Origin Energy will refund more than $270,000 to over 4,500 customers after an ACCC investigation into its "Ongoing Saver" residential electricity plan, the regulator announced on 14 July. The short version: the plan's terms and bills suggested charges would stay lower than Origin's "Basic" plan for the life of the plan, but some customers ended up paying more than they would have on Basic. Affected customers will receive about $60 on average.
You do not need to do anything to claim it. Origin will contact affected customers directly. Current customers can choose between a refund and a bill credit; former customers will be contacted about a refund. If you were on an Ongoing Saver plan, keep an eye on your inbox and your bill.
What went wrong
According to the ACCC, statements in the Ongoing Saver plan's terms and conditions and on customer bills represented that charges would be lower than on the Basic plan. In practice that was not always true. Origin does not admit it breached the Australian Consumer Law, but has committed to the refunds, will discontinue the Ongoing Saver plan, and will no longer use plan names that suggest savings unless those savings are actually built into the plan. The ACCC has resolved the matter administratively without further enforcement action.
The investigation grew out of a designated complaint lodged by CHOICE in May 2025 about energy retailers falsely representing savings or value on certain plans, and the ACCC says this resolution concludes its actions on that complaint.
Watch out for scammers
The ACCC has attached an unusually prominent scam warning to this announcement. Scammers are known to use compensation news like this to make fake calls, emails and texts look real. Legitimate communications from Origin will not ask for your credit card or banking details. If anyone contacts you about this refund and asks for payment details, hang up and contact Origin on a number you source yourself.
Our take
A $60 average refund is not the story here. The story is that a plan literally named "Ongoing Saver" could cost more than the retailer's own no-frills plan, and it took a regulator to surface it. Plan names, discount percentages and "savings" claims are marketing, not maths. The only numbers that matter are your actual usage and supply rates against what else is available at your address. If your plan has a reassuring name and you have not compared it against the market in the past year, treat that name with suspicion.
What to do
Whether or not you are an Origin customer, the ACCC's own advice is worth acting on: compare your current rates on the government sites (Energy Made Easy for NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania and the ACT, or Victorian Energy Compare for Victoria), and check your bill for the better-offer notice retailers must show every 100 days (every four months in Victoria). Concession card holders should also confirm they are receiving every rebate they are entitled to.
Source: ACCC media release 80/26, "Origin Energy to refund customers after ACCC investigation", 14 July 2026.
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