National Cabinet and National Federation Reform Council

The National Cabinet is a forum for the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers to meet and work collaboratively.

Established on 13 March 2020, it is chaired by the Prime Minister and operates according to guiding principles set out in the Commonwealth Cabinet Handbook. The Commonwealth and state and territory governments individually remain responsible for the implementation of decisions arising from the National Cabinet in their jurisdiction.

National Cabinet establishes Ministerial Councils for the Commonwealth and state and territory ministers to work collaboratively on issues specific to their portfolio areas through intergovernmental meetings.

Energy ministers roles

The Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council (established by National Cabinet) and its Energy Ministers Sub-Group (EMSG) are Ministerial forums for the Commonwealth, Australian states and territories, and New Zealand. They work together on key reforms in the energy and climate change sectors.

Energy ministers provide:

• national oversight and coordination of energy policy development, legislation and institutional arrangements—addressing opportunities and challenges facing Australia's energy sector into the future
• national leadership so broader convergence issues and environmental impacts are considered in energy sector decision-making.

The Australian Energy Market Agreement (AEMA) underpins the governance and institutional arrangements for the national electricity and gas markets. This includes the roles of energy ministers acting as the Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE). MCE is the term for the energy ministers collectively.  The MCE has continuing policy and oversight roles in the AEMA and a small number of statutory roles under the national energy laws.

Queensland’s role in national energy markets

Australian Energy Market Operator

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) was established in 2009 and is responsible for:

• the day-to-day operation and administration of the wholesale National Electricity Market (NEM)
• the wholesale gas market in Victoria and gas short-term trading markets in South Australia and New South Wales
• retail gas markets in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia.

AEMO also undertakes a range of other functions, including:

• preparation of an annual statement of opportunities for the National Electricity Market and gas markets across Australia
• preparation of the Integrated System Plan
• operation of the gas trading markets and the gas market Bulletin Board.

Australian Energy Regulator

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) was established in 2005. Although originally part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), it operates as a separate statutory body performing its functions independently.

The AER is responsible for:

• economic regulation of electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks
• monitoring and enforcing compliance with national energy market legislation, including the National Electricity Law, the National Gas Law and the NERL.
• enforcing the consumer protection framework under the NERL and National Energy Retail Rules (NERR), which regulate the rights and obligations of energy retailers and consumers in participating jurisdictions, including Queensland.

Australian Energy Market Commission

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), established in 2005, is the national rulemaking and market development body for the national energy markets. It is jointly funded by the states and territories.

The AEMC:

• conducts reviews of matters under national energy legislation, either following a direction from energy ministers or on its own initiative, including reviewing the effectiveness of competition in energy markets
• manages the rule change process, consulting and deciding on rule changes proposed by stakeholders, including energy ministers
• hosts the Reliability Panel, which monitors, reviews and reports on the safety, security and reliability of the NEM.

Energy Consumers Australia

Energy Consumers Australia was established by energy ministers in 2015 as the independent, national advocacy body for residential and small business energy consumers.  It provides and enables evidence-based advocacy on the issues that affect energy consumers, including approving grant funding to support not-for-profit organisations to pursue quality advocacy initiatives.

Australian Competition Tribunal

The Australian Competition Tribunal is a review body established under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cwlth). A review by the tribunal is a re-hearing or a re-consideration of a matter (albeit on limited material for some reviews).

The tribunal may perform all the functions and exercise all the powers of the original decision-maker for the purposes of review. It can affirm, set aside or vary the original decision.

In the energy sector, the Tribunal's key role is to undertake, on application, judicial reviews of decisions made by the Australian Energy Regulator.

Queensland Competition Authority

The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has responsibility for the following matters:

• calculation and publishing of notified electricity prices under a delegation from the Minister administering the Electricity Act 1994
• administration and enforcement of industry codes made under the Electricity Act and Gas Supply Act 2003, including reporting on specified matters relating to the performance of energy retailers, distributors and the Queensland retail market
• periodic reviews of electricity distribution minimum service standards and guaranteed service levels in the Electricity Industry Code
• at the request of the Minister, other specified reviews.

More information is available on the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) website.

Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland

The Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) was established in 2007 as a free and independent dispute resolution service for Queensland's small energy consumers (those using less than 160 megawatt-hours of electricity or 1 terajoule of gas per year). EWOQ provides an effective, high-quality, fair and confidential service for domestic and small business energy consumers who have been unable to resolve a problem with their electricity or reticulated natural gas supplier. EWOQ's energy dispute resolution role is funded by energy retailers and distributors and has offices in Brisbane, Cairns and Rockhampton.

More information is available on the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) website.

Queensland Government

Minister

The Treasurer and Minister for Energy has responsibilities under the Electricity Act and the Gas Supply Act including in relation to:

• retail pricing
• management of supply shortfalls.

In addition, the Treasurer is the shareholding minister of each of the Queensland government-owned energy corporations under the Government Owned Corporations Act 1993.

A number of other Queensland Government officers or organisations have key roles in overseeing the energy sector, including:

Queensland Treasury

Many of the matters governed by the Electricity Act and Electricity Regulation 2006 are statutory functions of the regulator, who for the purposes of those Acts is the Under Treasurer. Queensland Treasury administers many of these matters, including the statutory functions of the regulator. The 'regulator' under the Electricity Act and Gas Supply Act undertakes licensing and compliance roles.

Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate

The Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate is responsible for regulating and monitoring safety in the gas and petroleum industries.

The inspectorate regulates naturally produced petroleum and natural gas, fuel gases such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas and related products, and sewage and other bio-gases. It does not cover acetylene, ammonia, petrol, diesel and other refined gases or products.

Industries regulated by the inspectorate include petroleum exploration and production, petroleum pipelines, gas distribution (including reticulation and gas cylinders), automotive LPG, gas users (from power stations to pottery kilns) and licensing the installation and servicing of domestic, commercial and industrial gas devices.

Electrical Safety Office

Electrical safety matters, including licensing of electrical workers and contractors, are dealt with under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and are administered by the Electrical Safety Office.

Phone the Electrical Safety Office on 1300 362 128 or visit Queensland's work health, safety and workers' compensation services website for more information.

Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) aims to deliver a fair and safe marketplace for Queensland businesses. As a business in the energy sector, it is important you understand your obligations under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) to ensure your business practices do not cause detriment to your customers.

Energy customers who have a dispute with their energy retailer can lodge a complaint with OFT if the complaint relates to the retailer going into liquidation or receivership.

Energy customers can also lodge a complaint with OFT if they have:

• faulty solar panels
• been mislead about the electricity generation capability of a solar system that has been installed
• paid for a solar system and not received it within a reasonable period of time.

Also consider...

• Learn more about Queensland gas legislation.
• Learn more about Queensland electricity legislation.

Energy industry peak bodies exist to provide assistance and representation to those within the industry.

Energy Users Association of Australia
Activities cover national and state issues impacting energy users, dealing with electricity and gas, as well as climate change and energy efficiency.

Energy Networks Australia
Energy Networks Australia (ENA) is the peak national body representing gas and electricity network businesses throughout Australia. All of Australia's electricity and gas network companies are members of ENA, providing governments, policy-makers and the community with a single point of reference for major energy network issues.

Australian Pipeline and Gas Association
The Australian Pipeline and Gas Association (APGA) is internationally unique, as the members come from all sectors of the transmission pipeline industry, and all have an important role to play in the safe and efficient operation of the transportation systems for gas, slurry, oil, water and other liquids.

APGA is committed to providing high-quality services to all members, through the many networking events around the nation, through representing the industry to government on a range of issues and highlighting the industry's commitment to safe and efficient energy transportation.