Friday, 28 August 2026

Clause 1 (13:11)

Sarah MANSFIELD: I have got a number of questions. If it is okay, I will ask them all on clause 1. They are fairly general in nature anyway. Minister, what kinds of new activities is the government considering for inclusion within the Victorian energy upgrades (VEU) program – for example, demand management technologies, EV charging infrastructure, new forms of insulation, information- or data-based activities, home solar? Are you able to give some further detail on that?

Jaclyn SYMES: As you have identified, the bill does not introduce new activities to the VEU program. New activities are introduced through a formal government process mandated by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). The process involves public stakeholder consultations, analysis and regulatory processes to define baseline requirements and administrative set-up undertaken by the Essential Services Commission (ESC). I am very happy to take on board suggestions to get advice et cetera. This is a process that will be undertaken after the bill is set up. This is an architecture bill, and I know there is a lot of interest in what this could facilitate.

Sarah MANSFIELD: You partially answered this question, but does the government have any plans in the foreseeable future to introduce any of these new VEU activities or begin any consultation on introducing them?

Jaclyn SYMES: Certainly consultation is to be undertaken. Also, importantly, you do not know what you do not know yet in relation to emerging technologies and things that will be of interest to consumers to reduce their power bills, reduce their emissions and perhaps provide other benefits to their houses and businesses, so I am very open to having lots of ideas brought forward.

Sarah MANSFIELD: Is the government considering any improvements to new or existing VEU activities for apartment buildings – specifically for upgrading centralised building services like central hot water to heat pump products?

Jaclyn SYMES: In answer to your question about apartment buildings, we want to give thought to the ability for broader cohorts of people to access the VEU and not be limited by the fact that they might be on shared systems and the like. We have certainly started to do some thinking about that, because we think that everyone should have access, but there are some complexities in a group of people as opposed to an individual. But they are things that I am very keen to work through.

Sarah MANSFIELD: Is the government considering any new targeted activity measures to support vulnerable cohorts, such as renters, poorer households or culturally and geographically diverse communities? If so, are you able to provide some details?

Jaclyn SYMES: The bill does not introduce any new targeted activity measures. It provides greater flexibility, though, for government to consider targeted intervention where doing so is a cost-effective way to deliver the objectives of the bill. The bill allows the program to respond to changing consumer and energy system needs over time. They could be used to address equality by scaling the incentive applied for a particular cohort of energy users – certainly interested in the renter cohort.

Sarah MANSFIELD: I look forward to some of that work progressing. With respect to the activity orders scheme, what does a standard timeline look like for making an order for a new VEU activity? That is, when does a minister consider a new activity, what kind of briefings and consultations are required and when would they next make a decision for an activity order?

Jaclyn SYMES: The levels of consultation traditionally undertaken when developing a new VEU activity are unchanged with this bill. Consultation with industry is obviously essential in ensuring activity requirements are robust and practical. The change from having activity requirements set in regulations to having activity requirements set in activity orders will save time in administrative and procedural ways. Given those time savings, it is estimated that a new activity could be introduced to the program in approximately half the time currently taken, which can generally be 12 months depending on the complexity.

Sarah MANSFIELD: In terms of those orders, do they consider activity value, activity economics, product supply or workforce capacity? Can you give any more information about that?

Jaclyn SYMES: These factors will be considered in the same way as has traditionally been the case when introducing an activity by amendment to the regulations. Consultation with industry is essential in ensuring the activity requirements are robust and practical, and detailed economic analysis is essential in establishing confidence that incentivising an activity through the program makes sense, is workable and does not have any adverse impacts. Nothing in the bill changes the VEU program’s approach to those measures.

Sarah MANSFIELD: Is the government currently planning or considering any future activity orders?

Jaclyn SYMES: Any of those would be subject to future government decisions.

Sarah MANSFIELD: Can the government explain what the bill means for determining future eligibility criteria under the VEU?

Jaclyn SYMES: The bill establishes new objects to illustrate the range of benefits that may be incentivised under the program beyond direct greenhouse gas emissions reductions, including supporting energy affordability, equitable access to energy upgrades, electrification and flexible demand technology. It does not provide a methodology for determining the value of VEU activities in the bill. For any new activity proposed for inclusion, questions such as whether additional benefits should be recognised and how those benefits should be reflected through activity design settings are matters for future decisions. The reforms do provide the flexibility for future activities to be assessed according to their specific characteristics and the outcomes that they can deliver, consistent with the purpose of the objectives of the act.

Sarah MANSFIELD: Just for clarity, what sort of evidence would the government expect to be required to determine potential new environmental, economic or social values?

Jaclyn SYMES: Things that could be included, but obviously are not limited to, would be the expected impacts on energy affordability and consumer bills; costs and benefits for consumers, businesses and the broader energy system; emission reduction outcomes; impacts on system reliability, flexibility or demand management; market readiness and technology maturity; and stakeholder and industry feedback.

Sarah MANSFIELD: How would those new values then be weighted when it comes to certificate creation?

Jaclyn SYMES: The bill does not seek to prescribe how different types of benefits would be measured, weighted or reflected in future activities. That would be considered in the context of a particular activity. For any future activity, questions around whether additional benefits should be recognised and how those benefits should be reflected in incentive levels would be something that would be up for consideration, and any future decisions would be informed by appropriate evidence, analysis and definitely consultation, ensuring that the incentive levels remain proportionate and that they are cost-effective in a way that delivers the objects of the act. There will be industry representatives hoping to engage in consultation processes associated with the development of any new activity by sharing their views on activity parameters.

Sarah MANSFIELD: I might just move to another aspect of the bill. It introduces powers for ministerial intervention to manage certificate price volatility and scheme stability. Can you provide any information on the kinds of thresholds that might be required to trigger a ministerial intervention?

Jaclyn SYMES: The bill does not prescribe the specific thresholds that would trigger the use of a target adjustment order. Those details will be developed through future amendments to the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Regulations 2018, which will involve a regulatory impact statement, and that would be released for public comment. The government’s intention is that any thresholds would be clear, simple, transparent and linked to sustained material departures from the market conditions that inform target setting rather than normal market fluctuations. Again, this would be subject to consultation with stakeholders.

Sarah MANSFIELD: I imagine it is a similar response to how demand settings are going to be adjusted through a ministerial intervention.

Jaclyn SYMES: Yes. Again, it does not prescribe it in the bill, but the intent is where an intervention is required it would operate by increasing or decreasing the VEU target for a given year to rebalance the market in extreme circumstances, such as a sustained certificate, scarcity or unusually high prices.

Sarah MANSFIELD: The bill requires the Essential Services Commission to establish a public register of people who, following an order under section 24 of the Gas Industry Act 2001, are exempt from having to obtain a distribution or retail licence. Can you summarise the kinds of people or entities you expect will be included on the register and what sorts of details will be provided?

Jaclyn SYMES: A gas-exempt person is anyone who is distributing or selling gas by retail using an order under section 24 of the Gas Industry Act instead of needing to obtain a licence to engage in those activities. Unlike the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the GIA does not include provisions for a register of exempt persons or require providers relying on an exemption to register with the ESC. This is problematic because it means that the ESC does not have sufficient oversight over who is relying on an exemption under the Gas Industry Act. Currently the gas-embedded networks exemption order allows gas-exempt persons to distribute gas within an embedded network without needing a licence to distribute gas. The gas embedded network exemption order does not exempt persons from the requirement to obtain a licence to sell gas to retail customers or to distribute gas in embedded networks that started operating after 25 February 2025. These activities need a gas licence. Because the GIA does not yet include provision for a register of exempt persons, the gas embedded network exemption order could not include a registration requirement as a condition when it was made. This limits the transparency of gas-exempt persons using that mechanism.

The proposed amendment will mean that any future exemption order would be able to include a condition to require an exempt person to be registered once the gas register of exempt persons is established by the ESC. It is intended that the register would include the following information, in direct response to your question: the name of the registered person; the activity the registered person undertakes under an exemption; the date from which the exemption applying to the registered person is in force; whether the exemption applying to the registered person is in force; the prescribed particulars, if any; and other information which the ESC deems appropriate. The register is to be kept in the form and manner determined by the ESC.

Sarah MANSFIELD: When do you expect the ESC will publish this register?

Jaclyn SYMES: It will be required to establish the register once the amendments have passed the Parliament. The relevant legislative provisions are proposed to come into operation on 2 October 2028.

Sarah MANSFIELD: How will the ESC manage the inclusion or removal of new registered people?

Jaclyn SYMES: It will be an online process, with the expectation that details will be updated annually, and there is no cost to register.

Sarah MANSFIELD: I have just got one final question. We have heard concerns from some energy groups over new provisions in the bill regarding the recording and potential disclosure of certificate transfer prices. Can you explain what the new provisions could mean for the potential use or publication of trading data and any resulting impacts on commercial confidentiality, pricing transparency and market behaviour?

Jaclyn SYMES: The bill introduces a new requirement for notifications of the transfer of certificates to include the price at which the certificates have been sold. These transfer prices will remain confidential and be held by the ESC. Any ESC reporting on market transactions will be retrospective at a high level of general market trends and certainly not in any form where specific transactions or participants can be identified. The reforms will support greater visibility of the certificate market for the regulator while avoiding impacts on commercial confidentiality or market participation. Any potential changes to the Victorian energy efficiency certificate account registry will be subject to further consultation with industry stakeholders.

David DAVIS: Minister, I had not intended to have this committee, but given we have got it, I will be brief and ask: formally, the strategic review undertaken by the department – will you release that?

Jaclyn SYMES: I appreciate your question, Mr Davis, and I did listen to your contribution in the chamber. I am obviously new to the role. I am familiarising myself with the content of the review. When the scheme commenced, it was 17 years ago, so it was appropriate to have a look at it. Stakeholders have submitted the review in good faith, because they have provided a lot of constructive feedback, and at this point in time I am hoping to just get on with the legislation. I think we have the support of the chamber so that that can happen. I am not in a position to give you a commitment to that request today.

David DAVIS: My question would be: why not? This is now an older review – it is from back deep into the early part of 2025 – and there are submissions from stakeholders. I understand a few of those might be sensitive, but many may not and may just provide very useful information. Given that the government have now based two pieces of legislation on that review, at least in part, I think the community and the Parliament are entitled to see it.

Jaclyn SYMES: That is your view, Mr Davis. I have indicated, and you have indicated, that there might be some things in there that are not appropriate for public disclosure. As I said to you, I am new to the role, and I need to familiarise myself with the report. This is a piece of legislation that is really important, and it is a bit rich for you to say you want to see a report about something that I have never even supported. You have not provided any amendments. You have not provided any suggestions of improvements. You have been pretty passive in all of this, so I am not actually sure why you even care about a copy of the review.

David DAVIS: We put a documents motion back last year, actually.

Jaclyn SYMES: But in terms of your engagement on this particular program, it has been pretty lacklustre over 17 years. I have said to you that I am in a position where I would like to familiarise myself with the content of the review. You yourself have indicated that you have spoken to stakeholders who may not want their information made public.

David DAVIS: No, no-one has ever said that to me. I can conceive that there might be a legitimate case for saying that.

Jaclyn SYMES: Well, apologies. I did not mean to verbal you. You and I both can concede that there may be stakeholders who in good faith participated in a process that at the time it was not said would be made public. When we have those situations, you have got to take due process before you release anything. As I said, I am going to familiarise myself with the report, and it should not hold up any of the legislation today.

David DAVIS: Leaving that aside, the question –

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mr Davis, sorry, as it is now half past 1 –

David DAVIS: I will just make one point, if that is all right; I will just finish this. The minister could well release all or part of the document quite easily, and it would be in the public interest.

Clause agreed to; clauses 2 to 146 agreed to.

Reported to house without amendment.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for Environment, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (13:30): I move:

That the report be now adopted.

Motion agreed to.

Report adopted.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for Environment, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (13:30): I move:

That the bill be now read a third time.

Motion agreed to.

Read third time.

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Pursuant to standing order 14.28, the bill will be returned to the Assembly with a message informing them that the Council have agreed to the same without amendment.

Sitting suspended 1:31 pm until 2:03 pm.

Business interrupted pursuant to order of Council earlier this day.