The Regional Energy Accord is a new national effort that draws on regional knowledge, experience and leadership to shape how the transition unfolds and shares in the benefits.

The Regional Energy Accord is not another consultation. It’s a shared agreement built from the ground up, with regional expertise and collaboration leading the way. It sets out clear principles and practical steps for how energy organisations, governments, communities and others committed can work together.

It’s voluntary, place-based, and driven by the regions that are already doing the hard work of the transition.

This isn’t about more meetings and more documents. It’s about shared commitments, local leadership, and a practical way to do things differently, and better.

 FAQs

  • Regional Australia is carrying the load of the nation’s energy transition, hosting the infrastructure, navigating the impacts and doing the groundwork for the nation's energy transition. This work also unlocks opportunities: to strengthen local economies, create new industries, and build community resilience. But too often, projects happen to local communities, not with them. The Accord changes that. It starts with listening, not answers, and it’s about putting local people and knowledge at the centre of shaping how change happens.

    Together, we can build thriving, resilient regional communities that are active partners in Australia’s renewable energy future. With an estimated $1.9 billion in benefits by 2050:Billions in the Bush Report, the Accord can offer a clear pathway to foster partnership, prosperity, innovation and pride in regional Australia through collaborative commitments. 

  • The Regional Energy Accord is not business as usual and not just focused on the immediate here and now. It’s a new way of working, shaped by and for regional Australia.

    It starts local, guided by trusted regional leadership and experience, and builds on what’s already happening, not duplicating or overriding it. It recognises the diversity of communities, rejecting one-size-fits-all approaches in favour of locally grounded solutions. It's about understanding what is happening locally, building on it and taking that to a bigger systems view of the future.

    This is about shared vision and shared responsibility. A real opportunity to align, act and build trust, together, with outcomes that can guide the energy transition nationally, from the ground up.

  • We’re beginning in Gippsland, the Wimmera Southern Mallee and North East Victoria, regions with lived experience, practical insights and a desire to lead. Each roundtable is shaped with and by local knowledge, grounded in the region’s realities and built to reflect the hard-won lessons and shared aspirations. These are not talkfests. They’re working sessions where people walk away knowing they’ve contributed to something that will be used and felt.

  • If you're participating in a roundtable:

    • You’ll be in a room with respected leaders from across the region, agriculture, education, health, First Nations, industry, local government and more.

    • You’ll help identify what matters most for the region, and what needs to change.

    • Your input will directly shape the first version of the Regional Energy Accord, a tool built to reflect the values and priorities of the region.

    • You’ll be part of something bigger, a national shift toward doing transition differently.

The Energy Charter is supporting this process. It’s a CEO-led collaboration of energy organisations across Australia: from generation to transmission, distribution to retail. The Energy Charter’s purpose is clear: better outcomes for consumers and communities. The Accord is how they’re showing up differently: by listening, aligning, and acting on what regional Australia says matters most.

To manage the project at a national level, the Energy Charter has established a number of key governance mechanisms: 

  • The Community Outcomes Group include trusted local leaders from agriculture, First Nations, community, and government who stay involved beyond roundtables to turn words into action.

  • Industry Impact Group brings energy sector leaders to the table to align strategy, investment, and delivery with what communities say matters.

  • CEO Council ensures the sector’s top decision-makers listen to regional knowledge and lead internal change.

All of this is backed by independent facilitation, ensuring the process builds trust and genuine collaboration.