With a growing number of Australians being pushed to the financial brink by energy bills, Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC) has emerged as a regulator with a keen eye on protecting vulnerable customers.
At the moment, energy customers in Victoria can be disconnected for having an outstanding debt as low as $300. In October 2026, this will increase to $1000 thanks to a rule change initiated by the ESC last year.
The new legislation will also require energy retailers to move customers onto their cheapest plan if they’re on a hardship payment program or have carried more than $1000 in energy debt for over three months.
The ESC signalled in 2025 that it’s serious about keeping retailers in line. It handed out $24.5 million in fines last year, including $17.6 million to Origin Energy, the largest penalty for breaching Victoria’s energy rules in the state’s history.
Origin Energy being held to account
In the court proceedings brought by the ESC, Origin admitted to failing to provide adequate support to 6806 customers experiencing payment difficulty, along with over-charging customers, failing to provide mandatory ‘best offer’ messages, and not adequately recording customer information on the Life Support Register (which lists customers whose lives can depend on uninterrupted access to electricity).
We’ve had a year of record-breaking fines in 2025, which should send a simple message – cutting corners on consumer protections is not just unacceptable, it’s costly
ESC chair and commissioner Gerard Brody
The Justice in the Origin case said “if the court does not impose penalties of sufficient magnitude in light of the conduct that has been found to have occurred, there is a risk that other energy retailers who are currently complying with all relevant obligations may drop their present standards, particularly in circumstances where the cost of compliance is significant”.
Earlier in 2025, Origin paid a $1.6 million fine for allegedly disclosing the sensitive information of 16 family violence victims to perpetrators without their consent and for taking debt recovery action against 38 customers affected by family violence without properly considering their circumstances.
Unauthorised price hikes, ignored complaints, incorrect info
In addition to Origin, the ESC slapped fines on six other energy retailers in 2025, including Engie Energy, which was ranked dead last for its handling of hardship cases in the 2025 Rank the Energy Retailer report, produced by Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic) and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA).
Here’s the breakdown of the fines given out by the ESC last year:
$924,600 to AGL for allegedly raising prices for 15,845 residential and small business customers.
$1,206,050 to Engie for allegedly failing to respond to customer complaints about billing issues in a timely manner.
$764,380 to Momentum Energy for allegedly failing to uphold critical protections for customers affected by family violence, including disclosing personal information to perpetrators.
$1,066,986 to EnergyAustralia for allegedly giving customers incorrect information about its best energy deals.
$961,550 to Pacific Blue for failing to credit the accounts of over 6000 customers.
$341,724 to CovaU for illegal telemarketing.
‘Laws aren’t optional’
“Laws to protect people experiencing vulnerability aren’t optional,” says ESC chair and commissioner Gerard Brody. “They exist to keep people safe, and we will continue to hold retailers to account when they fall short of these critical obligations.”
“We’ve had a year of record-breaking fines in 2025, which should send a simple message – cutting corners on consumer protections is not just unacceptable, it’s costly. Retailers need to invest in getting things right the first time.”
Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations editor at CHOICE. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to CHOICE, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and at the Australian Financial Review. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University. LinkedIn
Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations editor at CHOICE. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to CHOICE, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and at the Australian Financial Review. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University. LinkedIn
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