National Electricity Rules (NER) Chapter 5 Fees apply for Powerlink to prepare a response to a connection enquiry, initial response to an application to connect, and make an offer to connect, and other services. Powerlink’s fees for these services, are set out in the financial section on our network connections webpage.

The below Terms and Conditions are effective for any new connection enquiry or application to connect from 1 April 2025.

Powerlink reserves the right to review and amend the fees at any time without notice.

Connection Process Terms and Conditions

For the purposes of these terms and conditions, a 'Customer' is an entity that submits a Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect to Powerlink under the National Electricity Rules, and capitalised terms that are not defined in these terms and conditions have the meaning given to them in the National Electricity Rules.

By paying any of the above fees in Table 1, Customers will be taken to have agreed to the following terms and conditions:

  1. Acknowledgement and Agreement

    The Customer acknowledges and agrees that:
    the lodgement of the Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect does not in any way confer any priority to the
    1. Customer in relation to the proposed new connection or modification of an existing connection;
    2. key connection information provided by the Customer will be provided to AEMO in accordance with the Rules and that AEMO must publish certain information as set out in the Rules and the Generation Information Guideline;
    3. Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry response and discussions regarding the same and the Application to Connect are not binding on Powerlink; and
    4. any alteration to the information provided by the Customer in a Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect may result in a change in Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry response or work required to prepare an Offer to Connect. Where the alteration to the information results in a change in:
      1. Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry response; or
      2. the work required by Powerlink to prepare an Offer to Connect, 
        then:
      3. for a Connection Enquiry response, the Customer must submit a new Connection Enquiry unless Powerlink determines in its absolute discretion that the existing Connection Enquiry may be amended but provided that the Customer must pay any additional fees advised by Powerlink within 10 business days; or
      4. for the work required by Powerlink to prepare an Offer to Connect, Powerlink may require the payment of an additional fee as determined by Powerlink acting reasonably before processing that Application to Connect. If the additional fee is not paid within a period of 10 business days from the invoice of the fee from Powerlink then Powerlink is not required to perform any work in response to the changes and the Customer will be required to submit a new Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect (as applicable) for the changed circumstances. 
         
  2. Changes to Connection
     
    1. The Customer acknowledges and agrees that the feasibility of the proposed new Connection or modification of an existing Connection is subject to any:
      1. change in law (including the Rules or declaration of renewable energy zones by regulation under Queensland legislation) that impacts the proposed new Connection or modification of an existing Connection;
      2. change in Powerlink’s Transmission Network requirements, including the proposed use of Powerlink assets; or
      3. new Connections becoming committed which impact on the proposed new Connection or modification of an existing Connection.
    2. If any one or more of the events listed in clause 2(a) occur, then Powerlink may:
      1. where the change in clause 2(a) results in (in Powerlink’s reasonable opinion) the Customer’s new Connection or modification of an existing Connection no longer being feasible in its current configuration, advise the Customer of this position and the Customer’s Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect will be deemed withdrawn from the date of the written notice from Powerlink; or
      2. otherwise, require the payment of an additional fee as determined by Powerlink (acting reasonably) to process the Connection Enquiry of Application to Connect, as applicable, for the additional work required to:
        A.    prepare the Connection Enquiry response; or
        B.    prepare the initial response to the Application to Connect, and/or the Offer to Connect.
    3. If the additional fee required to be paid by the Customer pursuant to clause 2(b) is not paid within a period of 10 business days from notice of the fee from Powerlink, then Powerlink is not required to perform any work in response to the changes and the Customer will be required to submit a new Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect (as applicable) for the changed circumstances.
    4. Where any one or more of the events listed in clause 2(a) occur after Powerlink provides the Customer with a Connection Enquiry response, then the Customer may be required to submit a new Connection Enquiry.
       
  3. Disclaimer

    To the maximum extent permitted by law, Powerlink’s liability (howsoever arising, including for negligence, in contract or under statute) under or in connection with these terms and conditions and the related processes under the Rules is limited to the value of the applicable fee.
     
  4. Payment terms
     
    1. Fees are total fees (subject to exclusions). For costs incurred for services that are excluded from the Application to Connect Fee and subject to an additional fee payable by the Customer under clause 8, Powerlink will advise the Customer in writing as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware that the costs for excluded services are required to be incurred. Powerlink will issue an invoice for the additional fee required under clause 8 at intervals determined by Powerlink (acting reasonably and having regard to the nature and quantum of the additional services required).
    2. Connection Enquiry fees will be invoiced upon receipt of the Connection Enquiry from the Customer and are payable in full in accordance with the terms of the invoice.
    3. Application to Connect fee will be invoiced upon receipt of the Application to Connect from the Customer and are payable in full before provision of the service commences and otherwise in accordance with the terms of the invoice. The Application to Connect fee for a Customer will be the amount of the fee specified in Table 1 plus any unpaid Connection Enquiry fees.
    4. Terms of payment are 10 business days from receipt of the relevant invoice.
       
  5. Termination and Expiry
     
    1. The Customer may terminate the Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect at any time.
    2. Powerlink may terminate the Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect in accordance with the National Electricity Rules.
    3. Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry response will expire if a valid Application to Connect for the proposed new Connection or modification of an existing Connection is not submitted by the Customer (and the Application to Connect fee paid) within a period of 12 months from the date of issue of Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry response.
    4. Powerlink’s Connection Enquiry and Application fees are non-refundable, except as set out in clause 5(e) below.
    5. Powerlink will, acting reasonably, determine and provide a part refund of a Customer’s Connection Enquiry or Application fee where the relevant Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect is terminated prior to a Connection Enquiry response being provided (in the case of a Connection Enquiry), or an Offer to Connect being made (in the case of an Application to Connect), where the Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect is terminated in the circumstances set out in clauses 2(b)(i). Any part refund must be for the unused portion of any fees paid by the Customer (if any), and in no circumstances will Powerlink refund any amounts for work already performed by Powerlink, including in respect of the relevant Connection Enquiry or Application to Connect.
       
  6. Dormant Application
     
    1. For the purposes of this clause 6 “Dormant Application” shall mean:
      1. an Application to Connect in respect of which:
        A.    no work has been undertaken by Powerlink due to not receiving information or documents requested by Powerlink from the Customer; or
        B.    no work has been agreed by Powerlink and the Customer to be undertaken by Powerlink, to progress the Application for a period of 12 months; or
      2. 104 weeks passes after Application to Connect without an Offer to Connect pursuant to the National Electricity Rules.
    2. Powerlink will give the Customer in respect of a Dormant Application a written notice to show cause as to why the Dormant Application should not be deemed to be withdrawn.
    3. If the Customer does not respond in writing to the notice within 10 business days and demonstrate to Powerlink’s satisfaction (acting reasonably), that the Customer is diligently progressing the Dormant Application and that the Dormant Application should continue to be processed by Powerlink, then the Customer’s Dormant Application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and any information provided by Powerlink in response to the Dormant Application will expire to the extent that it has not done so already in accordance with these terms and conditions.
    4. If Powerlink determines (acting reasonably) that the Dormant Application may continue to be processed by Powerlink, Powerlink may advise the Customer of an additional fee as determined by Powerlink (acting reasonably) taking into account Powerlink’s additional costs in processing the Dormant Application.
       
  7. Intellectual property
     
    1. Powerlink will retain any intellectual property arising from Powerlink’s work in the Connection process. The Customer must execute such documents or instruments, and do all other things reasonably required by Powerlink to protect Powerlink’s intellectual property arising from the Connection process.
    2. The Customer retains any intellectual property owned by the Customer in any documentation provided by it to Powerlink as part of the Connection process.
    3. The Customer is granted a single use licence for any information provided by Powerlink as part of a response to a Connection Enquiry, initial Application to Connect, Offer to Connect or as part of Other Services.
    4. The Customer must not, and must ensure that its personnel, contractors and agents do not, use Powerlink’s trademarks and brands without Powerlink’s prior consent, nor do anything that may adversely affect the goodwill, value or distinctiveness of Powerlink’s trademarks and brands.
       
  8. Inclusions and Exclusions
     
    1. Fees reflect work carried out by Powerlink only. Costs relating to services provided by AEMO will be passed through to the Customer as they are received from AEMO. Please refer to AEMO’s website for AEMO’s schedule of fees and charges.
    2. The Application to Connect fee covers the standard negotiation of a Connection Agreement, scope and estimate finalisation for the applicable scope (see Table 1) and negotiation of generator/Customer performance standards. Powerlink is required to provide the Application to Connect fee based on its estimate of the reasonable costs of all work anticipated to arise in relation to the above negotiation. The Application to Connect fee does not cover:
      1. the external legal fees for any protracted, complex or lengthy delays in connection with negotiations between the parties, being where more than 40 hours of external legal resources are required by Powerlink;
      2. changes to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) during the Application to Connect phase – the fee assumes assessment of a single OEM;
      3. changes to the size of the facility, connection configuration or major auxiliary equipment during the Application to Connect phase; or
      4. a material change in facility settings during the Application to Connect phase,
        (each being Specified Exclusions).
    3. Without limiting any other rights that Powerlink has under the NER, Powerlink may, where work is required outside the scope of the Application to Connect fee, including where a Specified Exclusion occurs, require the payment of an additional fee as determined by Powerlink (acting reasonably) to cover Powerlink’s additional costs for the additional work required. The additional fee will be invoiced, and is payable, in accordance with clause 4.
    4. The Application to Connect fee may also be increased to include any unpaid Connection Enquiry fees where this is specified.
    5. Powerlink’s Application to Connect fee does not include work required by Powerlink for other legal documents that may be sought by a Customer during the Connection process, including preliminary works agreements. Such agreements are not a requirement of the Connection process and may be provided by Powerlink for an additional fee, which will be advised to the Customer if such documents are utilised during the Connection process.
    6. Commissioning activities under NER clause 5.8 are not covered by the Application to Connect fee – an additional fee to facilitate these activities is required, and is governed by a separate contract that will be provided by Powerlink at the appropriate stage of the Customer’s facility development. The commissioning activities include review, negotiation and agreement of test plans; assessment of R1 and R2 compliance with Customer and AEMO; review and analysis of hold point tests and operational performance during commissioning activities; and witnessing site testing as required.  If Powerlink experiences extensive commissioning activities, any costs above the original commissioning fee will be passed onto the Customer pursuant to the separate commissioning contract.  
    7. The Application to Connect fee does not include any amounts or provisions for use of an Independent Engineer or referral of a dispute to commercial arbitration.
    8. The Application to Connect fee does not include any fees related to Designated Network Asset services (refer Designated Network Asset Related Fees - Terms and Conditions)
    9. Any changes in scope, design, OEM, or extension of time, including review of additional work undertaken by the Customer, are not covered by the Connection Enquiry or Application fees and may be subject to additional fees in accordance with clause 1 and 2.
    10. Any fees and costs in connection with approvals, community engagement, land/easement acquisition activities are excluded.
    11. Activities undertaken in addition to the work plan reflected in the fee calculated for provision of Other Services will be charged separately, on a fee for service basis.
       
  9. Confidentiality
     
    1. In accordance with clause 5.3.8 of the NER, the information contained in Powerlink’s response to a Connection Enquiry is Confidential Information and must not be disclosed to a third party, except as permitted under the NER.
    2. The Customer may also be required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with Powerlink on terms and conditions to be determined at the time.
       

  10. Disclaimer

    In relation to a Customer’s Connection Enquiry and Application to Connect under Chapter 5 of the Rules (including all associated Connection processes), Powerlink makes no representations, warranties or guarantees that:

    1. the Customer’s Connection Enquiry, Application to Connect, Performance Standards, Offer to Connect or Connection Agreement (or any related legal documents) will transition into or be preserved in any way by the QLD REZ Legislation; or
    2. the Customer or the Customer’s facility will be eligible or qualify for participation in any renewable energy zone or REZ controlled asset under the QLD REZ Legislation.

     
    The Customer acknowledges that in relation to the above matters, Powerlink is considering and processing its Connection Enquiry, Application to Connect and Offer to Connect strictly in Powerlink’s capacity as the Primary Transmission Network Service Provider and not in any other capacity in which Powerlink may act under any QLD REZ Legislation. For the purpose of this clause, “QLD REZ Legislation” means the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 2024 (Qld) and any related and subordinate legislation.

  11. Assignment

    The Customer may not assign or novate any Connection Enquiry, Connection Enquiry response, Application to Connect or Offer to Connect, or these terms and conditions, to any third party without Powerlink’s prior written consent.
     
  12. Governing law

    These terms and conditions are to be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the state of Queensland.

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