For the interests of consumers to be at the heart of the energy system, we need all decision-makers to think of themselves as consumer advocates.  We want to see fair outcomes for consumers as the North Star  for the entire sector – and we think it can happen. We plan to be highly visible to the point of unavoidable for decision-makers across the country. It will be a lot of work to be constantly on the radar, but we are more than up for the challenge.

Promoting the long-term interests of 26 million people and 2.5 million small businesses is hard for a small organisation like ours; we can’t and don’t claim to speak directly for all communities in the country, nor should we. To ensure that the needs of everyone in Australia are heard loudly by decision-makers, we must build allies and smart coalitions with all manner of community, membership and industry bodies. We want to support and amplify their advocacy to the best of our ability.

Over the next three years we will focus on ensuring our grants are structured to address the issues we’ve identified in our 3-year plan – and to enable as diverse a set of applicants as possible to participate. In our quest for the highest quality grant applications that fill identified needs for consumers we need to also ensure we don’t create unintended barriers to entry for new or under-resourced advocates, particularly those from regional and diverse cohorts.

Since our founding, we have developed a strong reputation for consumer research. We want to build on this foundation to ensure decision-makers, industry, researchers and other consumer advocates have access to first-rate, reliable and comprehensive data, as well as expert analysis and insights.

Consumers are entitled to advocates operating at the top of their game. To be the most effective consumer advocates we can be, we need good systems, tools and processes that will enable us to be as productive and impactful as possible. We will make ECA ‘match fit’ to handle the challenges of the energy transition and attract and retain the best talent possible.

A lot of what we do is about influencing other people’s decisions, often alongside other advocates. This means it can sometimes be hard to draw a direct line from advocacy to outcome. Nonetheless, it is important to us that we are accountable to consumers and can demonstrate the level of our impact and how it supports their long-term interests. This helps us to focus our efforts on where we can create the most positive change for households and small businesses.