Our compliance and enforcement priorities

As cost-of-living pressures continue to impact many Victorians, we will prioritise action against conduct that contributes to these pressures or seeks to exploit them.

In Energy and Water, we will focus on:

• billing and pricing practices, particularly conduct resulting in unexpected or excessive bill shock
• failures by businesses to apply concessions, discounts, or credits and instances of overcharging.

In the VEU program, we will focus on failures to comply with:

• code of conduct provisions that undermine consumers’ informed choices about the incentives and benefits of energy efficient upgrades
• installation standards to ensure consumers receive safe, fit-for-purpose upgrades with genuine energy efficiency benefits.

Victorians experiencing vulnerability should have fair and equitable access to the essential services we regulate and administer. We will monitor and act where we identify predatory practices or behaviours that exploit or take advantage of consumers experiencing vulnerability.

In Energy and Water, we will: 

• monitor and act when businesses place obstacles that hinder consumers experiencing vulnerability from connecting, staying connected, or getting help
• continue working closely with the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria), financial counsellors, and consumer advocacy groups to improve outcomes for consumers experiencing vulnerability. 

In the VEU program, we will focus on:

• conduct that targets or exploits consumer vulnerability, particularly in marketing and lead generation
• practices that undermine consumer protections, including telemarketing and doorknocking.

The businesses we regulate have a critical role in preventing and reducing the physical and financial harm that can be inflicted through the misuse of essential services by perpetrators of family violence.

Our focus is on protecting essential services from being misused as tools of abuse, while ensuring robust support is available to affected consumers across the markets we regulate.

In Energy and Water, we will: 

• build on insights from our Safety by Design partnership to encourage businesses to adopt safe design practices
• monitor and act where businesses fail to protect the accounts of consumers affected by family violence.
   

We will investigate conduct that reduces consumer trust in the market. This conduct undermines the integrity of the market and stifles competition. 

In Energy, we will:

• pursue deliberate business practices that place profit ahead of legal obligations, recklessly increase the risk of non-compliance, or undermine consumers’ ability to make informed choices
• promote a culture of integrity and accountability to ensure energy providers act lawfully and in the interest of consumers.

In the VEU program, we will focus on Accredited Persons and Scheme Participants that engage in: 

• fraudulent conduct including:
  • creating certificates based on falsified upgrade activities
  • creating certificates where the pre-existing environment has been falsified or altered
• conduct that undermines a level playing field such as breaches of co-payment or marketing rules.
   

First Nations communities in Victoria face significant barriers in accessing essential services. We will prioritise our compliance efforts to encourage businesses to meaningfully engage with First Nations Victorians and tailor their communication, engagement, and consumer support to meet community needs.

This includes working in genuine partnership with First Nations communities to improve access to information, resources and tools that support energy and water security.

We will also identify and address misconduct that disproportionately affects, targets, or causes harm to First Nations people.