Governance
The Governance Working Group (GWG) is responsible for contributing to the delivery of the national energy governance priorities set by the Energy Ministers Meeting (EMM). The GWG is also responsible for relevant priorities specifically tasked by the Energy National Cabinet Reform Committee (ENCRC).
The GWG supports the Energy Ministers in their ongoing role to provide oversight of energy market governance as articulated in the Australian Energy Market Agreement. The GWG’s membership comprises the Australian Government and all state and territory governments.
The GWG is a sub-committee of the Energy Senior Officials Meeting (ESOM). The group’s role is to implement, monitor and report on all governance and other projects delegated to GWG by ESOM. The GWG reports directly to ESOM.
Governance arrangements play a key role in ensuring the effective operation of national energy markets. While the ENCRC and Energy Ministers believe current governance arrangements are fundamentally sound, it has identified a number of projects to enhance and evolve these arrangements.
The GWG is responsible for managing the Energy Ministers’ Work Plan, together with monitoring and progress reporting to ESOM for a range of governance and non-governance projects, including:
- governance of Australian energy market bodies including consideration of a future governance model post-2025, and the development of Statements of Expectation to the market bodies
- Energy Security Board governance
- appointments to the boards of the market bodies
- appointments to the Independent Selection Panel
- the Review of the Rules project
- review of ESB expenditure
- review of consumer hardship protections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The GWG is also responsible for any other tasks assigned by ESOM.
The GWG can be contacted via its secretariat at GWGSecretariat@industry.gov.au
