publish the policy, as approved by the AER, on the retailer's website as soon as practicable after it has been approved; and (iv) maintain and implement the policy. Subsection (3)(b) is a civil penalty provision. (4) A retailer may vary its customer hardship policy independently of a direction referred to in subsection (3) but only if the variation has been approved by the AER under this Division and the varied policy has been published on the retailer's website after the AER has approved the variation under this Division. (5) A reference in this Division to varying a customer hardship policy extends to replacing a policy with another 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. 45—Approval of customer hardship policy or variation (1) The AER must approve a customer hardship policy (or variation) submitted to the AER for approval if the AER is satisfied that the policy (or the policy as varied)— (a) contains the minimum requirements for a customer hardship policy set out in section 44; and (b) will or is likely to contribute to the achievement of the purpose referred to in section 43(1). (2) If it is not so satisfied, the AER may— (a) indicate to the retailer in what respects it considers the customer hardship policy (or variation) as submitted is deficient and request the retailer to submit another customer hardship policy (or variation); or (b) approve the customer hardship policy (or variation) with alterations agreed to by the retailer so that the AER is satisfied as to the matters referred to in subsection (1)(a) and (b). (3) The AER must, in considering whether to approve a customer hardship policy under subsection (1), have regard to the following principles: (a) that the supply of energy is an essential service for residential customers; (b) that retailers should assist hardship customers by means of programs and strategies to avoid de-energisation (or disconnection) solely due to an inability to pay energy bills; (c) that de‑energisation (or disconnection) of premises of a hardship customer due to inability to pay energy bills should be a last resort option; (d) that residential customers should have equitable access to hardship policies, and that those policies should be transparent and applied consistently. 46—Obligation of retailer to communicate customer hardship policy A retailer must, in accordance with the Rules, inform a residential customer of the retailer's customer hardship policy where it appears to the retailer that non-payment of an energy bill is due to the customer experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship. 47—General principle regarding de‑energisation (or disconnection) of premises of hardship customers A retailer must give effect to the general principle that de-energisation (or disconnection) of premises of a hardship customer due to inability to pay energy bills should be a last resort option. 48—Consistency of market retail contract with hardship policy (1) This section applies if a residential customer who is on a market retail contract is or becomes a hardship customer. (2) The terms and conditions of the market retail contract have no effect to the extent of any inconsistency with the application of the retailer's customer hardship policy to that customer. (3) The retailer must ensure that the customer may continue to be provided with customer retail services under a customer retail contract in accordance with the Rules. 49—Rules (1) The Rules may make provision for or with respect to— (a) hardship customers; and (b) the development, submission, approval, publication, maintenance and implementation of customer hardship policies and variations of customer hardship policies. (2) The AEMC must, in addition to section 236, have regard to the purpose set out in section 43(1) when making Rules as referred to in subsection (1)(b).