Under the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF), energy customers have two mechanisms to resolve complaints and disputes. Under the National Energy Retail Law (NERL), retailers and distributors must have their own standard complaint and dispute resolution procedures and, must also be members of an energy ombudsman scheme to resolve any relevant matter concerning the customer and a retailer or distributor. 

The NECF provides certain circumstances where the customer can initiate a dispute or submit a complaint to the retailer or distributor, under their standard complaints and dispute resolution procedures, or to the relevant energy ombudsman. Below are some examples of disputes that customers can initiate under the NECF: 

• the carrying out of an energy marketing activity by a person
• retailer's obligations before and after a customer retail contract is formed
• deemed standard connection contracts between small customers and distributors and deemed standard arrangements between small customers and retailers
• a negotiated connection contract between a small customer and a distributor
• a distributor's decision under the small compensation regime
• billing disputes.