Guide 2 of 6
Switching energy retailer, step by step
You switch by signing up with the new retailer, which tells your old retailer and changes your service over at the next meter reading. The poles, wires and pipes, and the distributor who owns them, stay exactly as they were.
The steps below follow the national rules that apply in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania, with Victoria’s code shown beside each step where it says something different.
General information, not legal advice. Victoria’s rules are in the Essential Services Commission’s Energy Retail Code of Practice; version 7 took effect on 1 October 2026.
Three checks before you start
- Your current contract. If it is fixed term, check whether you would be charged a fee to leave.
- Your home. If you rent, the AER suggests speaking to your landlord, because tenancy arrangements might affect whether you can switch. If you live in an apartment block, retirement village or caravan park, check you are not in an embedded network, where switching is generally not possible.
- Your current retailer. The AER suggests asking whether it can offer you a better deal first.
The switch, in order
You contact the retailer
You sign up with the retailer you chose, by telephone, online or face to face; you don’t have to sign paper.
The retailer must get your explicit informed consent
The AER explains what that means. The retailer must give you the information you need to understand what you are agreeing to. Your acceptance must be voluntary, free from pressure, undue influence or duress. And you must have the capacity to consent: the ability to understand and use the information to make a decision.
Victoria. The code requires consent in writing signed by the customer, verbally where it is evidenced so it can be verified and recorded, or by electronic communication the customer generates.
The plan arrives in writing
Within a few days you get a letter, or possibly an email, with the plan you chose, your details and all its terms and conditions. The AER suggests checking that the terms, including the tariffs, charges and fees, match what you agreed.
The cooling-off period runs
You have 10 business days from the date you signed with the new retailer to cancel without fees. The AER’s fact sheet adds that the period must be at least 10 business days but may be longer, so ask your retailer if you are unsure.
Victoria. The right of withdrawal runs for 10 business days from the day you receive the required information about the contract, and you can withdraw by telling the retailer orally or in writing, even though you had agreed to the contract.
The changeover happens at the next meter read
How long that takes depends on the meter, as the next section shows.
Your old retailer sends a final bill
It tells you whether you owe anything, and the AER reminds you to arrange to pay it.
Two meters, two readings
Because the changeover waits for a meter reading, how each meter is read shapes how long each switch can take.
Electricity
A smart meter measures your use every 5 minutes and sends it on, usually once a day. A basic meter is read by a person, usually every 3 months.
Gas
There is one type of gas meter. It is read by hand, usually every 3 months.
What does not change
Your electricity and gas supply stay the same after a switch, and so does the distributor, the company that owns the poles, wires and pipes.
If you were switched without agreeing
The AER’s useful contacts page lists “a new contract that was entered into without your consent” among the questions to take to your retailer. If you cannot resolve it with the retailer, each state and territory has a dispute body, listed on the same page, and the AER says the energy ombudsman schemes are free to consumers.
- New South Wales: the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW, on 1800 246 545.
- Victoria: the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, on 1800 500 509.
- Every other state and territory: the AER’s useful contacts page.