New guideline to assist persons responding to compulsory information gathering notices issued by the Essential Services Commission

The Essential Services Commission has published a new Information Gathering Notice Guideline to support individuals and businesses to understand and comply with compulsory information gathering notices issued by the commission.

The commission has compulsory information gathering powers that it can use to require persons or businesses to give information, produce documents, or to appear before the commission to give information and produce documents. These powers are critical to the commission’s ability to obtain the information and documentation it needs to carry out its regulatory functions on behalf of Victorian consumers.

This guideline focuses on the commission’s powers to issue compulsory information gathering notices under Part 4 of the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (ESC Act), and Division 3, Part 8 of the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 (VEET Act).

The guideline is intended to assist recipients of information gathering notices issued by the commission in responding to those notices. It identifies the requirements on recipients of a notice, the consequences of not responding to a notice, how to approach requests for variation of a notice, as well as the use and disclosure of information or documents obtained pursuant to an information gathering notice.