Tuesday, 22 September 2026

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Finance, Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Government Services) (14:57): The Essential Services Commission (ESC) plays a vital role in protecting Victorian consumers. It sets the standards that keep energy reliable, affordable and fair. Today I want to highlight important reforms that demonstrate what that protection means for our most vulnerable Victorians. During storms, prolonged power outages create life-and-death risks for Victorians who depend on life support equipment. Our reviews found issues in the accuracy and size of life support registers which affected how emergency services could contact people who critically rely on life support equipment during large outages. To address these concerns we have implemented new life support reforms after extensive consultation with industry.

There is now a standardised medical confirmation form that identifies customers and the equipment they rely on and flags life-threatening conditions. This helps emergency agencies triage effectively when minutes matter so much. We are introducing new processes requiring energy retailers to check in yearly with life support customers so their details stay current, and life support customers can now nominate a secondary contact to receive outage communications through their preferred method. These changes are tailored and precise. They do one thing: ensure that when the lights go out, emergency services know exactly who needs help and how to reach them best.

Besides the industry, the ESC has worked closely with the national regulator, the Australian Energy Market Commission, in developing these reforms. This keeps implementation costs down for industry while ensuring consistent protections across the country. This is what good regulation looks like: getting the fundamentals right to protect the people who are most at risk.