Financial counsellors are at the frontline of Australia’s energy hardship crisis. Every day, they support people facing mounting energy debts, disconnection threats, and complex financial and personal challenges — including job loss, illness, family violence and housing stress. Through this work, financial counsellors develop a detailed understanding of how energy retailers respond to customers in difficulty, and where systemic failures are causing harm.​

Despite the existence of formal hardship frameworks, many people continue to miss out on support. Financial counsellors report that clients are often unaware of their entitlements, confused by inconsistent processes, or pushed into unaffordable repayment plans This reflects an ongoing “assistance gap”—one that disproportionately affects people already dealing with significant vulnerability.​

In 2025, Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic), in partnership with Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) and Energy Consumers Australia (ECA), led a national study surveying more than 400 financial counsellors. The Rank the Energy Retailer research provides clear evidence of inconsistent practices across the energy sector. While some retailers were recognised for compassionate and flexible responses, many others were criticised for rigid policies, poor communication, and inadequate training of hardship teams.​

Only 12% of financial counsellors rated energy retailers as “excellent” in their hardship responses—well behind water and banking sectors. Key failings included a lack of proactive support, burdensome eligibility checks, and s. Importantly, these experiences are not isolated—they are seen across all states and territories and represent systemic issues within the energy market.​

Energy retailers have a significant role to play in improving outcomes for people experiencing payment difficulty. They can engage earlier, identify customers at risk using available data, and provide support that is empathetic, accessible, and based on what people can realistically afford. Retailers should train their staff in trauma-informed and culturally safe practices, proactively apply concessions and grants, offer flexible payment plans, and provide tailored energy efficiency advice. Disconnections should only occur as a genuine last resort, and systems must be designed to support all customers—particularly those without advocates—through clear communication, easy access to assistance, and continuity of care.​

While retailers can and should do more, structural reform is essential to ensure fair and consistent outcomes across the energy market. Voluntary measures and good intentions are not enough when access to support varies widely between providers, and many people in hardship continue to fall through the cracks. Structural reform means establishing nationally consistent, enforceable obligations that guarantee all consumers the right to timely, affordable, and effective support—regardless of who their retailer is or where they live. This includes mandatory minimum standards of assistance, clear rules to prevent disconnection prior to genuine engagement, automatic access to best offers and concessions, and stronger enforcement mechanisms to hold retailers accountable. ​

We have the evidence. The time to act is now.​