How to switch electricity provider: steps, timing and exit fees

Before you switch, compare. The point of switching is to pay less, so pick the plan first, on its annual cost at your usage. Our guide to comparing electricity plans shows how, and the government comparators list every plan.

What you need

A recent bill. It shows your usage, your current rates and your NMI.
Your NMI (National Metering Identifier): a 10 or 11 character number for your connection, usually on the first page of the bill. It lets the new retailer link the right meter to your account. It is not your meter number.
The offer details: plan name, offer ID and estimated annual cost, from the comparator or the retailer.
Concession card details, if you hold one. They do not transfer by themselves.

How switching works, step by step

Choose the plan. Use Energy Made Easy or Victorian Energy Compare, or a retailer's own site. Ask for the plan summary.
Agree to the contract. The retailer must get your explicit informed consent before signing you up: you must clearly agree, knowing what you are agreeing to.
The new retailer arranges the transfer, including telling your old retailer. You do not need to cancel anything yourself.
The meter is read on the transfer date: a smart meter reads itself; with an older meter the switch can use an estimated or special read.
You get a final bill from the old retailer up to the transfer date, and the first bill from the new one after.

The 10 business day cooling-off period

Under the national rules, if you sign a market retail contract you can withdraw within 10 business days, counted from when you receive the contract information. You can withdraw by phone or in writing, even after you have accepted. The transfer may go ahead during the cooling-off period, but it has to be reversible. In Victoria, Victorian Energy Compare says the cooling-off period is "usually 10 business days but check this with your retailer".

Exit fees: banned for most people

National rules (NSW, Queensland, SA, ACT, Tasmania): an early termination charge has no effect on a market contract without a fixed term. On a fixed-term contract it is allowed only if the contract states it and it is a reasonable estimate of the retailer's costs, not lost profit. The same applies to ending a fixed benefit period early.
NSW: since 1 January 2018 retailers cannot charge exit fees on most electricity contracts. The exceptions are contracts where solar, a battery, a digital meter or other equipment was installed as part of the deal, and contracts with a fixed tariff for the whole term.
Victoria: retailers are banned from putting exit fees in small customer contracts, apart from rare fixed-term, fixed-price contracts. The ESC penalised Origin $5 million in 2021 for charging prohibited exit fees to small business customers.
From 1 July 2026: under a new AEMC rule, retail fees must reflect a reasonable estimate of costs, account establishment fees are banned for everyone, retail fees other than network charges are banned for customers in hardship or payment difficulty and customers affected by family violence, and every retailer must offer at least one free common way to pay.

If you signed up with a free solar system, battery or meter, read the contract before you leave: that is the one case where a fee is most likely.

How long it takes

The AEMC changed the rules in 2019 to let customers transfer retailers within two days whatever their meter type, and to allow switching on an estimated or special read instead of waiting for the next scheduled one. Two days is the design aim, not a guarantee. With a smart meter a switch usually completes within days; with a manually read meter it may wait for a read. Ask the new retailer when it expects the transfer date to be.

What happens to your solar feed-in tariff

Your feed-in tariff belongs to your retail plan, so when you switch you get the new plan's rate from the transfer date. Check it before you agree: the feed-in tariffs on free-power plans in our register run from 0c to 5c per kWh, and most are 0-3c. From 1 July 2026 a retailer can cut a feed-in tariff on a market contract only once every 12 months. Our feed-in tariff guide shows what a lower rate costs a solar home.

Concessions and rebates

Energy concessions are run by the states, and your eligibility does not move with you to a new retailer automatically. The AEMC looked at making concessions transfer between retailers and decided the change would not help enough to justify it. Instead, from 1 July 2026 retailers must ask about your eligibility and give you information about the relevant schemes whenever you sign up or switch. You still have to tell them, so have your card ready and check that your first bill shows the concession.

Switching in Victoria

Victoria has its own retail rules under the Essential Services Commission. The practical differences: the government comparator is Victorian Energy Compare, exit fees are banned in small customer contracts apart from rare fixed-term, fixed-price deals, and the cooling-off period is usually 10 business days. Victorian Energy Compare's own steps are the same as above: gather the offer details, contact the new retailer, ask for an offer summary, and let it handle the transfer. More on prices in comparing electricity in Victoria.

How to switch to a free-power plan

The Solar Sharer Offer (NSW, South East Queensland and SA) and Victoria's Midday Power Saver work a little differently from an ordinary switch.

You must opt in. The Solar Sharer is an opt-in standing offer: a retailer cannot put you on it by default or roll you onto it when a contract ends.
You need a smart meter. If you do not have one, ask your retailer, which has 20 business days to arrange installation once you request it. There is no fee when the retailer installs one under the rollout, but you may be charged if you ask for it yourself. Almost every Victorian home already has one.
You can stay with your retailer. Every retailer with more than 1,000 residential customers in the Solar Sharer regions must offer it, and in Victoria every retailer with 1,000 or more domestic customers must offer the Midday Power Saver. Asking your own retailer is the simplest switch there is.
Expect the warnings. Before you sign, a Solar Sharer retailer must tell you the plan suits people who can shift use into the free window, that not shifting could cost you more, and that use above the 24 kWh cap may be charged. Victorian retailers must explain the risk of paying more, that the Victorian Default Offer is available, where to compare, and where practicable an estimated dollar impact. The Victorian order gives a 10 business day fee-free right to withdraw.
Check the hours. The free window is 11am-2pm in NSW, South East Queensland and Victoria and 12pm-3pm in SA.

The most important step comes first: work out whether you would actually save. The other hours cost more than the standard time-of-use reference plan, and your bill's better offer check will not assume you change your habits. Run your numbers in the savings calculator and compare retailers' rates in the retailer register.

Common questions

Is there a fee to switch electricity provider?

Usually not. On a market contract without a fixed term, an early termination charge has no effect under the national rules. NSW has banned exit fees on most contracts since 1 January 2018, and Victoria bans them in small customer contracts apart from rare fixed-term, fixed-price deals. From 1 July 2026 account establishment fees are banned everywhere the national rules apply.

How long does it take to switch electricity provider?

Often a few days with a smart meter. A national rule change was designed to let customers transfer within two days, using an estimated or special meter read rather than waiting for the next scheduled one. With a manually read meter the switch may wait for a read. Your power stays on throughout.

Will I lose power when I switch?

No. The poles, wires and meter stay the same; only the company that bills you changes. The new retailer arranges the transfer, including telling your old retailer.

Do my concessions move with me when I switch?

Not automatically. The AEMC considered making concessions transfer between retailers and decided against it. From 1 July 2026 retailers must ask about your eligibility and explain the relevant schemes when you sign up, but you still have to tell the new retailer. Check your first bill shows the concession.

Can I switch to the Solar Sharer Offer with my current retailer?

Yes. Every retailer with more than 1,000 residential customers in NSW, South East Queensland and SA must offer it, so you can ask your own retailer to move you. You need a smart meter, and you must opt in: a retailer cannot put you on it by default. Check first with the eligibility checker.

Sources

AEMC, National Energy Retail Rules v20 (rule 47 cooling off, rule 49A early termination charges, rule 57 transfers), checked 17 October 2026
IPART, requirements for early termination charges (NSW), checked 17 October 2026
ESC, Origin Energy pays $5 million penalty for allegedly charging exit fees, checked 17 October 2026
AEMC, Improving consumer confidence in retail energy plans, final determination (fees, price changes, from 1 July 2026), checked 17 October 2026
AEMC, Reducing customers' switching times, information sheet, checked 17 October 2026
AEMC, Improving the application of concessions to bills, final rule information sheet, checked 17 October 2026
Victorian Energy Compare, how to switch energy offers, checked 17 October 2026
Energy Made Easy, finding your NMI, checked 17 October 2026
AER, consumer rights and smart meters, checked 17 October 2026
AER, Solar Sharer Offer fact sheet (DMO 8 final determination), checked 17 October 2026
ACCC/AER joint compliance bulletin, Electricity Retail Code v2 (Solar Sharer disclosures), checked 17 October 2026
Victoria Government Gazette S 498, Midday Power Saver Pricing Order 2026, checked 17 October 2026
AER Energy Made Easy and Victorian Energy Compare plan data (CDR product feed), free-power plan rows, checked 17 October 2026