10 October 2022

The Victorian Parliament has passed legislation to strengthen protections for Victorians using the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program. The amendments to the VEU program covered by the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment Bill 2022 received Royal Assent on 23 August 2022.

The amendments introduce new requirements for accredited providers and scheme participants which will improve compliance and enforcement – ensuring the energy bill savings, energy efficiency, and emissions reductions for the VEU program are delivered.

These improvements build off the existing compliance and enforcement activities of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) and give the regulator more tools and powers to protect Victorians.

The objectives of the legislation are to:

  • increase oversight of VEU program participants, improve monitoring and compliance, and provide a wider and more flexible range of enforcement tools
  • ensure the VEU program has a robust compliance framework that enables the program regulator, the ESC, to effectively administer the scheme, monitor compliance and pursue enforcement where necessary
  • ensure the benefits of the VEU program, including $1.3 billion in energy bill savings and 28 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions savings, are achieved.

These new requirements will:

  • further strengthen consumer protections by introducing penalties for third parties participating in the program (such as sub-contracted lead generators or installers)
  • ensure providers accredited under the program are appropriately qualified
  • provide the ESC with new tools to ensure compliance with the program requirements
  • ensure greater market transparency, whereby the ESC can share program information with other Victorian Government energy programs
  • extend the VEU program by one year, from 2029 to 2030, to bring it in line with the Victorian Government’s Climate Change target timelines.

For more information, please visit Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment Bill 2022 and Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment Act 2022

Page last updated: 12/10/22