National Energy Retail Law (Victoria) Regulations 2024

This instrument revolves around a compact set of concepts redefined or added for Victoria. Understanding those redefinitions is central to operational effect.

• Commission and Energy Retail Code of Practice: Regulation 4 inserts a definition of the Commission as the Essential Services Commission established under the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic). It also defines "Energy Retail Code of Practice" to mean the Code made under s 47(1) of the Commission Act, published 1 October 2022 and as amended. The Code becomes a statutory reference point for a range of obligations (regulation 4(1)).

• Licence, licensee, deemed contract, and retailer: The Regulations align retailer and licensee concepts to Victorian licences under the Electricity Industry Act or Gas Industry Act (regulation 4(2)(d), (i)). "Deemed contract" is defined by reference to Victorian deemed supply clauses (Electricity Industry Act s 39; Gas Industry Act s 46) (regulation 4(1)). The definition of "retailer authorisation" is narrowed to an authorisation issued under the NERL to a retailer in a participating jurisdiction other than Victoria (regulation 4(2)(j)), reflecting that Victoria operates a licensing regime separate from the national authorisation.

• Small customer: Regulation 6 redefines "small customer" so that it is a person or class declared to be domestic or small business in an Order under s 35(5) of the Electricity Industry Act or s 42(5) of the Gas Industry Act. A "large customer" is any customer who is not small. This shifts the locus of the small/large distinction to Victoria’s Order-making power.

• Explicit informed consent (new s 5A): introduced by regulation 7, this defines a substantive standard for consents required of small customers. The legal test has four elements: clear, full and adequate disclosure in plain English including each specific purpose; consent given in one of three evidentiary modes (signed writing, verbally if evidenced and recorded under clause 8 of the Energy Retail Code, or electronic communication generated by the small customer); customer competence; and compliance with requirements prescribed by the Energy Retail Code of Practice (regulation 7).

• RoLR framework changes: The Regulations add the Commission into the RoLR information and decision loop. The AER must notify the Commission without delay of any matter that might affect a retailer’s ability to continue sale of energy (new s 150A, regulation 20). The Commission is added to the list of entities that may be the subject of RoLR regulatory information notices (regulation 21). The scope of information in a RoLR regulatory information notice is expanded to include sensitive operational and customer program indicators (regulation 22), including whether a customer is registered in specified Victorian registers under the Electricity Industry Act or Gas Industry Act (regulation 22(b),(c)). RoLR plans must include specified communication strategies for vulnerable customers and other customer-specific items mapped to the Energy Retail Code of Practice (regulation 24).

• Cost recovery and payments: The AER’s power to determine that a licensee (a retailer who is licensed under Victorian law) must pay a proportion or the whole of the costs of a prior RoLR event is expressly provided (regulation 26). That determination will be treated as a regulatory change event under the NER (electricity) or as an approved pass-through for gas distributors, facilitating cost recovery via network charges (regulation 26(2)(a)-(b)).

• Civil penalties and enforcement: Regulation 5 substitutes a new table identifying particular NERL provisions as civil penalty provisions (for example s 143(2)(a) and s 156), and regulation 41 substitutes Schedule 1 to the National Regulations to set Tier 1 and Tier 2 civil penalty provisions (Tier 1: s 143(2)(a), s 274(1), s 276(1) and (4); Tier 2: s 156). The Regulations also remove a number of audit and reporting subsections from the NERL (regulations 32-35), altering compliance architecture.

• NERR scope reduction and RoLR default list: Regulation 44 omits most Parts of the NERR, leaving only Part 12 in force in Victoria. Regulation 43 substitutes Schedule 4 of the National Regulations to nominate specific default RoLRs and matches those firms to particular distribution systems and energy types.

These concepts are not abstract; they concretely change who decides on deemed contract terms and pricing (the Commission and the Energy Retail Code of Practice), how consent must be evidenced (new s 5A), which customer data may be required in a RoLR event (regulation 22), and which entities will be default RoLRs for specified networks (regulation 43). The Regulations therefore operate via definitional re-anchoring, information-sharing mandates and allocation of decision-power between the AER and the Victorian Commission.

The Regulations reallocate rights, obligations and information flows across a defined set of actors. Primary affected groups include:

• Retailers operating in Victoria (licensed retailers and national retailers serving Victoria). The instrument expressly modifies the definition of "retailer" and "retailer authorisation" (regulation 4(2)(i) and (j)), and changes treatment when a retailer fails, including termination and transfer of customer retail contracts (regulations 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Retailers must align with the Energy Retail Code of Practice, including standards for explicit informed consent, payment plans and handling of vulnerable customers (regulation 4(1)). Retailers who are and who wish to be a national retailer remain subject to the AER’s authorisation regime where relevant (regulation 12(1)).

• Licensees under Victoria’s Electricity Industry Act and Gas Industry Act. The Regulations tie many provisions to licensee standing offers and to the Commission’s powers under the Victorian Acts. For example the prices applicable to RoLR deemed small customer retail arrangements are the tariffs specified in the licensee standing offers in the Electricity Industry Act and Gas Industry Act (regulation 17(4)). The Commission, under the Electricity Industry Act and Gas Industry Act, can decide the terms and conditions of RoLR deemed arrangements (regulation 17(3)).

• The Essential Services Commission (the Commission). The Commission is elevated into RoLR governance: it is added to information flows with the AER (new s 150A, regulation 20), can determine terms and conditions for deemed arrangements (regulation 17(3)), appears in RoLR regulatory information notices (regulation 21), and may receive and disclose confidential or personal information with the AER for RoLR reporting and payment determinations (regulations 26(3), 27(1A), 29). The Commission is therefore a decision and information node under the modified NERL.

• The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and AEMO. The AER retains key regulatory functions but its reporting and information-disclosure duties are extended to include notifying the Commission (new s 150A), adding the Commission to the list of entities that can be given RoLR regulatory information notices (regulation 21), and sharing confidential/personal information with the Commission for specific purposes (regulations 26(3), 27(1A)). AEMO continues to be a recipient of RoLR information (regulation 23).

• Distributors. Distributors are affected in relation to cost recovery and RoLR cost recovery determinations. The AER may determine that a licensee must pay previous RoLR costs to relevant distributors, and the mechanism for recovery is dealt with under the NER (or as a pass-through under gas arrangements) (regulation 26(2)). Schedule 4 identifies which distribution systems are tied to which default RoLRs (regulation 43), which has operational implications for distributors who must interact with the default RoLR.

• Small customers, life support customers, recipients of "standard assistance" or "tailored assistance", and customers affected by family violence or registered in Victorian vulnerability registers. The Regulations amend the information that can be sought in a RoLR regulatory information notice to include whether customers are receiving standard or tailored assistance, whether they are entitled to it, whether a customer is registered in certain Victorian registers, and information to identify customers affected by family violence without their consent (regulation 22). RoLR plans must include communication strategies that expressly address these customers and issues (regulation 24).

• Failed retailers and associates. The AER may determine that a failed retailer or an associate applying for a Victorian licence pay costs from a prior RoLR event as a conditionality of the Commission issuing a licence (regulation 26). The Regulations (regulation 26(3)) allow AER and Commission to share confidential and personal information to enable such determinations.

• Entities that act as default RoLRs. The substituted Schedule 4 names specific corporate entities,AGL Sales Pty Ltd, Origin Energy Electricity Limited, Origin Energy (Vic) Pty Ltd and EnergyAustralia Pty Ltd,for specified networks and either electricity or natural gas. Those named entities will be the default designated RoLR for the listed areas (regulation 43).

• Regulated entities subject to compliance audits and reporting. The Regulations remove or alter certain requirements in the NERL relating to compliance audits and the content of compliance reports (regulations 32-35). This affects regulated entities’ audit and reportage obligations and the AER’s audit powers.

Secondary effects include market participants who contract with retailers or the default RoLRs, and parties who operate price comparison or complaint resolution services insofar as the suite of NERR Parts retained in Victoria is narrowed to Part 12 only (regulation 44). The net effect is to shift several practical decision points from national instruments to Victorian statutory institutions and to require more granular custodian relationships for sensitive customer information during RoLR events.

This section lists the principal positive duties, rights to receive information, and powers allocated or altered by the Regulations, with references to the relevant modifications.

• Duty to obtain and record explicit informed consent (new s 5A, regulation 7). Retailers must ensure explicit informed consent by small customers meets the four-part test: full plain-English disclosure of relevant matters including each specific purpose, competence of the customer, compliance with Energy Retail Code requirements, and that consent is given in an evidentiary form (signed writing, verifiable recorded verbal consent compliant with clause 8 of the Energy Retail Code, or electronic communication generated by the small customer). This imposes a duty on retailers to collect verifiable records and to follow Code-prescribed processes.

• AER notification duty to the Commission (new s 150A, regulation 20). The AER must "without delay" notify the Commission of any event, circumstance or matter it has reason to believe might affect a retailer's ability to maintain continuity of sale, or that gives rise to a RoLR event. This creates a statutory obligation on the AER to pass information to the Commission.

• RoLR regulatory information notice compliance duty (s 156 as modified; regulation 5 identifies s 156 as a civil penalty provision in Schedule 1). The scope of information that can be asked for in a RoLR regulatory information notice is broadened (regulation 22). Regulated entities must comply with such notices and, per the civil penalty schedule, that duty now attracts civil penalty exposure.

• Duty to provide information to the AER and Commission on RoLR events and audits (regulations 19, 23, 26(3), 27(1A)). The AER and the Commission may exchange confidential and personal information to enable RoLR determinations, reporting and cost allocation. Parties who hold such information (including AEMO, retailers and distributors) have duties to provide relevant material under the RoLR scheme and may be subject to civil penalties for non-compliance where specified provisions apply (regulation 5, regulation 41).

• Commission powers over RoLR deemed arrangements and plans (regulations 17(3), 24). The Commission may decide terms and conditions for RoLR deemed small customer retail arrangements under the Electricity Industry Act and Gas Industry Act, or those terms may be specified in clause 18 of the Energy Retail Code of Practice. RoLR plans must include detailed strategies for communicating changes to vulnerable customers and for handling items listed at regulation 24 (for example, renewable energy feed‑in arrangements, refunds, security deposits). The Commission therefore gains practical control over the consumer-facing terms during a RoLR event.

• AER power to determine payments by failed retailer or associate when Commission grants a licence (regulation 26(1)-(2)). If a failed retailer or associate applies for a Victorian licence and the Commission grants it on condition of payment for a prior RoLR event, the AER may determine that the licensee must pay a proportion or whole of prior RoLR costs to distributors. For electricity this is treated as a regulatory change event and negative change event under the NER; for gas it is treated as an approved pass-through to vary distributor reference tariffs.

• Rights of default RoLRs under the substituted Schedule 4 (regulation 43). The Schedule names default RoLRs and maps them to distribution systems and energy types. Where a RoLR event falls within those mapped areas, the named firm is the default designated RoLR unless otherwise determined.

• Modification of civil penalty structure and compliance architecture (regulations 5 and 41). Several NERL sections are specifically listed as civil penalty provisions, and Schedule 1 of the National Regulations is substituted to create Tier 1 and Tier 2 civil penalty groupings. In parallel, some audit and reporting provisions are omitted or trimmed (regulations 32-35), changing regulated entities’ audit obligations and the AER's audit powers.

• Rights and duties relating to customer contract termination and transfer (regulations 13-18). The Regulations alter the operation of sections dealing with RoLR notices, transfer of responsibility, termination of customer retail contracts, duration of deemed arrangements, and prices applicable to RoLR deemed arrangements. For example, the RoLR deemed small customer retail arrangement price is linked to Victoria’s licensee standing offer tariffs (regulation 17(4)), and after three months small customers and the designated RoLR may negotiate market retail contracts consistent with Commission-decided terms or the Code (regulation 18).

• Disclosure and immunity adjustments (regulations 28-29). The Commission is included in the definition of protected persons for immunity purposes (regulation 28), and authorised disclosure provisions are amended to allow disclosure in accordance with Victorian privacy law as well as Commonwealth privacy law, with the Commission specifically added as a recipient (regulation 29).

These duties and rights reallocate several practical tasks: retailers must implement explicit-informed-consent processes and maintain records; the AER must notify and share information with the Commission promptly; the Commission gains rights to decide consumer-facing terms during RoLR events; and default RoLR allocation and cost-recovery mechanisms are prescribed. The Regulations therefore change who must act, who receives privileged information, and how RoLR costs may be allocated.

The Regulations reconfigure the civil penalty architecture and alter chosen enforcement levers. Key points:

• Civil penalty provisions specified and tiered. Regulation 5 replaces the NERL table listing civil penalty provisions so that certain RoLR and compliance obligations are expressly civil penalty offences: s 143(2)(a) (compliance requirements following service of a RoLR notice), s 156 (compliance with RoLR regulatory information notices), s 274(1) (obligation of regulated entities to provide information and data about compliance) and s 276(1) and (4) (compliance audits by regulated entities) are listed (regulation 5). Regulation 41 substitutes Schedule 1 to the National Regulations to create two tiers: Tier 1 civil penalty provisions are s 143(2)(a), s 274(1) and s 276(1) and (4); Tier 2 civil penalty provision is s 156. That places most of the RoLR information-compliance duties within the civil penalty framework, with differentiated tiers that presumably map to different maximum penalties under the Law (the text of the maximums is in the NERL itself, not reproduced here).

• Enforcement agencies and roles. The AER retains functions and powers but several AER procedural items are adjusted. Regulation 30 omits certain paragraph references in s 204(1) of the NERL (functions and powers of the AER including delegations). Regulations 32-35 remove or alter some compliance audit powers and reporting content in ss 275-281, for example omitting s 275(2) and s 276(2) and trimming the content required in compliance reports (regulation 34 omits paragraph (c) of s 280). The AER also must notify the Commission under new s 150A (regulation 20). The net effect is that some AER investigatory/audit procedures are narrowed while its reporting and co-operation duties with the Commission are expanded.

• Information sharing, confidentiality and immunity. The Regulations permit exchanges of confidential information and personal information between the Commission and the AER to enable RoLR determinations and reporting. Regulation 26(3) and 27(1A) permit the AER and Commission to disclose any information held for or in connection with the RoLR scheme including confidential information and personal information as defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Victoria’s Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. Regulation 29 amends authorised disclosure of information to include the Victorian privacy regime and to add the Commission as a recipient. Regulation 28 expands the definition of protected person under s 173(3) to include the Commission. These provisions facilitate co-operative enforcement but raise obligations to handle personal and confidential data lawfully under privacy laws.

• AER determinations affecting payments by (former) failed retailers. Regulation 26 gives the AER a determinate enforcement-like power: when the Commission grants a licence to a failed retailer or associate conditioned on repayment of prior RoLR costs, the AER may determine that the licensee must pay a proportion or whole of those costs to distributors. The determination is then treated as a regulatory change event and negative pass-through under the NER (electricity) or as an approved pass-through for gas (regulation 26(2)). This is a mechanism to reallocate past costs to the new licensee subject to AER determination , effectively making a licensing condition enforceable through the AER’s economic toolkit.

• Removal of certain compliance transparency mechanisms. The Regulations omit or reduce some compliance audit and reporting subsections (regulations 32-35). For example, s 275(2) (compliance audits by the AER) and s 276(2) (compliance audits by regulated entities) are omitted, and the content requirements for compliance reports are trimmed (regulation 34 omits paragraph (c) of s 280). These changes alter the body of enforceable audit processes, potentially narrowing the transparency and procedural obligations that previously existed.

• Civil penalty exposure for failure to comply with RoLR information notices. The inclusion of s 156 (compliance with RoLR regulatory information notices) as a civil penalty provision and as a Tier 2 offence (regulation 41) creates direct liability risk for regulated entities that do not comply with RoLR information requests. Regulated entities must therefore prioritise fast, accurate responses to RoLR requests or face civil penalty exposure.

• Immunities: the Commission is added as a "protected person" (regulation 28), meaning it enjoys the statutory protections in s 173(3) related to actions done in performance of duties associated with RoLR functions.

Overall, enforcement is a mix of regulatory (AER determinations and civil penalties) and administrative (licensing conditions enforced via Commission decisions and AER determinations). The Regulations place particular emphasis on compliance with information requests and RoLR requirements, and they provide mechanisms to recover RoLR costs through distributor pass-throughs subject to AER determinations. They also change the AER’s audit and reporting remit while creating a statutory platform for AER-Commission information exchange and conditional licensing terms.

The Regulations intentionally anchor the operation of the NERL in Victoria’s statutory architecture and modify cross‑instrument interactions. The important interactions are:

• Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic) and Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic). The Regulations repeatedly reference and import concepts from these Victorian Acts. Definitions such as "deemed contract" (regulation 4(1)), "licensee standing offer", and the determination of terms and prices for RoLR deemed small customer retail arrangements rely on provisions of those Acts (regulations 4(1),(2), 17(3)-(4), 18(4)). The small customer definition is made by reference to Orders under s 35(5) of the Electricity Industry Act or s 42(5) of the Gas Industry Act (regulation 6). Also, the revocation grounds that constitute RoLR events are extended to include licence revocation under specified provisions of the Electricity and Gas Industry Acts (regulation 12(2)(e),(i), (fa)). Those cross-references create operational dependencies: implementation and interpretation of the modified NERL will require reference to the Victorian Acts and to the Commission’s determinations under them.

• Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic). The Commission is defined under the Commission Act and the Energy Retail Code of Practice (a Code made under s 47(1) of the Commission Act) is made a statutory reference (regulation 4). The Commission’s powers under the Victorian Acts to decide standing offer terms, customer dispute schemes and other regulatory instruments become the basis for several NERL outcomes (regulations 17, 18, 24).

• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). The Regulations expressly permit disclosure of personal information for limited RoLR purposes and include a Victoria privacy reference in authorised disclosure provisions (regulation 29). Regulation 26(3) and 27(1A) allow sharing of "personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 of the Commonwealth or the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 of Victoria." Those interactions mean that data-sharing between the AER and the Commission must still comply with applicable privacy regimes, and authorised disclosures are to be interpreted in that context.

• National Electricity Rules (NER) and National Gas Rules (NGR). The Regulations link AER determinations about payment obligations for prior RoLR events to the NER and NGR cost recovery mechanisms. Regulation 26(2)(a) treats a payment determination by the AER as a regulatory change event and negative change event for NER purposes; regulation 26(2)(b) directs that the payment be treated as an approved pass‑through to permit distributor reference tariff variation for gas. The effect is to use existing network economic frameworks to permit cost recovery arising from RoLR events when a successor licensee is required to contribute.

• National Energy Retail Rules (NERR). Regulation 44 omits Parts 1-11 and Part 13 and Schedules 1-3 of the NERR, leaving only Part 12 in force in Victoria. This is a substantial narrowing of the NERR’s application, meaning many national procedural rules will not operate in Victoria. Parties must therefore consult the Victorian modifications to determine which national rules are effective and how Victorian law supplants or substitutes them.

• National Regulations under the NERL. The National Regulations are modified (regulations 37-43). Regulation 41 substitutes Schedule 1 (civil penalty provisions), regulation 43 substitutes Schedule 4 (Retailers of last resort) and other schedules and regulations are omitted. Practically, the National Regulations’ enforcement architecture, default RoLR assignments and civil penalty list are Victoria‑specific.

• Intergovernmental regulatory relations. The Regulations create statutory obligations for the AER to notify and co-operate with the Victorian Commission (new s 150A, regulation 20) and permit mutual disclosure of confidential and personal information to assist in RoLR outcomes (regulations 26(3), 27(1A), 29). This formalises a cross-jurisdictional interaction between a national regulator, AEMO and a State regulator, and ties licensing decisions (a State competence) into national consequences (cost pass-throughs under the NER).

• Statutory instruments and Codes. The Energy Retail Code of Practice, made under the Commission Act and expressly referenced by these Regulations (regulation 4(1)), becomes a central instrument that prescribes compliance requirements, including those relevant to explicit informed consent (new s 5A) and to RoLR plans and communications (regulation 24). The Code’s clauses (for example clauses 7 and 8 referenced in s 5A) are invoked as prescriptive standards.

The Regulations therefore create a hybrid operational field where the national RoLR architecture remains but several substantive elements (customer classification, contract terms, communication obligations, and data flows) are governed or influenced by Victorian Acts and the Commission. Legal practitioners, compliance officers and regulated entities must therefore operate with a cross-referential view of Victorian Acts, the Commission’s instruments and the modified NERL and National Regulations. Privacy and information‑sharing arrangements will be governed by the interplay between Commonwealth and Victorian privacy statutes as referenced in the Regulations.

The Regulations include a brief amendment record in their endnotes. Relevant elements:

• Making date and commencement. The Regulations were made by the Governor in Council on 30 July 2024 under section 11 of the National Energy Retail Law (Victoria) Act 2024 and came into operation on the same date (regulation 3; Endnote 1).

• Version number. The instrument identifies itself as Version No. 001 and the version is stated as at 30 July 2024.

• Sunset. The Regulations will sunset 10 years after the day of making, namely on 30 July 2034, pursuant to section 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 (Endnote 1).

• No subsequent amendments recorded. The Table of Amendments states there are no amendments made to the Regulations by statutory rules, subordinate instruments or Acts at the date of publication (Endnote 2). The Explanatory details likewise record "No entries at date of publication" (Endnote 3).

• Relationship to the National Law (Victoria). The Regulations are made under section 11 of the National Energy Retail Law (Victoria) Act 2024, and their purpose is to prescribe modifications to the applicable NERL provisions for the purposes of that Victorian Act (regulation 1). The Regulations are therefore the first instrument implementing the Victorian version of the NERL and create the baseline for the Act’s interaction with the national framework.

Because the Regulations are new as at 30 July 2024 and no amendment instruments are recorded, the legislative history is essentially the creation of a bespoke Victorian regulatory overlay on the national instrument. Any future amendments, revocations or judicial interpretations will start from this baseline; at present, the public record attached to this regulation contains no further amendment history.

The Regulations themselves do not reference any judicial decisions or litigation, and the published instrument contains no litigation history entries. The Endnotes and Table of Amendments state there are no amendments and no explanatory detail entries as at the date of publication (Endnotes 2 and 3). Therefore, as of the version dated 30 July 2024, there is no litigation history associated with this Statutory Rule recorded in the instrument.

Practically, that means:

• No cases are cited by the instrument because it is newly enacted; any court or tribunal interpretation that arises in future will be the initial body of authority for disputes about the amended provisions.

• Enforcement actions for breaches of the modified NERL civil penalty provisions (as substituted and set out in regulation 41 and regulation 5) will be litigated, if contested, under the new arrangements and will generate the early litigation record. Examples of likely contested areas include the meaning and evidentiary sufficiency of "explicit informed consent" under new s 5A; the scope of AER-Commission data sharing for confidential or personal information; and the procedural reach of AER determinations of payment obligations when licences are granted to failed retailers or associates under regulation 26.

• Because the Regulations modify the interplay between Commonwealth privacy legislation and Victoria’s Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (regulation 29), litigation about authorised disclosures and privacy compliance in the context of RoLR information exchange may arise.

Until decisions are published, there is no judicial guidance recorded in the Regulations. Users of this instrument should therefore assume there will be initial interpretive uncertainty and plan for conservative compliance in areas where the statutory language is novel or where national and Victorian frameworks intersect.

Practical pitfalls and non-obvious consequences to watch, grounded in the text of the Regulations:

• Definitions repatriate national concepts to Victorian Acts (regulation 4). Many national definitions are deleted or replaced and key terms are now defined by reference to Victorian Acts and the Energy Retail Code of Practice. Practitioners must avoid conflating "retailer authorisation" (which the Regulations say means an authorisation issued under the NERL to retailers in participating jurisdictions other than Victoria , reg 4(2)(j)) with Victorian licences. This has implications for who can operate as a "retailer" in Victoria and which authorisation/licence regime applies.

• "Small customer" is now made by Order under Victorian Acts (regulation 6). The small/large customer distinction no longer follows the national definition but depends on Victorian Orders under specified sections of the Electricity and Gas Industry Acts. Parties relying on national classifications need to verify the applicable Victorian Orders. Contractual terms and protections that hinge on small-customer status will be affected.

• Explicit informed consent is prescriptive and evidentiary (new s 5A, regulation 7). The statutory test requires "plain English" disclosure of each specific purpose and specifies three evidentiary modes for consent, including verbal consent but only if evidenced in a verifiable record under clause 8 of the Energy Retail Code of Practice. Retailers that previously relied on looser oral or implied consent practices may find their processes non-compliant. The Code-prescribed requirements are invoked by statute; practitioners must map internal consent capture processes to clause 7(1)(d) and clause 8 of the Code.

• The Commission appears repeatedly as a new recipient and decision-maker (regulations 19-27). The Commission must be notified promptly by the AER (new s 150A) and may receive confidential/personal information shared by the AER. Entities should not assume RoLR events will be handled solely by national bodies. The Commission’s involvement may introduce different priorities or processes and create parallel obligations to respond to the Commission’s requirements in addition to national ones.

• RoLR deemed arrangement terms and prices are partly set by Victoria’s Commission/Code or by licensee standing offers (regulations 17-18). The terms and prices applicable to RoLR deemed small customer retail arrangements are either those decided by the Commission under Victorian Acts or those specified in the Energy Retail Code (regulation 17(3)-(4)). Prices default to licensee standing offer tariffs in the Victorian Acts (regulation 17(4)). This reduces reliance on national standing offers and could constrain a designated RoLR’s flexibility to apply market offers immediately.

• Default RoLR assignments are explicitly named (regulation 43 substitution of Schedule 4). AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia entities are named as default RoLRs for specified distribution systems and energy types. Parties should check the mapping in the substituted Schedule 4 carefully; those corporate entities may have additional operational and legal burdens in the specified areas during a RoLR event. The list is specific and geographically mapped; it may not match prior expectations under the national scheme.

• Civil penalty list changes and compliance audit omissions (regulations 5, 32-35, 41). The Regulations list several RoLR-related duties as civil penalty provisions and create Tier 1 and Tier 2 groupings (regulation 41). Simultaneously, they omit certain audit subsections (for example s 275(2), s 276(2)) and reduce reporting obligations (regulation 34). This is a mixed signal: heightened civil penalty exposure for information duties, but fewer statutory audit procedures. Entities need to prioritise compliance with civil-penalty-listed duties, especially RoLR information notices (s 156), while noting potential reductions in AER-initiated audit activity.

• Data privacy and disclosures,tension in practice (regulations 26(3), 27(1A), 29). The Regulations authorise disclosure of confidential and personal information between the AER and the Commission (regulation 26(3), 27(1A)) and add the Victorian privacy law as an authorised regime for disclosures (regulation 29). Entities must ensure compliant data transfer practices and recordkeeping consistent with both Commonwealth and Victoria privacy laws. The Regulations permit sharing but do not remove privacy obligations; practical compliance will require careful legal and operational frameworks for data exchange.

• Changed contract termination mechanics (regulations 13-16). The Regulations alter the references in NERL sections about termination of customer retail contracts to refer to licence revocations under Victorian Acts (regulation 15(a)(i)) and remove s 142 from Part 6 (regulation 16). Practitioners should review contract-termination processes and consumer-notification obligations in light of the amended statutory references to Victorian licence revocation provisions.

• Narrowed NERR scope,only Part 12 survives (regulation 44). Much of the NERR will not apply in Victoria because Parts 1-11 and Part 13 and Schedules 1-3 are omitted. Entities that operate nationally but have Victorian customers must be careful: rules that apply in other jurisdictions might not apply in Victoria, and vice versa.

• Audits and compliance reporting content reduced (regulation 34). s 280 paragraph (c) is omitted; regulated entities should not assume prior compliance report content requirements remain. Check the modified text and updated AER guidelines.

• Licensing conditionality and cost recovery. The AER may determine that a licensee must pay prior RoLR costs if the Commission makes licensing conditional on that payment (regulation 26). This creates a licensing-linked economic exposure , entities contemplating acquiring a failed retailer’s business should anticipate potential AER determinations and transportability of prior RoLR costs into network pass-through mechanisms.

These "gotchas" are drawn from the operative text. They highlight areas where operational practice must change and where prudential and compliance measures should be reviewed against the new statutory text and the Energy Retail Code of Practice.

Practical compliance steps for affected actors, mapped to the Regulations, focusing on immediate, medium-term and documentation tasks.

For retailers (licensed and national retailers serving Victoria):

1. Review and update consent processes to match new s 5A (regulation 7).

   • Ensure that for small customers, disclosures are "clear, full and adequate" and in plain English, documenting each specific purpose for consent.
   • Capture consent in one of the three statutorily-valid modes: signed writing; verbal consent only where contemporaneous record complies with clause 8 of the Energy Retail Code of Practice; or customer‑generated electronic communications. Update scripts, CRM fields and audio recording procedures accordingly.
   • Map legal/compliance teams to clause 7(1)(d) and clause 8 of the Energy Retail Code to ensure Code-prescribed requirements are implemented.

2. Update customer classification systems to reflect Victorian Orders for small customer status (regulation 6).

   • Verify which classes or individuals are declared small customers under any Orders made pursuant to s 35(5) Electricity Industry Act or s 42(5) Gas Industry Act to ensure the correct consumer protections and consent regimes are applied.

3. Prepare RoLR readiness and information systems.

   • Maintain systems to respond to RoLR regulatory information notices (s 156) quickly and accurately; note s 156 is a civil penalty provision (regulations 5 and 41).
   • Inventory and document the location of data specified in regulation 22 (customer vulnerability, standard/tailored assistance status, registration in Victorian registers under the Electricity Industry Act or Gas Industry Act, and data to identify customers affected by family violence without consent). Ensure privacy impact assessments and lawful bases are in place for responding to such information requests.

4. Ensure contractual and billing processes account for RoLR deemed arrangement pricing and terms (regulations 17-18).

   • Update back-office pricing and billing systems to apply licensee standing offer tariffs where RoLR deemed small customer arrangements apply.
   • After the three-month deemed period ends (regulation 18(4)), be prepared to negotiate market retail contracts consistent with Commission-decided terms or the Energy Retail Code.

5. Review audit and compliance reporting processes.

   • Given omissions in audit provisions (regulations 32-35) and alterations to compliance report content (regulation 34), consult the current statutory text and the AER Compliance Procedures and Guidelines (s 281(2) modified by regulation 35) to determine current reporting obligations.

For the AER:

1. Implement prompt notification procedures to the Commission (new s 150A, regulation 20).

   • Ensure operational protocols mandate "without delay" notification of any matter that may affect a retailer’s continuity of sale, including escalation criteria and secure transmission channels consistent with privacy laws.

2. Operationalise data-sharing safeguards.

   • Establish memoranda or secure data-sharing protocols with the Commission that comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), consistent with the authorised disclosure permissions in regulations 26(3), 27(1A) and 29.

3. Prepare frameworks for AER determinations on prior RoLR cost payments (regulation 26).

   • Develop criteria and processes to determine when to require a licensee to contribute to prior RoLR costs, and the evidentiary standard for such determinations, including how determinations will be expressed as regulatory change events/negative pass-throughs under the NER for electricity or as approved pass-throughs for gas.

For the Commission:

1. Ensure the Energy Retail Code of Practice is finalised, accessible and aligned with statutory references.

   • The Code is directly invoked by s 5A and by the substituted RoLR provisions (regulation 4(1), 17 and 24). Ensure clauses referred to (for example, clause 7 and clause 8) are consistent with the statutory standards and that the Commission publishes guidance for retailers.

2. Build capability to receive and process AER notifications and RoLR information.

   • Establish secure intake processes, staff training, and legal privacy compliance checks for processing confidential and personal information shared by the AER and AEMO.

3. Prepare to determine terms and conditions for RoLR deemed arrangements where required (regulation 17(3)).

   • Build processes to make timely determinations, including templates for communication with affected small customers and frameworks for decisions that can be operationalised by the designated RoLR.

For distributors and AEMO:

1. Confirm default RoLR mappings and operational interfaces (regulation 43).

   • Review substituted Schedule 4, check internal operational processes that connect to the named default RoLRs, and confirm contact points and contingency plans.

2. Be ready to process cost-recovery pass-throughs if AER determinations require licensee payments to distributors (regulation 26(2)).

   • Coordinate with network regulatory teams to understand how a negative change event or approved pass-through would be processed under the NER/NGR.

For all entities handling customer data:

1. Conduct privacy impact and legal risk assessments.

   • Map planned data exchanges under regulations 22, 23, 26(3), 27(1A) and 29, update privacy policies, and ensure consent mechanisms, information-sharing agreements and security controls conform with Commonwealth and Victoria privacy laws.

2. Maintain auditable records.

   • Given civil penalty exposure for failure to comply with RoLR information notices and the evidentiary requirements for explicit informed consent, retain records of consents, RoLR notices, data disclosures and internal decision-making.

Cross-cutting steps:

• Legal review and training. Provide legal briefings and operational training focused on the changed definitions, RoLR processes, explicit consent evidentiary standards, and the new AER-Commission interfaces.

• Review commercial contracts. Where third-party service providers, call centres or outsourced CRM systems capture consent or RoLR-related data, update supplier contracts to impose upstream compliance obligations aligned with the new statutory requirements.

• Scenario testing and playbooks. Run RoLR event simulations incorporating AER notification to the Commission, data requests, default RoLR assignment under Schedule 4 and the three‑month deemed arrangement period to verify systems and communications operate as required by regulation 24 and the Energy Retail Code.

These steps are practical immediate and medium-term measures mapped to specific regulatory changes. Entities should document compliance actions and ensure a legal sign-off linking operational changes to the statutory text and to the Energy Retail Code of Practice.