Watt’s up: Regulatory round-up – September 2025

The AER has published the revised Network Exemptions Guideline and Retail Exempt Selling Guideline (versions 7), alongside the final decision for its review of the exemptions framework for embedded networks.⁶

The AER commenced its review to better understand the benefits, harms and risks embedded network customers may be facing and whether any action is needed, including whether the AER should restrict the growth of residential embedded networks via our Network Exemptions Guideline. They released an issues paper in November 2023, and a draft decision in March 2025.

The guidelines published include several new conditions or measures to address the issues identified through the review. These include:

• New requirements for all exempt entities to keep key registration details up to date - effective immediately.
• Measures to increase oversight of smaller embedded networks, by closing the deemed exemption classes to new embedded network configurations (in effect, requiring most new networks to register an exemption) - effective1 January 2026.
• Strengthened consumer protections, including introducing new family violence protections for residential and small business customers - effective 1 January 2026.
• Requirements for some exempt sellers to publish their customer tariffs - effective 1 July 2026.
• New obligations for some exempt sellers to include ombudsman scheme contact details on customer bills - effective 1 July 2026.

The final decision acknowledges that all energy customers should have a comparable level of consumer protections, to the extent possible, regardless of their energy supplier.