Digital, market and behavioural changes are transforming how Australian consumers buy, manage, share and sell electricity. These changes raise important questions about the consumer protections frameworks for energy markets, including about the protections that should apply to consumers of new energy products and services, and the consumer protections that should continue to apply to the traditional sale of energy.

The purpose of this report is to step back from the specific detail of current arrangements and focus on foundational questions around the rationales for consumer protection frameworks in the energy sector. It does so by drawing on general principles, but also on comparative insights and experience from other sectors and jurisdictions.