You’ve just received an electricity bill in your inbox or mailbox. Chances are, you’re only paying attention to the total amount owed and when the bill is due.
What if I told you the secret to savings is hidden in plain sight? That secret is called your retailer’s ‘best offer’. And it’s typically located on the front page of your bill.
What is best offer messaging?
A best offer is the current cheapest offer available to you from your retailer. Best offer (also known as better offer in VIC) messaging informs customers if and how much they could be saving by switching to a cheaper plan from the same provider.
The best offer section must display the name of the plan recommended by your provider, plus an estimated annual savings based on your past electricity usage.
Your provider must also spell out how to switch to this plan.
It’s now mandatory for energy retailers to display this information in one easy-to-read paragraph on the front page of your power bill. Here’s what it typically looks like:
Source: Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, Mar 2026.
How much can I save on a best offer?
According to the 2025 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) inquiry into the electricity market, Aussies could, on average, have saved around $291 yearly on their provider’s best offer.
In fact, for one anonymised retailer, customers could reportedly save $490 by simply switching to the best offer.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that switching to your provider’s best offer is easy. Speaking from personal experience, switching internally to a provider’s a best offer takes as little as two steps.
Because your retailer already has your billing information and your home’s national meter identifier (NMI) on hand, all you have to do is switch to the cheapest plan over the phone or through its online portal.
Your provider will then switch you to its best offer in two to three business days — you won’t have to do anything else.
Are Australians on their providers’ best offer?
The ACCC reports that between 2024 and 2025, 73.3% of Aussies nationwide still weren’t on their retailer’s cheapest plan, despite being provided best offer messaging. A simple explanation for this is that many of us just aren’t reading our electricity bill. Because the better offer messaging is a small section, it could simply be a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment.
Another issue is that the best offer listed by your provider could actually have the same name as your current plan. Because old plan names are frequently repurposed and updated with cheaper rates, customers on the older version of that plan may be misled into thinking that they’re already on the best offer. If a best offer shares the same name as your existing plan, it’s like a newer iteration with cheaper rates.
Will there be changes to the best message offer?
The ACCC inquiry also mentioned several improvements to best offer messaging slated for the near future:
- From October 2026 onwards, the Essential Services Commission (ESC) requires Victorian retailers to have an ‘effective process’ to reduce confusion for customers switching to best offers with the same name as their current plan.
- From September 2026 onward, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) requires best message offers to be written inside an email’s body copy— this ensures Aussies who ignore bills attached to the email are still aware of any better offers.
- From September 2026 onward, Victorian retailers must automatically move customers experiencing payment difficulties onto their best offers.
By reducing the barriers to awareness and switching, staying up-to-date on any best or better offers will be easier than ever before.
Savings don’t wait for anyone
Energy regulators are fighting the good fight, helping equip everyday Aussies with the information they need to make money-savvy energy decisions.
However, one thing hasn’t changed — the onus is on you to switch to the best offer. No one is going to initiate the move on your behalf (unless you’re experiencing payment difficulties).
If you haven’t been reading your previous power bills, there is no better time to start paying close attention to best offer messaging. What’s a few minutes when you’re possibly saving up to $491 annually?
But if you have more time to spare and you’re willing to switch to a plan from a different provider, Canstar’s journey offers a glimpse into some of the cheapest electricity plans from over 20 providers. It pays to proactively compare and shop for energy plans.
