Now lawEnvironment & Energy Introduced in the Senate, 23 Jul 2025

Energy regulator now stands apart from the ACCC

Since 2005 the energy watchdog has relied on the fair trade watchdog for its staff, money and paperwork. This law makes it a stand-alone government agency from 1 July 2026.

Official name: Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Bill 2025

Who it affects

• Staff who work for the energy regulator: They become staff of the energy watchdog itself. They keep the pay and conditions of the fair trade watchdog's work deal for 2024 to 2027.
• The energy watchdog's board: Its members take charge of the agency's money and running. The head of the fair trade watchdog did that job until now.
• The fair trade watchdog: It no longer has to lend staff to the energy watchdog, but can still share offices, computers and other services.
• Households and energy companies: The rules the energy watchdog checks do not change. The government says the change should make it more independent.

Energy regulator inside the ACCC

The energy watchdog keeps an eye on parts of Australia's power and gas markets. Its full name is the Australian Energy Regulator. It does jobs given to it under federal law and under state and territory energy laws.

The fair trade watchdog makes sure firms compete fairly and treat shoppers fairly. Its full name is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The energy watchdog was set up in 2005. It was tucked inside the fair trade watchdog for money and staff.

Under that setup, the energy watchdog's 5 members made its decisions on energy rules. But the head of the fair trade watchdog was in charge of its budget and staff. The energy watchdog had no staff of its own. The head of the fair trade watchdog had to lend it staff and outside experts.

The government says that made sense in 2005. But the energy watchdog's jobs and staff numbers have grown a lot since then.

Several reviews said it should stand alone. These include two expert reviews of energy markets, the Vertigan Review in 2015 and the Finkel Review in 2017. A 2020 review of the Energy Security Board said so too. That board advised energy ministers.

In May 2025 the government already moved the energy watchdog's part of the law to the energy minister's area. This bill makes the split official in law.

AER becomes its own agency

The energy watchdog becomes a government agency that runs its own budget. It answers for its own spending.

Its members, as a group, become legally in charge of it. That means they answer for how its money is looked after and spent.

The chair of the energy watchdog becomes the head of the agency under the rules for government staff. The watchdog can hire its own government staff.

It can also get help from other federal agencies, use staff from state and territory governments, and hire outside experts.

Its members will no longer also be part-time members of the fair trade watchdog by default. They can still be picked for that role on their own.

What stays the same

The bill does not change what the energy watchdog does or the powers it has. The government says the aim is to make the split real in law. It also wants to let the watchdog decide how it is run.

The energy watchdog keeps its jobs under state and territory energy laws. The bill makes a new label for those laws. That makes clear which state laws apply to the watchdog and which apply to other bodies. The Governor-General can list these laws in detailed rules.

The watchdog can still hand some decisions to its members or senior staff. The government says these are usually everyday, office or urgent matters.

Staff and records move across

Some staff now work for the energy watchdog through the fair trade watchdog. They become the energy watchdog's own staff.

The fair trade watchdog's work deal for 2024-2027 keeps applying to them. A work deal like this sets pay and conditions for a group of workers. The government says this means no one is worse off in pay because of the split.

The fair trade watchdog can keep sharing services, like computer systems, office space and help with things like pay and records. The government says building these from scratch would be slow and cost a lot.

The fair trade watchdog can hand over records it holds about the energy watchdog's work. Past choices to hand powers to staff carry on. The minister can make extra rules to fix any problems in the changeover.

Start date

An earlier version of this bill passed the House of Representatives in February 2025. But the Senate ran out of time before the election. The government says no changes were needed, so it brought the same bill back.

The government brought this version to the Senate on 23 July 2025. The Senate is the second house of Parliament, which checks bills. The energy minister, Chris Bowen, is in charge of it.

The Senate passed it on 29 October 2025 and the House on 3 November 2025.

The Governor-General signed it into law on 6 November 2025. The Governor-General is the King's stand-in in Australia. The changes take effect on 1 July 2026.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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