Report a breach

Are you aware of a breach to the Act, its Regulations or the Code? Report a potential breach to us as soon as possible. Industry participants are obliged by law to report all Code breaches.

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How we deal with alleged breaches

Failure to comply with the provisions in the Act, Regulations or Code may result in a formal complaint being laid with the Rulings Panel. We follow a process to assess alleged breaches in accordance with the Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Regulations 2010.

1. Fact finding

We receive a report of an alleged Code breach, then review and consider all the information provided. If necessary, we request further information from the reporting party or other relevant parties.

We conduct an assessment to determine the seriousness and overall impact of the breach. This helps us decide how to categorise and deal with the alleged breach.

2. Fact finding decision

We present a report on the alleged breach (to our Chief Executive or General Manager of Legal, Monitoring and Compliance or our Compliance Committee).

The Compliance Committee is made up of three members of our Board.

A decision is made on what action to take, either:

  • no further action (may issue a warning letter)
  • appoint an investigator to more fully investigate the alleged breach.

The reporting party and/or other relevant parties is notified of the decision and reasons or the decision.

3. Investigation

If an investigator is appointed, a notice of investigation is published on this website and on our Compliance portal.

Industry participants, who think they may have been affected by the matter, are invited to join the investigation.

The investigator then attempts to settle the matter informally between the parties. The investigator prepares a report and recommendation for our Compliance Committee.

4. Compliance Committee decision

On receiving an investigator's report, the Compliance Committee decides what action should be taken. This may involve:

  • approving a settlement
  • rejecting a settlement and recommending our Board lay a formal complaint with the Rulings Panel
  • if no settlement can be reached, recommending our Board lay a formal complaint with the Rulings Panel, or
  • discontinuing the investigation.

5. Formal complaints to the Rulings Panel

The Rulings Panel is an independent body whose role includes dealing with formal complaints of breaches of the Code.

If the Rulings Panel upholds a complaint, it has a number of options available, including imposing penalties, awarding costs or compensation and recommending an amendment(s) to the Code. 

Investigations

View our ongoing investigations into alleged breaches.

How to report a breach

To report an alleged breach, you must provide the following information:

  • name of the industry participant
  • provision of the Code/Act/Regulation allegedly breached
  • date, time and circumstances of the alleged breach.

Alleged breaches can be reported to us via our Compliance portal or by completing a breach form as below.

Industry participants obligations

If you believe that you or another industry participant has breached the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (Code), then you are obligated to report it to us as soon as possible.

Regulations 7 and 8 of the Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Regulations require mandatory reporting of alleged breaches of the Code:

  • Under Regulation 7, an industry participant who believes that it or another industry participant has breached a provision of parts 7, 8, 9 or 13 of the Code about common quality or security, or a related provision in Part 17 of the Code, must report the alleged breach as soon as possible after becoming aware of it.
  • Under Regulation 8, an industry participant who believes that another participant has breached the Code must report the alleged breach as soon as possible.

There are no regulatory requirements regarding reporting breaches of the Electricity Industry Act 2010 and its Regulations. However, alleged breaches can be reported via our Compliance portal.

Compliance portal

For industry participants to report an alleged breach, view breach reports and decisions.

Anybody may report a breach

If you aren't an industry participant, you can still report an alleged breach of the Act, its Regulations or the Code to us.

Regulation 9 of the Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Regulations provides that any person who believes that an industry participant has breached the Code can voluntarily report the alleged breach to us.

Report a breach by completing and returning this breach form.