NETCC Council Meeting - June 2024

This is a summary of the NETCC Council meeting held on 13 June 2024.

Communiques of each meeting are produced so that stakeholders can be informed about the work of the Council and its implementation of the Code.

Administrator update

The Council received an Administrator personnel update from the CEC Director of Finance, Risk and Governance, including:

• Wendy McAndrew has been appointed as the NETCC Program Manager, with the NETCC team of assessment coordinators and compliance officers unchanged.

• The Administrator has allowed for external consultancy to support the upcoming body of work, including industry consultation for NETCC reauthorisation with the ACCC and new energy tech adoption.

Program Performance Report

• The program has received 408 new applications in the current financial year (FY24). Since January 2024 the monthly new application volume is trending within 10% of the new forecast.

• The total number of Code Signatories is approximately 1,600 since January 2024. The number of newly approved Code Signatories has offset the number of Signatories who have resigned from the Code. It was noted that the rate of resignation by state/territory is highest in South Australia; and that there is no Signatory in the Northern Territory.

• Compliance statistics identified the three main areas of complaint types as (i) Signatory complaints handling (ii) Compliance with the Code, and (iii) Contracts.

• Council recommended that the Administrator use the compliance statistics to see how the program could improve compliance, and investigate ways of expanding awareness of the Code in the Northern Territory.

NETCC Council

Council agreed that its overall membership and terms of appointment should be reviewed following ACCC reauthorisation and the independent review required by the Code.

ACCC Reauthorisation

The Administrator advised that proposed changes to the Code have been marked-up and circulated to the Council and Panel for comment. Consultation with industry on the proposed changes will commence in July 2024.

NETCC Annual Fee Review

Council reviewed information presented by the Administrator regarding actual and forecast revenue and expenditure for the program. It was noted that as the program is still in the start-up phase, some costs remain unpredictable, but fees should be kept as low as possible.

Council agreed that the current NETCC fees and tier structure will not be increased or amended for the next 12 months, until the next Annual Fee Review.

Next meeting

Next meeting to be held on 12 September 2024.