Key takeaways

The Federal Government has launched a review of national gas market regulations to ensure they support secure, affordable energy and the transition to net zero.

The review will assess domestic supply, gas pricing, competition, transparency, and the impact on LNG exports, aiming to streamline and strengthen regulatory settings.

Stakeholders can provide input, with submissions due by 15 August 2025 as part of the consultation process.

The Federal Government has formally commenced a review of the national gas market regulatory framework to determine whether existing settings remain fit for purpose in a transitioning energy landscape.

The announcement, made by the Minister for Resources on 30 June 2025, is said to form part of the Federal Government’s broader agenda to deliver secure, affordable energy while supporting the shift to net zero emissions.

Review scope and objectives

The terms of reference, released alongside the announcement, focus on an assessment of the effectiveness of current regulatory mechanisms and whether stronger or more targeted measures are required to ensure the domestic market remains secure, transparent and competitive. In particular, the review will examine the role and coherence of the Gas Market Code (Code), the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism and the Heads of Agreement with the east coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.

In addition to assessing these existing mechanisms, the review will consider options to consolidate and streamline existing regulations to support long-term investment certainty and regulatory stability.

Key issues under review

The Government has identified several focus areas for the review, including:

Domestic gas supply, including whether there is sufficient natural gas supply to meet domestic energy needs and exert downward pressure on prices.
Gas prices, including whether wholesale and retail gas prices reflect market fundamentals, and analysis of the interaction between the Code’s pricing mechanisms and market-based pricing provisions.
Market transparency, including the extent of information asymmetries between producers and buyers, and how greater visibility of price and supply data can be achieved without imposing undue compliance burdens.
Market conduct and good faith obligations, including the effectiveness of existing rules in addressing bargaining power imbalances across the market.
Competition, including the impact of current settings on competition within the supply and user markets, particularly in relation to commercial and industrial users.
LNG Export Industry Impacts, including how regulatory mechanisms affect the competitiveness of Australia’s LNG exports, its attractiveness to investors, and its international reputation for reliability and quality.
Market Bodies, including the role and governance arrangements of the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Energy Regulator, particularly in relation to data collection, reporting and implementation of gas market mechanisms.

The announcement of the review follows the latest ACCC gas inquiry report, which reaffirmed that while there is no change to the medium-term outlook, structural shortfalls in east coast gas supply are expected from 2028 unless new sources are developed.