Our Victorian Energy Upgrades program compliance and enforcement priorities

The Essential Services Commission has shared its enduring and strategic priorities for compliance and enforcement in the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, to protect consumers and uphold program integrity.

With a focus on consumer safety and wellbeing, quality, integrity and reputation, these priorities will help focus our resources on the right areas.

The priorities are informed by potential harm to consumers and the program, compliance trends and issues, and consumer feedback. Compliance matters are also considered as part of our audit program and annual accreditation renewal processes for accredited persons.

We will review and share our 2024–25 strategic priorities for compliance and enforcement in the coming months.

Enduring priorities

1. Conduct that involves serious exploitation of consumer vulnerability.
2. Conduct that could cause serious personal injury.
3. Serious misleading, deceptive or fraudulent conduct.
4. Conduct that seriously compromises program integrity.
5. Conduct that seriously compromises the program's reputation.

Strategic priorities – remainder of 2023–24

1. Heat pump water heater installations: Making sure accredited persons provide accurate information about the type and number products they are replacing.
2. Baseline manipulation: Making sure accredited persons provide accurate information about the type and number products they are replacing.
3. Telemarketing and doorknocking: Supporting industry to comply with the proposed telemarketing and doorknocking ban, and monitoring compliance and acting on non-compliance once the ban is in effect.

Updated commission-wide Compliance and Enforcement Policy

We have also updated our commission-wide Compliance and Enforcement Policy to reflect recent amendments to the Victorian Energy Efficiency Targets (VEET) Act, including strengthened compliance and enforcement powers for the commission and how they may be exercised.

To support the policy, we have published two guidelines explaining the investigatory powers of commission inspectors under the Essential Services Commission Act to enter and search a premises either with the consent of the occupier, or under a warrant. The investigatory powers of entry and search would be used consistently with the commission’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy, in circumstances where they are warranted. The guidelines provide transparency as to how the commission would use these powers.