Two years ago, we examined a range of surveys on community attitudes towards Australia’s energy transition. They painted a broadly consistent picture: Australians generally supported the transition to cleaner energy, but awareness and understanding were still developing. Many had heard of renewable energy, net zero and electrification, but there was less certainty about what the transition involved, how quickly it was happening, and what it meant for their own households.
New research from KPMG and Energy Consumers Australia suggests that picture has continued to evolve. Awareness and understanding have improved, and support for the transition has remained resilient despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures. But the latest findings also point to a shift. As the transition increasingly depends on decisions made by households, affordability, housing, and equitable access to solar and batteries are emerging as bigger barriers than public acceptance.
Support remains resilient despite affordability pressures
One of the more notable findings across both reports is that support for the energy transition has remained strong despite several years of cost-of-living pressures.
The latest KPMG research, The human side of the energy transition 2026 suggests that around two-thirds of Australians support the energy transition, and 69 per cent say they are willing to make changes to their households or lifestyles to support it. This level of support has remained broadly stable despite rising living costs and broader economic uncertainty.
Figure 1: Support for the transition
Source: KPMG Human side of the transition 2026, page 12
Figure 2: Willingness to make changes to support the transition
Source: KPMG Human side of the transition 2026, page 12
Affordability, however, remains a significant concern. Energy Consumers Australia’s Consumer Energy Report Card found 78 per cent of Australians are concerned about electricity prices, 52 per cent about gas prices, and 30 per cent have difficulty paying their electricity bill. More than six in ten have also reduced their use of heating or cooling to save money.
Figure 3: Measures taken by consumers due to affordability pressures
Source: ECA Consumer Energy Report Card, June 2026, page 12
Together, these findings suggest Australians do not necessarily see affordability and decarbonisation as competing objectives. Instead, they increasingly expect the transition to deliver both. KPMG found consumers ranked lower electricity prices as the most important benefit of the transition, ahead of improved energy security and energy efficiency.
Awareness has improved, but understanding remains uneven
Perhaps the clearest shift from the surveys we examined in 2024 is the improvement in awareness and understanding of the energy transition.
At the time, just 28 per cent of Australians had heard the term “energy transition” and only 17 per cent said they understood what it meant. Two years later, awareness has risen to 46 per cent and understanding to 40 per cent.
Figure 4: Understanding and awareness of the transition
Source: KPMG Human side of the transition 2026, page 12
Energy Consumers Australia found a similar trend. More than half of respondents say they understand why Australia is transitioning to cleaner energy (56 per cent) and how they could reduce their household carbon footprint (53 per cent).
However, greater awareness has not translated into confidence about what the transition means in practice. Only 24 per cent of respondents agree that governments and other organisations have clearly explained how the transition will affect households like theirs, while almost half (47 per cent) disagree.
This highlights an important distinction. Australians increasingly understand why the energy system is changing, but many remain uncertain about what it means for their own homes. Many consumers still have questions about whether electrification is right for their household, which technologies will work best for them and how new tariffs and energy products operate. This is reflected in broader measures of energy literacy, with fewer than one-third of consumers saying they understand how their electricity bill is calculated, while knowledge of retail and feed-in tariffs is lower still.
From acceptance to participation
The strongest theme emerging from both reports is that the conversation has shifted from awareness to participation.
Earlier research focused on whether Australians supported the transition and understood why it was happening. Those questions remain important, but the latest findings suggest the more immediate challenge is ensuring households can participate.
KPMG describes this as the gap between being willing and being able. While support remains strong and understanding continues to improve, many households face practical barriers. Almost three-quarters of respondents identified cost and affordability as a major constraint, while housing arrangements, confidence, and access to information and CER technologies were also significant barriers.
This reflects the changing nature of the transition. Earlier stages were driven largely by policy decisions and utility-scale investment. Increasingly, however, progress depends on households adopting technologies such as rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles and electric appliances. Many consumers are becoming active participants in the energy system rather than passive users.
The challenge is that these opportunities are not available equally. Renters, apartment residents and lower-income households often face structural barriers regardless of their level of support for the transition. As a result, many of the households that stand to benefit most from lower energy costs are among the least able to access the technologies and programs designed to deliver them.
Consumers still want energy to be simple
Also emerging from the ECA research is that while policymakers and industry continue to focus on consumer engagement, many Australians still want a relatively simple relationship with the energy system.
Almost 60 per cent of respondents said they prefer a “basic relationship” with electricity rather than a more active role involving tariff management, real-time monitoring or participation in emerging energy markets. Affordable prices, reliable supply, and good customer service remain their main priorities.
This does not mean consumers are disengaged. Rather, it highlights a reality that has remained consistent over time. Some households will actively seek to optimise solar exports, battery charging and energy use, while many others simply want an affordable and reliable service that requires minimal effort to manage.
As the transition becomes increasingly consumer-focused, accommodating both groups will be an important challenge for policymakers and market designers.
A different phase of the transition
Viewed alongside the surveys we analysed in 2024, the latest research shows how community attitudes towards the energy transition are evolving.
Two years ago, the central challenge was awareness and understanding. Australians broadly supported the transition but were still becoming familiar with the concepts and technologies shaping it.
Today, awareness is higher, understanding is improving, and support remains strong. But the challenge appears to be shifting. The question is becoming less about whether Australians support the transition and more about how they can participate in it.
If awareness defined the previous phase of the transition, participation may increasingly define the next. Ensuring consumers can access the benefits of emerging technologies, regardless of whether they rent or own, live in a house or apartment, or have the capacity to invest upfront, may be what determines maintaining public support.
