Gas Market Review
The Australian Government carried out a combined review of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM), Gas Market Code (the Code) and the Heads of Agreement with east coast liquified natural gas exporters.
The Review consultation is now closed. Your input informed the Review report to government. The current regulations will remain in place until any agreed changes are implemented. Further consultation on the details of any significant changes resulting from the Review will occur before they are implemented.
For more information on next steps please see Gas Market Review.
Consultation
The consultation was open for submissions from 30 June 2025 to 15 August 2025.
The departments thank everyone who responded to this consultation. The feedback helped shape the contents and recommendations for the Gas Market Review report.
To view submissions in response to the consultation paper, please visit the Published submissions page. Please note, responses have been published only where the author has provided permission for their response to be released publicly.
You can find a summary of the consultation process and key themes in the Gas Market Review: Consultation Summary [PDF 217 KB].
What we did:
A consultation paper was published on 30 June 2025 to seek stakeholder views on current regulations and potential reform options
Meetings with 80+ stakeholders
Public webinar with 220+ attendees online
Over 100 submissions received in response to the Review consultation paper
What we heard, based on key policy themes:
Supply, security and trade
Most stakeholders support the introduction of a domestic reservation policy, supported by incentives for supply and infrastructure investment. Most stakeholders did not support strengthening the ADGSM or the Code or extending the HoA.
Contracting and bargaining conduct
Most stakeholders supported amendments to the Code’s Expression of Interest (EOI) process to better address bargaining power imbalances and concerns with its rigidity. Many supported major reforms to streamline contracting and bargaining processes.
Gas market transparency, reporting and governance
Stakeholders expressed strong interest in centralised and more real-time transparency for price and supply information through the Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO), if anonymised. Price and shortfall reporting, if managed through AEMO’s reporting structures, could provide more real-time information than existing processes.
Wholesale gas prices
Many stakeholders expressed the view that the Code’s reasonable price mechanism has not effectively reduced prices or enhanced competition, with some supporting its removal. Broad agreement on the need to increase supply to help lower prices, but opinions were divided on whether an import terminal would achieve that goal.
Efficient wholesale markets
Stakeholder views on options of market making and trading hub reform were mixed. Stakeholders noted that bilateral contracting is a relevant primary method to source gas, with markets currently being used to balance portfolios. A number of stakeholders supported opportunities to improve the efficiency of facilitated markets and reform of AEMO prudential requirements.
