Can I refuse a smart meter, and will it force me onto a time-of-use tariff? Meter yes, tariff hike no — unless you agree to it.
The scare-web frames it as one thing: smart meter equals forced onto time-of-use equals a bigger bill. It isn’t one thing. Under the AEMC’s accelerated rollout the meter is now effectively mandatory — you generally can’t refuse it when your retailer arranges the swap. But the meter and the tariff are separate decisions: for two years after install your retailer cannot change your tariff structure without your explicit informed consent, and there’s no upfront charge when the retailer initiates the swap. Here’s the consent line to hold, and how to spot an unconsented switch on your next bill.
Reviewed by the Mission Green Energy Team · Updated July 2026
The meter is mandatory.
The tariff change is not.
Two different things get bundled into one scary sentence. Pull them apart and the honest picture is calmer than the ads.
Here’s the honest frame. Australia’s market bodies have decided that every customer on the National Electricity Market should have a smart meter by 2030, with the accelerated rollout running from 1 December 2025, with universal smart-meter deployment targeted by 2030. In practice that means you generally can’t refuse the meter when your retailer arranges the swap — and if your old meter is faulty or at the end of its working life, there’s no opt-out at all. So on the hardware, the scare-web is basically right: the meter is coming.
But the meter is not the tariff. A smart meter simply measures your usage in intervals; it doesn’t change what you pay on its own. The reform that mandates the meter also builds in a customer safeguard: for two years after installation, your retailer cannot move you to a new tariff structure — including time-of-use — without your explicit, informed consent. So the honest verdict is: meter yes, tariff hike no, unless you agree to it. If you’re weighing whether a time-of-use plan would actually cost you more, start with our plain-English guide to time-of-use vs flat vs demand tariffs.
Why you can't refuse
the meter itself.
The opt-out most people remember has been narrowed almost to nothing. Here's what actually changed and when.
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) — the body that writes the market rules — finalised a reform to accelerate the smart meter rollout, with changes phased in progressively from December 2024 through to July 2026 and the accelerated deployment commencing in December 2025. The stated goal is an efficient rollout of smart meters to all customers by 2030.
The practical effect for you: the old ability to simply say ‘no thanks’ to a smart meter has effectively been removed. You generally cannot refuse installation when your retailer arranges it, and a meter being exchanged because it’s faulty or at the end of its asset life cannot be opted out of either. There are narrow exceptions — some retailer-led programs may still handle timing or opt-outs differently — so it’s fair to say you generally can’t refuse, rather than never. If you’re contacted about a swap, the honest move isn’t to fight the meter; it’s to protect the tariff, which is the part that actually touches your bill.
The two-year consent rule
— and the line to hold.
This is the safeguard the fear-marketing skips. It doesn't ban a tariff change; it puts you in control of one.
Two years, your consent
For two years after your smart meter is installed, your retailer cannot move you onto a new tariff structure without your explicit, informed consent. It’s not an absolute ban — you can still choose to switch if it suits you — but they can’t do it silently or by default. The line to hold is simple: ‘I do not consent to a tariff-structure change.’
They must show the maths
Once that period ends, a retailer wanting to change your tariff has to first give you historical bill comparisons — what your bills would have been under the new tariff — plus practical information on understanding and managing your usage. You get to see the actual impact on your own consumption before anything changes.
A flat-tariff option may exist
The rules also let jurisdictions require designated retailers to offer a flat (non-time-of-use) tariff option to smart-meter customers. It’s not an automatic guarantee for every household — availability depends on your state or territory — so ask your retailer directly whether a flat option is on the table for you.
No upfront charge —
but not literally free.
The reform kills the sting of an install fee. It doesn't mean the meter costs your household nothing, ever.
One genuine win in the reform: it prohibits any upfront costs ahead of a smart meter installation when the retailer initiates the swap. So the old worry — a surprise several-hundred-dollar install bill landing on your doorstep — is off the table for a retailer-arranged rollout.
Be careful with the word ‘free’, though, because that’s where marketing on both sides gets loose. Metering isn’t a gift: networks and retailers still recover the cost of meters over time, through ongoing network and metering charges on your bill. The rule removes the upfront hit, not the long-run cost. That’s not a scandal — it’s how metering has always been funded — but anyone promising a smart meter is ‘completely free forever’ is overselling it.
How to spot an
unconsented tariff switch.
Your next bill is where a quiet time-of-use switch shows up. Three things to look at before you assume it's fine.
Read the tariff line
Find the tariff or plan name on your bill and the usage charges beneath it. A flat (single-rate) tariff shows one price per kilowatt-hour. A time-of-use tariff shows different rates for peak, shoulder and off-peak periods, usually with time bands listed. If the structure changed, it’ll show here.
Check for time bands
Look for named periods — ‘peak’, ‘off-peak’, ‘shoulder’ — and clock times against them. Their sudden appearance after a meter swap is the tell-tale sign your plan moved from flat to time-of-use. A demand charge (a separate fee based on your highest half-hour) is another structure worth spotting.
Ask: did I consent?
If the structure changed within two years of your meter going in and you don’t recall agreeing, call your retailer and ask them to show your explicit consent to the tariff change. If they can’t, ask to be returned to your previous structure — and if that stalls, the energy ombudsman in your state handles tariff and billing disputes.
When time-of-use
actually helps you.
The honest part the panic leaves out: for some households a time-of-use tariff is cheaper. It depends on when you use power.
Time-of-use is not automatically the villain. It charges more at peak (typically late afternoon and evening) and less off-peak (overnight and often the middle of the day). Whether that helps or hurts is entirely about when your household uses electricity.
It tends to help if you can shift big loads — dishwasher, washing, pool pump, hot water, EV charging — into off-peak or solar-soak windows, or if you have solar or a battery quietly covering your expensive evening peak. It tends to hurt if your heaviest use lands in the peak window and you can’t move it — a household home all evening running aircon, cooking and screens at 6pm. If you own an EV, the off-peak rate can be a genuine saving; our guide to the cheapest way to charge an EV at home walks through the numbers. And if your bill jumped after going solar, the tariff structure is often the real culprit — see why your power bill went up after solar.
The point isn’t ‘always refuse time-of-use’. It’s ‘don’t get moved onto it without seeing whether it costs you more’ — which, thanks to the bill-comparison rule, is exactly what you’re entitled to ask for.
So — fight the meter,
or guard the tariff?
Here's the call we'd give a friend who just got the smart-meter letter.
Don’t waste energy fighting the meter. Under the accelerated rollout you generally can’t refuse it, there’s no upfront charge when your retailer arranges it, and the interval data is genuinely useful. Do guard the tariff. When the swap happens, tell your retailer in writing that you do not consent to any tariff-structure change — that keeps you on your current plan, and the two-year safeguard is on your side. Then decide time-of-use on the maths, not the meter. If a retailer wants to move you after the window, they must show you what your own past bills would have looked like on the new tariff; make them. If you can shift load or you have solar and a battery, time-of-use might genuinely save you money — if you can’t, ask whether a flat-tariff option is available in your state. What we’d urge against is letting ‘the meter forces you onto time-of-use’ scare you into either fighting an unavoidable install or accepting a tariff you never actually agreed to.
Smart meters and time-of-use tariffs
— your questions, answered.
Generally, no. Under the accelerated rollout, which runs from December 2025 to November 2030 and targets every customer by 2030, you generally cannot refuse a smart meter when your retailer arranges the installation. If your old meter is faulty or at the end of its working life, there is no opt-out at all. There are narrow exceptions, and some retailer-led programs may handle timing differently, so it is more accurate to say you generally cannot refuse rather than never. The honest move is not to fight the meter, which is largely unavoidable, but to protect your tariff, since the tariff is the part that actually affects what you pay.
No. A smart meter measures your usage in intervals but does not change your tariff on its own. The reform that mandates the meter also protects you: for two years after installation, your retailer cannot move you to a new tariff structure, including time-of-use, without your explicit, informed consent. It is not an absolute ban, because you can still choose to switch if it suits you, but they cannot do it silently or by default. If a retailer claims the meter swap automatically switches your tariff, ask them to point to your written consent for the tariff change, separate from the meter installation.
The reform prohibits any upfront costs ahead of a smart meter installation when your retailer initiates the swap, so you should not face a surprise install fee. That is a genuine protection. However, the meter is not literally free forever. Networks and retailers still recover the cost of meters over time through ongoing network and metering charges on your bill, which is how metering has always been funded. So the honest position is no upfront charge, not zero long-run cost. Anyone promising a smart meter is completely free is overselling it. Confirm the specifics for your connection with your retailer or the Australian Energy Regulator.
Once the two-year safeguard ends, a retailer that wants to change your tariff must first give you historical bill comparisons showing what your bills would have been under the new tariff, plus practical information on understanding and managing your electricity usage. In other words, they have to show you the real impact on your own consumption before anything changes. That protection is useful: it means you can judge a proposed time-of-use tariff on your actual usage rather than a sales pitch. If the comparison shows you would pay more and you cannot shift your usage, you are entitled to ask about staying on a flat tariff where your jurisdiction requires one to be offered.
Possibly, but it is not an automatic guarantee for every household. The rules enable jurisdictions to require designated retailers to offer a flat, non-time-of-use tariff option to customers with smart meters. Whether that option is available to you depends on your state or territory and your retailer. The practical step is to ask your retailer directly whether a flat-rate option is on the table for your connection. During the two-year safeguard after installation you cannot be moved off your existing structure without your explicit consent anyway, so you have time to explore your options rather than being rushed onto time-of-use.
No, it depends entirely on when your household uses electricity. Time-of-use charges more during peak periods, typically late afternoon and evening, and less off-peak, usually overnight and often the middle of the day. It tends to help if you can shift big loads like the dishwasher, washing, hot water or EV charging into off-peak or solar windows, or if solar and a battery cover your evening peak. It tends to hurt if your heaviest use lands in the peak window and you cannot move it. The honest rule is not to always refuse time-of-use, but to avoid being moved onto it without first seeing whether it would cost you more.
Where these figures come from.
This guide draws on primary sources from Australia's energy market bodies, current as at 2026. Rollout rules were still phasing in through mid-2026 and details vary by jurisdiction, so confirm at the source before relying on a figure.
- AEMC — final smart meter reform (two-year consent, no upfront cost, flat-tariff option, 2030 target)
- AER — Consumer rights and smart meters (rollout mechanics, opt-out position, protections)
- AEMC — Accelerating smart meter deployment rule change (final determination and rules)
- AER — Guidance to retailers: notice to small customers on new meter installation