Our gas distribution network

We are one of 3 gas distribution businesses in Victoria. We deliver gas to 780,000 homes, businesses, hospitals, schools and other facilities in western Melbourne, Geelong and parts of western Victoria. You cannot choose your gas distributor, as they are assigned to you depending on the area where you live.

Our responsibilities in gas distribution include managing the reliability of your supply (and the frequency and duration of gas outages), gas pipeline safety (up to your meter), metering services and connecting newly-built properties to the gas network.

Gas Access Arrangement Review (GAAR)

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is responsible for regulating Australian gas distribution, which falls under a national framework.

Every 5 years, gas distributors across Victoria must submit a draft plan to the AER for the next 5-year regulatory period. This plan outlines the services we will offer customers, the costs to deliver those services, and the plan for how we will use money collected via the distribution charge on customers’ bills. This process is known as the Gas Access Arrangement Review (GAAR).

Our current regulatory period expires on 30 June 2028. Read our current Gas Access Arrangement (2023- 2028).

If you'd like to find out more about our past engagement, visit Gas Matters.

Re-opening the GAAR

In July 2023, several key policy changes.have materially changed the outlook for AusNet's gas network compared to the forecasts approved in June 2023. These include:

• A ban on new residential gas connections (where a planning permit is required)
• Implementation of full upfront connection charges for new connections

These changes occurred after the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) made its final decision on our Gas Access Arrangement for 2023–28, meaning the forecasts and assumptions in that arrangement no longer reflected current circumstances. Under Section 65 of the National Gas Rules, AusNet lodged a proposal with the AER on 30 September 2024 to vary our approved access arrangement in response to these policy decisions.

In January 2025, the AER issued a draft decision not to accept our variation proposal. After careful consideration, we wrote to the AER on 14 March 2025 accepting the draft decision, acknowledging the AER’s preference to defer these matters to the next full price review. The AER’s final decision on 14 May 2025 was consistent with its draft decision.

For details of our proposal, the AER’s decisions, and our rationale for accepting them, visit the AER’s website.