Default market offer: what it is and what changes in 2026–27
The default market offer (DMO) is the most a retailer can charge households on a standing offer in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. Victoria has its own version, the VDO.
Why the default market offer is a ceiling, not a good price
The DMO sets the highest price a retailer may charge on a standing offer. It doesn't tell you what a fair price is for your home, and plenty of plans sit below it.
A standing offer is the plan you're on if you never chose one, for example after moving in without picking a plan. In DMO regions its price can't go above the cap.
A market offer is a plan you signed up for. The retailer sets the price, and it can add discounts, conditions or a fixed term.
Being under the cap only means a price is allowed. To know if it's good for you, look at the yearly cost at your own usage, including supply charges and GST.
How to read your electricity bill
How we check a plan against the default for you
The cap tells you the most you could pay on a standing offer. These free tools and guides show what you would actually pay, as one yearly figure in dollars.
Yearly cost, not cents per kWh
Our electricity comparison works out an estimated yearly cost for each published plan at your postcode, including GST, supply charges and usage. Plan data comes from the Consumer Data Right feed and is checked every 24 hours.
See Yearly cost, not cents per
Discounts you might miss stay out
Pay on time and direct debit discounts are left out of the yearly cost unless you tick that you always meet them. Each plan still shows its cost if every condition is met.
See Discounts you might miss stay
Every price change, dated
Our price change tracker records each change to a plan's price with the old value, the new value and the date, so you can see exactly what moved on 1 July.
Alerts after you compare
Save your plan in a free My Household account and we email you when its price changes or a cheaper match appears. Free covers one household and five alerts.
From the 2019 reference price to your next bill
The order matters here. The advertising rule came first, then this year's decisions, then the date the new default prices take effect.
One reference price in ads
Retailers in DMO regions must state their prices against the same reference price when they advertise. That gives you one fixed point to measure every advertised plan against.
The AER sets the DMO
The Australian Energy Regulator decides the maximum standing offer price for households in New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia.
ESC final decision on the VDO
The Essential Services Commission set the 2026–27 VDO. A household on a flat tariff using 4,000 kWh a year pays (5%) less than in 2025–26, down from to.
New default prices apply
Under the AER's 2026–27 final determination, residential flat-rate standing offer prices fall 3.4% to 5.0% in NSW, depending on network area, and 7.2% in South East Queensland. They rise 1.4% in South Australia.
Check your own plan
On a market offer your retailer sets your price, so the default change doesn't decide it. Compare your yearly cost against the plans published for your postcode.
Results are ordered by estimated cost at your usage. Payments from providers never change the order, and any sponsored placement is labelled.
Questions about the DMO, the VDO and your bill
See the better offer message explained
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the default market offer?
- The default market offer (DMO) is the maximum price a retailer can charge households on a standing offer in New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia. The Australian Energy Regulator sets it each year. It's a ceiling for standing offers, not a recommended price.
- What's the difference between a standing offer and a market offer?
- A standing offer is the default plan you're on if you haven't chosen one. A market offer is a plan you picked, priced by the retailer and often with discounts, conditions or a contract term. The DMO caps standing offers only.
- Will my bill go down on 1 July 2026?
- Only if your price follows the default. The AER's 2026–27 changes apply to residential flat-rate standing offers, and the VDO change applies in Victoria. On a market offer your retailer sets the price, so check its price change notice or compare plans.
- Where does the DMO apply?
- The DMO applies in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. Victoria has the VDO. Our comparison covers those states plus Tasmania and the ACT, but not WA or the NT, because retailers there don't publish plans through the national feed.
- Is the Victorian Default Offer the same thing?
- It plays the same role in Victoria. The Essential Services Commission sets the VDO, rather than the AER, and it limits what Victorian households on a standing offer can be charged. Like the DMO, it's an upper limit, so a market offer can cost less.
- How does the reference price help when I read an energy ad?
- Retailers in DMO regions have to state advertised prices against the same reference price. So when two ads quote a percentage below it, they're measuring from the same starting point. That still won't tell you the yearly cost at your own usage.
- Where do the 2026–27 figures on this page come from?
- The NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia changes come from the AER's default market offer final determination for 2026–27 at aer.gov.au. The Victorian figures come from the ESC's Victorian Default Offer price review 2026–27, final decision of 20 May 2026, at esc.vic.gov.au.
See how your plan sits against the 2026–27 prices.
Standing offer prices moved on 1 July 2026. Have your latest bill handy and find out, in dollars a year, whether a plan published for your postcode costs less than the one you're on.
Free. No sign-up to compare.