Our role

We help people in with problems about electricity, gas and water services. We work across Western Australia.

We:

• investigate complaints about electricity, gas and water providers
• help people and providers resolve problems
• look for ongoing or serious problems and report them to regulators
• work with the community, so people know how to get help

We help residential customers and small businesses. We also help people affected by water services.

How we are set up

We work under a formal scheme. The scheme is supported by laws, a Charter and a Constitution. The scheme is approved by the government regulator. The regulator is the Economic Regulation Authority.

We work within the office of the WA Ombudsman. This helps us use experienced staff and strong systems.

The service is paid for by energy and water providers. Providers must be members of the scheme. Customers do not pay.

The Board

The Board oversees how the scheme works. It does not handle individual complaints.

The Board:

• sets the overall direction of the scheme
• protects the independence of the Ombudsman
• oversees finances and governance

The Board includes:

• an independent Chair: Michael Schaper
• customer representative directors
  • Grant Cucel
  • Phillip Kemp
  • Kathryn Lawrence
• representatives from the electricity, gas and water industries
  • Lesley Walker (Synergy)
  • Kylie Wilkie (Alinta)
  • Karen Willis (Water Corporation)

Our team

We have a small and experienced team of professional staff, including:

• Ombudsman, Bevan Warner (who is also the WA Ombudsman)
• Deputy Ombudsman, David Robinson (who is also the Deputy WA Ombudsman)
• Principal Assistant Energy and Water Ombudsman, Marcus Claridge
• Investigating Officers
• Enquiry Officers
• Administrative support

Staff from the WA Ombudsman provide corporate services. This includes HR, finance, IT and communications.

Governance and policies

We follow clear rules to make sure we act fairly and properly.

Key documents include:

• Charter
• Constitution
• Strategic Plan
• Privacy Policy

Our history

Our service has been available in WA since 2004.

• 2004 – the Gas Industry Ombudsman Scheme began
• 2005 – the Electricity Ombudsman Scheme began
• the two schemes later became Energy Ombudsman Western Australia
• 2014 – water services were added. The name changed to Energy and Water Ombudsman