New-Model Energy
Energy market entry lawyer
Fixed fee counsel for virtual power plant operators, battery businesses, EV charging networks and embedded network developers entering Australia's energy market. Authorisation, exemption, structure and regulator strategy. One team, one sequence.
Selling electricity in Australia generally requires a retailer authorisation or an exemption from the Australian Energy Regulator, and the line between selling electricity and selling something else is where new energy models live or die. The businesses that map that line before they build are the ones that get to keep what they build.
Book a consultation or call (07) 3519 5616.
The problem we solve
A new energy business fails at a boundary it did not know it was crossing. The model is built around batteries, charging, orchestration or precinct energy, and somewhere inside it sits a question nobody priced: is this retailing, and if it is, on what authority are you doing it? Selling electricity in Australia generally requires a retailer authorisation or an exemption from the Australian Energy Regulator, with exemption classes whose conditions depend on the arrangement. Which side of the line you fall on is not decided by your business model slide. It is decided by the specific arrangement, and by the time a regulator or counterparty asks, the arrangement is usually already signed.
Virtual power plants, batteries and EV charging raise boundary questions about retailing, metering and network services, and the answers turn on the specifics. Embedded networks are a common structure with their own rules, workable when they are designed for and expensive when they are inherited by accident. And a new class of counterparty has arrived: data centres and other large loads, whose power arrangements are increasingly part of how large projects win approval priority. The map exists. Most entrants never see it until they are off it.
Who we act for
Virtual power plant and battery operators
Orchestrating distributed batteries or operating storage in ways that move electricity and value between customers, markets and networks. Whether any part of that is retailing, metering or a network service turns on the specific arrangement, and the answer shapes the whole commercial model.
EV charging networks
Rolling out charging where the product looks like electricity by the session. Whether that is a sale of electricity requiring authorisation or exemption depends on how the arrangement is structured, and the structure chosen at site one gets replicated across the whole network.
Embedded network and precinct developers
Building apartment, industrial or precinct projects where one connection serves many occupants. Embedded networks are a common structure with their own rules, and the difference between a designed embedded network and an accidental one is measured in years of retrofit.
Data centre and large load counterparties
Data centres are creating a new class of large energy counterparties, and power arrangements are increasingly part of how large projects win approval priority. If your project sits on either side of one of these deals, the energy structure is now part of the approvals strategy. See our data centre approvals page below.
The Energy Entry Program
Three phases, each a fixed fee agreed before it starts. The sequence is the service.
Phase 1: Boundary and pathway
Your model assessed against the actual regulatory boundary before you are committed. You get the map: whether the arrangement involves selling electricity, whether authorisation or an exemption class fits, what conditions attach, the realistic timeline and the failure modes specific to your structure. Fixed fee.
Phase 2: Authorisation, exemption and structure
We run the strategy and the process. The authorisation or exemption pathway, the contractual structure that matches it and the engagement with the regulator including requisition responses. Fixed fee, agreed after Phase 1.
Phase 3: Operational compliance and contracts
The obligations and agreements that switch on when you are live. Customer terms, counterparty contracts, exemption condition compliance and the framework that keeps the position as the model scales. Fixed fee.
Why a law firm
Your boundary analysis is protected by legal professional privilege, which matters when the frank conversation is about whether your current arrangements are on the right side of the line. Our advice carries the professional liability of a regulated profession. And your matter is run end to end by a senior lawyer.
Read the detail
Selling Electricity Without Being a Retailer
Retailer authorisation, the exemption classes and why the answer for your model turns on the arrangement rather than the label. The boundary every new energy business crosses first.
EV Charging Networks: The Regulatory Stack
Charging looks simple until the regulatory questions stack up. Retailing, metering and network services, and why the structure at site one decides the economics of the whole network.
Data Centre Approvals
Data centres are creating a new class of large energy counterparties, and power arrangements now shape approval priority. Our dedicated page for developers, landowners and investors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell electricity without a retailer authorisation?
Sometimes. Selling electricity in Australia generally requires a retailer authorisation or an exemption from the Australian Energy Regulator, and there are exemption classes whose conditions depend on the arrangement. Whether an exemption fits your model, and what conditions come with it, is exactly what Phase 1 answers before you build on an assumption.
Is my battery or virtual power plant operation retailing?
It depends on the specific arrangement. Virtual power plants and batteries raise boundary questions about retailing, metering and network services, and the answers turn on how the value and the electricity actually move. Two models that look identical in a pitch deck can land on opposite sides of the line.
Do EV charging sessions count as selling electricity?
That is a boundary question, and the answer turns on how the arrangement is structured rather than on what the app calls it. Getting the structure right before the network scales is the difference between one decision and a retrofit across every site.
What is an embedded network and do I want one?
An embedded network is a common structure where one connection point serves multiple occupants, and it comes with its own rules. Designed deliberately it can be an asset. Inherited accidentally it is a liability with tenants attached. Which one you have is worth knowing before settlement, not after.
What does it cost?
Each phase is a fixed fee agreed before it starts, scaled to the project. No hourly rate ambush.
Discuss your project
The cheapest time to fix an energy market structure is before the contracts are signed and before any regulator has formed a view of the arrangement. Call (07) 3519 5616 or book a consultation.
Book a ConsultationThis page is general information, not legal advice. The regimes it describes are moving, so some dates and rules will change. Obtain advice tailored to your circumstances before acting. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.