Communities Want Confidence In How Decisions Are Made
The Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner’s 2025 Annual Report has been tabled in Federal Parliament, offering a clear signal to industry, government and engagement professionals: the energy transition is not only an infrastructure challenge. It is also a trust challenge.
The report outlines the work of the Office of the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, marking Commissioner Tony Mahar’s first full calendar year in the role.
In his opening letter, Mahar describes Australia’s energy transition as “nationwide and long-term,” happening at increasing pace and affecting regions differently. He also makes the complexity clear: “There are no simple answers.”
In a LinkedIn post sharing the report, Mahar said his conversations with communities continued to reinforce a consistent message: people want to be “informed”, “heard”, and to have confidence in how decisions are made.
For engagement professionals, that message is central. Communities are not only responding to projects. They are responding to how decisions are explained, how concerns are handled and whether participation feels meaningful.
Engagement Is Not A Side Issue
Across 2025, Mahar undertook more than 440 discrete external engagements, including conversations at “kitchen tables and country halls,” in towns, boardrooms, council chambers and online meetings.
That direct connection with communities matters. The report highlights the Commissioner’s role in listening, learning and bringing perspectives from communities, industry and government into broader conversations about the energy transition.
Mahar’s opening letter also frames energy infrastructure as more than investment in energy production. He writes that projects should also be seen as investments in “vibrant regional economies” — something he says can only happen if local communities are “respected, engaged and empowered throughout the process.”
For Engagement Institute members, this reinforces a core professional challenge: engagement must be embedded early enough to shape decisions, not brought in only when concern has already escalated.
Community Engagement Remains A Leading Concern
The report shows that community engagement continues to sit at the centre of many concerns raised with the Commissioner’s office.
In 2025, the office created 205 new cases, including enquiries and complaints. Cases related to 78 different projects, with NSW and Victoria accounting for around 90% of case work.
The five most common issues raised through cases were:
- community engagement
- planning processes
- amenity
- natural environment
- economic loss
The report also notes that planning processes increased significantly, more than doubling on a percentage basis from the previous year.
For practitioners, this is a reminder that engagement does not sit outside delivery risk. It is often where community concern, project uncertainty and institutional trust meet.
The Quality Of Engagement Matters
The report identifies several recurring community engagement concerns. These include engagement happening too late, communities hearing about proposals informally rather than directly from companies, information being either too detailed or too simplified, and a lack of clarity about the nature or degree of consultation being undertaken.
These are not minor process issues. They go directly to trust.
When people do not understand what is open to influence, when information is unclear, or when consultation feels disconnected from decision-making, confidence in both projects and institutions can quickly erode.
The report also acknowledges examples of improvement, including energy developers making changes in response to community concerns and input, improving benefit-sharing and meeting face-to-face with community members. However, Mahar also notes that some activity remains below best practice and needs to improve.
For engagement professionals, this is the space where capability matters most: helping organisations move beyond compliance and into engagement that is transparent, responsive and grounded in local context.
The 2023 Community Engagement Review Still Matters
The report makes clear that the 2023 Community Engagement Review remains a key reference point for improving energy engagement practice.
Mahar describes the review as a strong foundation and says it should remain an “enduring catalyst for change.” He also warns that it would be a mistake to view the review’s recommendations as completed or fully addressed, noting that more work is needed to measure and identify outcomes from implementation activities.
Later in the report, the review is described as a “clear roadmap” for specific improvements and shared directions needed from developers and governments. The report also notes that delivery of related activities is not the same as having impact.
That message travels beyond energy. Frameworks, recommendations and guidance only matter if they improve the experience of communities and the quality of decisions.
Information Trust IS AN Emerging Theme
The report also points to several areas where engagement practice is evolving.
One is information trust. The report highlights concern about misinformation and disinformation relating to climate change and energy, and the need for accurate, trusted and reliable information. It also notes that genuine questions, uncertainty and safety concerns across the project lifecycle can be fuelled by misinformation, particularly where there is already distrust towards public institutions and developers.
For practitioners, this connects strongly to broader engagement challenges: communities need more than information availability. They need information they can understand, test and trust.
First Nations Engagement Is Part Of The Work Ahead
The report also recognises First Nations engagement as an important area of focus.
The Commissioner’s updated terms of reference include promoting the information and engagement needs of First Nations communities. In 2025, the AEIC focused on establishing connections, understanding existing work and exploring where it could contribute without duplicating effort. This included engagement with the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy, meetings with First Nations groups, attendance at events hosted by organisations including the First Nations Clean Energy Network, and cultural competency work for AEIC staff.
This is particularly relevant as renewable energy, transmission and storage projects continue to affect Country, culture, land use and regional futures.
What This Means For Engagement Professionals
The AEIC Annual Report is focused on Australia’s energy transition, but its lessons are relevant to engagement professionals working on complex projects across sectors.
The report shows what happens when major change meets real community concern: engagement quality becomes central to trust, transparency, accountability and delivery.
For practitioners, the message is clear:
- engage early enough to shape decisions
- be clear about what communities can influence
- provide information that is accessible, credible and timely
- recognise the cumulative impact of repeated engagement
- close the loop with honesty and care
- build relationships before conflict hardens
- treat community trust as delivery-critical
As Mahar wrote in his LinkedIn post, delivering the energy transition while achieving good outcomes for host communities requires “genuine and equitable partnerships between communities, industry and governments.” He added: “Improving how we engage is central to getting this right.”
That is work engagement professionals are here to lead.
