Origin Energy Faces Court Over Alleged Centrepay Overcharging Scandal
There’s a major legal battle unfolding right now in Australia’s energy sector, and it centres on Origin Energy and allegations that thousands of vulnerable customers were wrongly charged millions of dollars over several years. The Australian Energy Regulator, or AER, has taken Origin to court, claiming the company breached energy laws more than 77,000 times by continuing to take payments from former customers who no longer owed any money.
According to the regulator, this all happened through Centrepay, a government-run bill payment system that allows people on Centrelink to have essential bills like energy automatically deducted from their welfare payments. Between December 2019 and March 2025, it’s alleged that more than 3,400 former Origin customers were still being charged even after their energy accounts had been closed and fully paid off. Altogether, around $2.5 million was allegedly taken, with one individual reportedly overcharged by as much as $11,000.
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What makes this case particularly serious is the type of customers affected. The AER has said many of the people caught up in this were already experiencing financial hardship. These were welfare recipients who rely on every dollar to cover basics like food, rent, and electricity. It’s been alleged that Origin failed to notify customers that they were being overcharged and also failed to refund the money within the strict timeframes required under national energy rules.
The regulator has also claimed that Origin was aware of weaknesses in its payment systems years earlier, as far back as 2017, but did not put sufficient safeguards in place to prevent the problem from continuing. This has led the AER to describe the conduct as especially concerning, given the scale of the overcharging and the vulnerability of the customers involved.
Origin Energy has acknowledged the issue and said it regrets what happened. The company has stated that it self-reported Centrepay overpayments to Services Australia in 2021 and worked with the agency to return money to affected customers. It has also said that its systems have since been improved to better manage Centrepay deductions.
Despite the legal action, Origin’s market value has reportedly risen, but the court case could still result in significant penalties. The AER is seeking fines, customer compensation, legal costs, and court-ordered compliance measures, including an independently reviewed compliance program.
This case also comes against the backdrop of broader concerns about Centrepay, which has faced criticism in recent years for being misused by businesses at the expense of vulnerable Australians. Reforms have already been introduced, but this lawsuit highlights how serious the consequences can be when safeguards fail.
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