The Default Market Offer (DMO) — 2026–27

Who sets it, and where it applies

The DMO is set by the Australian Energy Regulator, the national regulator. It applies in three regions: New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia. Other states and territories set their own standing prices through their own bodies, and Victoria runs a separate scheme of its own.

What it actually is

It's a price cap on default offers, not the price everyone pays. If you've never chosen a plan, or you're on your retailer's basic standing offer, the DMO limits what you can be charged, worked out at a model level of annual usage. Retailers are free to compete below it, and most market offers sit under the DMO. Think of it as a ceiling and a yardstick rather than a set rate.

What changed for 2026-27

The current determination, known as DMO 8, brings two structural changes. The regulator now publishes capped daily supply and usage rates, not only a single annual total, which makes it easier to check a plan line by line rather than on one headline figure. And retailers in DMO regions must now offer the new Solar Sharer Offer, a plan with free electricity in a set midday window.

Why it matters to you

The DMO gives you a quick test of whether your plan is expensive. If your rates sit well above the reference price, you're likely paying too much; if a market offer is below it, that's the direction to look. It's the closest thing to a like-for-like baseline across retailers.

When it changes

The DMO resets every 1 July, alongside the rest of Australia's regulated prices. We re-verify our figures at that reset and date each page so you can see when it was last checked. This is general information, not energy-retail advice.