ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference

2025 Regulatory Conference dates

The conference will be held in person on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 August 2025.

It will be at the W Hotel Brisbane.

Theme

This year’s theme will be 'Regulation in 2025: The need for speed, or a call for caution?'

Our 2 days of panels will cover these topics.

Interoperability: a silver bullet for digital markets?
Regulating access to non-physical infrastructure
Managing competition and supporting innovation, reliability and affordability in the energy transition
The future of gas in Australia
Regulating ‘essential services’ facing uncertainty
Data sharing, AI and privacy in energy markets.

Register now

Purchase your tickets to Regulatory Conference 2025 now!

W Hotel Brisbane special accommodation rate available to conference attendees before Sunday 6 July 2025.

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Confirmed speakers

Margrethe Vestager

Margrethe Vestager is a former Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age (2019-2024) and European Commissioner for Competition (2014-2024).

Globally renowned for her decisive leadership at the heart of Europe’s regulatory landscape, she claimed significant legal victories against tech giants and reshaped the digital regulatory framework in Europe through the passage of the Digital Markets Act.

She previously served as Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior (2011-2014) and Minister for Education (1998-2001) of Denmark, and as President of the ECOFIN Council (2012). She was political leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party (2007-2014) and has worked for the Danish Ministry of Finance (1993-95). Ms. Vestager holds an MSc in Economics (University of Copenhagen).

Professor Martin Cave OBE

Professor Martin Cave is an economist specialising in competition law and the regulation of networks, particularly communications. He has held professorial positions at Brunel University, Warwick Business School and the London school of Economics.

He was chair of the GB energy regulator, Ofgem, from 2018 to 2023, and an inquiry chair at the UK Competition and Markets Authority from 2012 to 2018.

Professor Cave is the co-author of several books in the regulation field, including 'Taming the Corporation – How to Regulate for Success', Oxford University Press, 2021; 'Spectrum Management', 2015; and 'Understanding Regulation', 2025. He has advised regulators and other public bodies in several countries throughout the world.

Sarah Court

Sarah Court commenced as ASIC Deputy Chair on 1 June 2021.

Prior to joining ASIC, Sarah was a Commissioner at the ACCC for three terms from May 2008 to May 2021. At the ACCC Sarah led the Commission’s enforcement and investigation work, and contributed extensively to strategic priority setting, statutory decision-making and leadership across the agency on a range of complex economy-wide legal and economic issues.

Prior to her time at the ACCC Sarah was a Senior Executive Lawyer and Director at the Australian Government Solicitor where she led national teams in government litigation including restrictive trade practices, competition and consumer law, administrative law, employment law and law enforcement litigation.

Sarah has held board positions with the Law School and Centre for Regulation and Market Analysis at the University of South Australia.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr Philip Lewis

Dr Philip Lewis is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Finland’s VaasaETT, an energy consultancy providing complex energy market analytics across six continents, based on advanced data science.

Dr Lewis has 24 years of experience supporting consumer focused competition, new business models and energy transition across over 100 energy markets. High-level public projects have included director of the European Commission’s project identifying barriers to entry in all European markets (2021); lead consultant in the Nordic regulators’ review of market barriers; consultant in the ACCC review of prices and competition (2018); the world’s largest global stocktake of renewable integration projects for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA); leader of two national competition reviews for the Finnish Government; and participating in over two dozen other projects for State and National Governments, the European Commission and national and European authorities.

He is also a member of the E.DSO (European Distribution System Operators) Stakeholder and Innovation Council, founder and director of Traxis Group and co-founder of Smart Energy Europe (smartEn). He a former member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Electricity and the source of Europe's first official definition of energy customer switching.

Other confirmed speakers

Vanessa Beenders – Executive General Manager, Public Policy and Professionalism, Actuaries Institute
Jacqueline Downes – Partner, Practice Group Leader, Competition, Consumer and Regulatory, Allens
Sally McMahon – Commissioner, Australian Energy Market Commission
Danielle Beinart – Executive General Manager, Networks and Technical, Australian Energy Market Commission
Steve Davies – Chief Executive Officer, Australian Pipelines and Gas Association
Anna Barker – Assistant Secretary, Competition Taskforce, the Commonwealth Treasury
Alison Reeve – Energy and Climate Change Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute
Dominique van den Berg – Chief Executive, Energy Networks Australia
Andrew Richards – Chief Executive Officer, Energy Users Association of Australia
Catherine Wolthuizen – Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria
Simon Corden – Chair, Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria
Gerard Brody – Chair, Essential Services Commission
Dale Yeats – Senior Economist, Houston Kemp
Sandra Gamble – Chair, Marinus Link
Dr Kari Dahlgren – ARC DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Monash University
Dr Will Taylor – Managing Director, NERA (New Zealand)
James Plunkett – former Chief Practices Officer, Nesta (UK)
Ellis Connolly – Head of Payments Policy, Reserve Bank of Australia
Cameron Shields – Head of Regulation, Sydney Desalination Plant
Damian Kassabgi – Chief Executive Officer, Tech Council of Australia
Prof. Jeannie Marie Paterson – Director, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, University of Melbourne
Prof. Andrew Pitman AO – Climate Change Research Centre, University of NSW
Dr Christopher Decker – Research Fellow, University of Oxford (UK)
Dr Ian Oppermann – Commonwealth Data Standards Chair, Co-founder ServiceGen, Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney.

Draft conference program

Day 1


Time	Session details	Speakers
8.55 am	Welcome to Country	Songwoman Maroochy Barambah
9.05 am	Opening address	AER Chair Clare Savage
9.25 am	What is infrastructure?	Chair: Sarah Proudfoot – CEO, ACCC Keynote address: Prof. Martin Cave – London School of Economics (UK) Discussant: Simon Corden – Chair, Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria
10.20 am	Morning tea
10.45 am	Interoperability: a silver bullet for digital markets?	Chair: Gina Cass-Gottlieb – Chair, ACCC Keynote presentation: Margrethe Vestager – World Leaders Fellow, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford; former Executive Vice President, European Commission (Denmark) Speakers: Jacqueline Downes – Partner, Practice Group Leader, Competition, Consumer and Regulatory, Allens Damian Kassabgi – Chief Executive Officer, Tech Council of Australia Ellis Connolly – Head of Payments Policy, Reserve Bank of Australia
11.45 am	Pits and pipes to bits and bytes: regulating access to non-physical infrastructure	Chair: Anna Brakey – Commissioner, ACCC Speakers: Sarah Court – Deputy Chair, Australian Securities and Investment Commission Dale Yeats – Senior Economist, Houston Kemp Anna Barker – Assistant Secretary, Competition Taskforce, the Commonwealth Treasury
12.30 pm	Lunch
1.30 pm	Supporting innovation, reliability and affordability in the energy transition	Chair: Lynne Gallagher – Board Member, AER Speakers: Dr Philip Lewis – CEO, VaasaETT (Finland) Danielle Beinart – Executive General Manager, Networks and Technical, Australian Energy Market Commission Alison Reeve – Energy and Climate Change Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute Dr Kari Dahlgren – ARC DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Monash University
2.15 pm	Short term gain, long term pain: lower bills in economic regulation	Chair: Catriona Lowe – Deputy Chair, ACCC Speakers: Gerard Brody – Chair, Essential Services Commission Sandra Gamble – Chair, Marinus Link Cameron Shields – Head of Regulation, Sydney Desalination Plant Sally McMahon – Commissioner, Australian Energy Market Commission
3.00 pm	Afternoon tea
3.30 pm	Data sharing, AI and privacy in energy markets	Chair: Jarrod Ball – Board Member, AER Speakers: James Plunkett – formerly Chief Practices Officer, Nesta (UK) Prof. Jeannie Marie Paterson – Director, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, University of Melbourne Dr Ian Oppermann – Commonwealth Data Standards Chair, Co-founder ServiceGen, Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney
4.15 pm	Getting to net zero – does speed trump competition?	Chair: Tim Jordan – Commissioner, Australian Energy Market Commission Speakers: Prof. Andrew Pitman AO – Climate Change Research Centre, University of NSW Dr Will Taylor – Managing Director, NERA (New Zealand) Dominique van den Berg – Chief Executive, Energy Networks Australia Justin Oliver – Board Member, AER
5.00 pm	Day 1 close
6.30 pm	Drinks and canapes
7.00 pm	Dinner welcome	Sarah Proudfoot – CEO, ACCC

Day 2

Time	Session details	Speakers
9.00 am	The future of gas in Australia	Chair: Matt Garbutt, Executive General Manager, Strategic Communications, Engagement, Compliance, Enforcement and Surveillance, AER Speakers: Steve Davies – Chief Executive Officer, Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Andrew Richards – Chief Executive Officer, EUAA Catherine Wolthuizen – Energy and Water Ombudsman, Victoria
10.00 am	International interview
10.30 am	Morning tea
11.00 am	Sticking the landing: regulating essential services during uncertainty	Chair: Nicole Ross – Executive General Manager, Infrastructure Division, ACCC Speakers: Vanessa Beenders – Executive General Manager, Public Policy and Professionalism, Actuaries Institute Dr Christopher Decker – Research Fellow, University of Oxford (UK) Kate Symons – Board Member, AER
11.45 am	The Great Debate
12.15 pm	Closing address	ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb
12.30 pm	Close of conference and lunch

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