COURSE RESOURCES

Changes to put into practice.

Short, dated briefings linked to lessons—not a separate news feed. Choose a topic, work through the application question and check the official source.

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Reform briefings checked 18 October 2026 · Earlier selections retain their own check dates · Not a live feed

AEMOIn force · NEM

Constraint formulation v14: current changes and conditional provisions

Version 14 updates transmission-loop formulation. Included IPRR text remains conditional on commencement of the relevant provisions; do not apply every included future change early.

Apply it to a decision

Does an effective date on a combined technical document prove every included provision is operating?

Check your reasoning

No. Record the status and commencement of each applicable provision and match the constraint formulation and invocation to the interval.

AEMOImplementation · NEM; location and system condition matter

Very-fast FCAS: verify local requirements, not old universal limits

The ten-service structure includes very-fast raise and lower. Local requirements and transitional limits differ by location, direction and system condition; an old launch limit is not a universal current value.

Apply it to a decision

A model applies the initial 50 MW very-fast limit to every region. What is missing?

Check your reasoning

Check the current official local limit, region, direction, islanding condition, commencement and applicable service specification before using the input.

AEMCIn force · NEM

Dispatch price controls: current settings and a future calculation change

The FY2026–27 MPC is A$23,200/MWh and CPT is A$2,225,900/MWh. A separate made rule changes cumulative-price calculation from 1 November 2028, not at its April 2026 decision date.

Apply it to a decision

Which price-control version belongs in an October 2026 reconstruction?

Check your reasoning

Use the settings and methodology effective for that interval. Keep the November 2028 calculation change in a dated future-rule register; do not apply it early.

AEMOImplementation · NEM system planning

Use the final 2026 ISP, not the earlier webinar as current planning evidence

The final 2026 ISP and its REZ, network-investment and cost-benefit appendices are the baseline for this planning exercise. It is a planning publication, not an individual project's approval.

Apply it to a decision

A project is included in the pathway. What additional evidence is required before assuming delivery?

Check your reasoning

Identify funding, approvals, connection, land access, construction and commissioning dependencies; reconcile current proponent milestones with the planning assumptions.

DCCEEWConsultation · NEM reform proposals

NEM Review: ESEM, market making and price response

The implementation package proposes an Electricity Services Entry Mechanism, a Market Making Obligation and greater visibility of price-responsive resources. Consultation closed on 13 October 2026; the department says proposed law changes will go to ministers in December. These proposals are not an operating revenue entitlement.

Apply it to a decision

An investment model assumes ESEM income from its first operating year. What evidence is missing?

Check your reasoning

Keep an uncontracted proposal out of the committed base case. Record scheme design, eligibility, procurement, contract terms and commencement as unresolved inputs; test potential support separately.

AEMCDraft · NEM; proposed access standards

Large-load connections: technical standards first

Package 2 proposes a revised technical framework for inverter-based loads. A proposed classification threshold is not an exemption from network studies, power-quality obligations or connection assessment. Distinguish a draft design from the applicable rules and project-specific requirements.

Apply it to a decision

A 25 MW facility says a proposed 30 MW large-IBL threshold means it needs no connection studies. Is that a sound approval basis?

Check your reasoning

No. A classification threshold does not establish an exemption. Identify the current instrument, plant classification, connection point, network requirements and applicable technical studies; track the final rule and transition arrangements separately.

AEMCConsultation · NEM; proposed cost recovery

Who pays for the network upgrade?

The consultation examines how data centres and other large loads contribute to network augmentation costs they cause or accelerate. Technical access and cost allocation are separate workstreams: an acceptable design does not settle who funds the upgrade.

Apply it to a decision

An assumed A$40m upgrade has no agreed allocation. The model assigns only 25% to the project. What sensitivity belongs in the investment brief?

Check your reasoning

Show A$10m at the assumed 25% and A$40m at full allocation: A$30m additional exposure. These are invented teaching inputs, not a proposed tariff. Request the applicable framework, network estimate and allocation agreement before committing the base case.

Australian GovernmentIn force · Eligible residential customers in NSW, SA and south-east Queensland

Solar Sharer: compare the whole bill

The optional offer gives eligible households with a smart meter a three-hour daytime free-usage window, capped at 24 kWh a day. It is not a nationwide free-electricity entitlement. Compare supply charges and all other usage periods, not just the zero-price window.

Apply it to a decision

Illustrative offers: A costs A$1/day plus 30c/kWh. B costs A$1.20/day, has a free window and charges 40c/kWh otherwise. With 8 kWh in the free window and 12 kWh outside it, which costs less?

Check your reasoning

A costs 1 + 20 × 0.30 = A$7.00/day. B costs 1.20 + 12 × 0.40 = A$6.00/day. B saves A$1 in this invented example. With only 2 kWh in the window and 18 outside it, B costs A$8.40 and is A$1.40 more expensive. Actual offers require their own terms.

AEMCImplementation · NEM wholesale settlements

Settlement timing is not the dispatch interval

The final rule shortens payment timing from 20 to nine business days after a billing period, subject to the final-statement timing provision. It provides a transition window from 9 August to 17 October 2026. Use AEMO's actual settlement calendar; this does not change the five-minute dispatch interval.

Apply it to a decision

Does a shorter payment cycle mean every participant's guarantee falls in the same proportion?

Check your reasoning

No. Payment timing, statement revisions, exposure estimates and prudential calculations are distinct. Rebuild the cash calendar and apply the current methodology; do not scale a guarantee simply by 9/20.

ASICIn force · Australian entities meeting statutory reporting criteria

Climate disclosure: identify the reporting entity

Mandatory sustainability reporting is phased by entity eligibility and financial-year start. Group 1 starts from 1 January 2025, Group 2 from 1 July 2026 and Group 3 from 1 July 2027. AASB S2 disclosure is not interchangeable with NGER emissions reporting.

Apply it to a decision

A business says every energy asset must lodge a sustainability report from July 2026. What should you check?

Check your reasoning

Identify the reporting entity, financial-reporting obligations, eligibility thresholds, cohort and financial-year start. Then establish consolidation and disclosure boundaries. An asset's emissions inventory alone does not determine the entity's reporting obligation.

Earlier briefings

AERImplementation timing

One delayed publication does not move every deadline

The AER's September notice separates final guideline publication from rule commencement. Use it to practise keeping different obligations and dates in separate records.

Try it in your analysis

Build a register with the instrument, status, effective date and action owner. Check subsequent publications before using the example at work.

AEMOPlanning forecast

Data centres: separate annual energy from connection capacity

The 2026 ESOO Step Change scenario projects NEM data-centre consumption rising from 5 TWh in 2025–26 to 34 TWh in 2035–36. These are annual energy forecasts—not committed projects or guaranteed peak load.

Try it in your analysis

Convert 34 TWh/year to average MW using an explicit 8,760-hour teaching year. Explain why this cannot establish an individual site's peak connection requirement.

AEMC Reliability PanelReview recommendations

Future reliability settings belong in a labelled scenario

The Panel's 2026 final review recommends settings for July 2028–June 2032. A final review report is not, by itself, evidence of the rule in force today.

Try it in your analysis

Keep the current governing instrument in the base case. Record a separate future scenario and the decision or commencement that would trigger a revision.

HOW WE MAINTAIN THE MATERIAL

Evidence before an update.

Source discovery, link checks and editorial decisions are different tasks. A new headline does not automatically change a lesson or a correct answer.

DetectCheck official publications and catalogue links; record the date and response.
ReviewVerify jurisdiction, version, commencement and relevance. Recalculate affected examples.
ReleaseTest the revised lesson and assessment before publication. Keep dated sources visible.

What a resource check can tell you

A successful HTTP response confirms a response at the time of the check—not permanent availability, correct content or playable video. Some official sites restrict automated checks. Those results need a browser review, not an automatic “broken” label.

Videos remain on their original providers. Embedding, captions, geographical restrictions and access conditions can change. Use the player's fallback link if necessary; the written lesson remains available.

These briefings are dated editorial selections. Automated checks can support review; they do not publish new regulatory interpretations or assessment answers without review.

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