Australia’s Albanese government launched the Solar Sharer scheme on July 1, 2026, requiring power retailers to provide customers with three hours of free electricity each day from 11am to 2pm. Retailers must keep prices in the rest of the day within regulated caps, but rates outside the free window have typically increased as a result. Several retailers have warned some households could end up with higher overall bills, particularly if they cannot significantly shift their electricity use. The mandatory reform applies in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia, with Victoria set to start a similar scheme in October.

Australia’s federal government is preparing sweeping regulatory reforms that would require PwC, KPMG and other global firms to structurally separate their audit and consulting operations and restrict offering both services to the same client. The proposals also include a 400-partner cap, shorter audit tenures and stronger enforcement powers for ASIC. The overhaul follows KPMG’s recent confidential-data misuse scandal and PwC’s tax information leak, and is aimed at restoring trust in the sector.