A message from the Advisory Council Chair

It has been a year like no other. Weather conditions, including drought and higher average temperatures, signalled an early start to the 2019 bushfire season, with three events in South East Queensland in September. By early 2020, large swaths of the country were being devastated by catastrophic bushfires, with loss of life and communities damaged. Our February Advisory Council meeting minutes recorded our discussions about the effects of the long hot summer on power bills, and, conversely, a deluge which deferred pending water restrictions for customers supplied by the South East Queensland Water Grid.

At this meeting we also discussed an emerging coronavirus, with industry, community members and the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) reviewing their business continuity plans and expressing concerns about the potential impacts.

These are still unfolding for all of us, with the consequences of COVID-19 extending far beyond this 2019-2020 reporting period.

One of our key Advisory Council functions is to provide advice to EWOQ on current and emerging issues in the energy and water sectors and the implications for an external dispute resolution service for consumers. To help equip us in this role, the Australian and New Zealand Energy and Water Ombudsman Network (ANZEWON), of which EWOQ is a member, commissioned research by the University of Sydney to answer the question What will energy consumers expect of an energy and water ombudsman scheme in 2020, 2025 and 2030?

Encompassing six domains, the research report concluded that dispute resolution schemes were critical to the proper regulatory and compliance framework of the energy market. It also advised there was strong support for schemes expanding their jurisdiction to
encompass more energy products and services.

From a Queensland perspective, the report was timely given the significant policy development work underway by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. The release of its regulatory impact statements for energy legislation review and embedded networks provided the Advisory Council an opportunity to present a submission on two matters – optimal arrangements for the inclusion of embedded networks as scheme participants, and options for improving EWOQ’s governance structure to introduce greater flexibility. In terms of the latter, our submission recommended the option of EWOQ transitioning to a company limited by guarantee as we considered this would deliver agility in a dynamic energy environment. It would also bring EWOQ in line with its counterparts in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

We had the opportunity to discuss these and other issues with the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, the Honourable Dr Anthony Lynham MP, who joined us virtually at our last meeting for 2019-2020. Earlier in the year I had the pleasure of chairing the fourth meeting of the ANZEWON group held in Brisbane. Our busy agenda canvassed such issues as complaint trends, governance models, anticipated impacts for consumers after the bushfires, and recent independent reviews of Ombudsman schemes. We reviewed the current ANZEWON work program and settled on the priorities for the next 12 months.

For the Office of the Energy and Water Ombudsman, this year has involved a range of projects being undertaken, all with the aim of delivering the best EWOQ customer experience and improving the Office’s effectiveness. A new telephony system, member portal and website redesign are on track, complemented by improved case management and electronic document and records management systems, and development of an integrated Voice of the Customer program. In addition, EWOQ’s independent review is near completion and will deliver important advice on achievement against published performance benchmarks.

Business continuity plans stood EWOQ in good stead as it was able to transition 100 per cent of its team to working remotely in late March with less than a week’s notice. The new arrangements under the leadership of Jane Pires and her management team are working very effectively.

In 2019-2020, a total of 7621 cases were closed, a drop of 11 per cent from the previous year. Of the top three cases closed in the reporting year, billing represented 52 per cent, credit 18 per cent and provision 11 per cent. Similar to last year, the percentage of cases managed as an investigation remained high, indicating that those matters being referred to the Office are becoming more complex and the more routine matters are being dealt with more effectively by scheme participants. This is a positive trend for consumers, and, in part, demonstrates the Office’s influence in promoting good internal dispute resolution practice.

There have been some changes to our Advisory Council membership this year. Chris Owen, Manager Customer Engagement, Gold Coast Water and Waste, City of Gold Coast, joined us in October 2019 as the water industry representative. Simone Bridge from Unitywater was the previous representative. At the same time, we were joined by Sharon Edwards as a community representative from North Queensland. Sharon is a financial counsellor with the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network, known as ICAN. Mary McLean from Financial Counselling Australia was a previous community representative. We thank Simone and Mary for their contributions on behalf of their respective sectors, and welcome Chris and Sharon to the Council. We were sorry to see community
representative Laura Barnes from QCOSS resign in May as she brought a wealth of knowledge and networks to our meetings. We wish her well.

I would like to thank other Council members for their contribution and support this year – Ian Jarratt (Queensland Consumers Association), Robyn Robinson (Council on the Ageing), Jenny Gates (Energy Queensland), Rosemarie Price (Ergon Energy), Iain Graham (Red Energy and Lumo Energy) and David Ackland (EnergyAustralia). I have appreciated their valuable insights and they have helped make my role as Chair very enjoyable.

It has also been a pleasure to work with the Ombudsman Jane Pires and her team again over the past 12 months. We appreciated the secretariat support provided by Jacqui Nelson. Every year is busy, but this year has brought unique challenges and EWOQ has been in good hands under Jane’s leadership. Next year will also bring challenges, particularly in terms of customer hardship, as COVID-19 continues to impact on lives and livelihoods.

This is my last report as the Chair of the Advisory Council to the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland as my five-year term expires in February 2021. It has been a privilege to serve in this role and I wish EWOQ and Advisory Council members all the very best in ensuring energy and water consumers have access to an excellent dispute resolution service.

Anna Moynihan
Chair