We provide free, independent and fair dispute resolution to Victorian consumers and energy and water providers. In doing so, we expect everyone to act efficiently, honestly, respectfully, cooperatively and fairly. 

We have a shared goal to achieve fair and reasonable complaint outcomes in good faith. As part of this goal, we have developed these engagement principles.

• Our commitments to you as users of our service.
• Our expectations of the reasonable conduct and behaviour of all users of our service, including:
  • Victorian consumers and their representatives, and 
  • energy and water providers who are participants of our external dispute resolution scheme (providers).
• How we will deal with behaviour that doesn’t meet our expectations of reasonable behaviour.

We are accessible

Our services are free for Victorian energy and water consumers. 

We know everyone is different. We will give you clear information about what we do, so you know what to expect.

We respect all cultures and backgrounds. We will make sure our communication and complaint processes are appropriate and accessible for you.

If you tell us that you need extra support, we will help. This might include:  

• information about financial counselling, legal aid services, family violence services, psychological support or other specialised services interpreters and/or types of communication support, such as the National Relay Service 
• recognising and dealing with your authorised representative, such as a family member or friend 
• sending information by post with a reply-paid envelope (if you prefer) 
• contacting you at a time and using a method that is safe for you.

We are fair and independent 

We help resolve complaints fairly and independently.

We do not give legal advice or advocate for either side. We will consider and assess each complaint objectively on its facts without bias to either party.

We base our investigations, assessments and decisions on the information we have and what is fair and reasonable. 

We will be fair and understanding. We will act with integrity in all our dealings with you, treat you with courtesy and respect, and we will take time to listen to you and consider your complaint. 

Our complaint resolution processes, procedures and decisions are fair. You will have a chance to respond to your provider’s position. We will share any information we use to assess your complaint.

We are efficient, effective and timely 

We aim to resolve complaints efficiently and effectively. We will clearly explain how long things will take and keep you informed as your complaint moves forward. 

We are transparent

We will handle your case in a way that is transparent and open. We will explain our processes and procedures clearly at the start of your complaint and throughout the process.

We will use plain language and clearly explain the reasons for our assessments, outcomes and decisions. 

We will keep information confidential

We will keep your personal information and the details of your complaint private and confidential.

We will only share complaint information with your consent or as otherwise authorised under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and in accordance with our privacy policy. For more information, visit ewov.com.au/privacy

We hold ourselves accountable

We will interact with you in a respectful and professional way. We will listen to you and do what we say we will do.

You can make a complaint about the service you receive at EWOV. We will give you a pathway to let us know if you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint or our service. A senior EWOV team member will review and respond to your concerns.

We are accountable for our service and operations, and take feedback seriously, so we can keep improving.

Our expectations of consumers (and their representatives) using our services:

• Treat EWOV team members and providers involved in the complaint with courtesy and respect.
• Engage with our service in good faith, in a genuine effort to reach a fair and reasonable outcome, and consider any offers made by the provider to try and resolve your complaint.
• Avoid unreasonable delays or actions that make it harder for us to handle your complaint.
• Provide timely, relevant and accurate information about the complaint and in response to questions we might ask you.
• Keep information you receive as part of our complaint handling process confidential, except as reasonably necessary to resolve the complaint or as otherwise required by law.
• Comply with any agreements or settlements made during our process.
• Not engage in unreasonable conduct (as described in the section ‘What does EWOV consider unreasonable conduct?' below).

Our expectations of providers:

• Treat EWOV team members and consumers with courtesy and respect.
• Act efficiently, honestly and fairly with EWOV and consumers. 
• Engage with our service in good faith in a genuine effort to reach a fair and reasonable outcome to the complaint.
• Make reasonable attempts to resolve complaints fairly and to fix errors. 
• Avoid unreasonable delays or actions that impact our complaint handling process.
• Provide timely, relevant and accurate information about the complaint and in response to our information requests.
• Keep information received as part of our complaint handling process confidential, except as reasonably necessary to resolve the complaint or as otherwise required by law.
• Comply with any agreement or settlements made during our process.
• Act on any outcomes promptly and within set timeframes.
• Do not engage in unreasonable conduct (as described in the section ‘What does EWOV consider unreasonable conduct?’ below).
• Comply with all other provider obligations under EWOV’s Constitution and Charter.

We know many people who use our service are under pressure and can feel very stressed. We are committed to providing a safe environment for our EWOV team members and all users of our service. We will not tolerate unreasonable conduct or behaviour that puts our team members, or any other person, at risk of physical or mental harm.  

Unreasonable conduct covers actions that raise serious health and safety concerns for our EWOV team members and have an unreasonable impact on our time or resources. This includes behaviour carried out in email and over the phone, as well as on social media and other places or channels. 

Unreasonable conduct includes any of the following: 

1. Unreasonable behaviour – for example:
   • extreme anger, aggression or verbal abuse 
   • derogatory, discriminatory, racist, or sexist remarks
   • physical violence, intimidation and/or harassment 
   • threats of harm against another person or the organisation
   • threatening communication 
   • stalking (in person or online) 
   • emotional manipulation.
2. Unreasonable persistence – for example: 
   • making excessive and incessant contact after being asked to stop 
   • refusing to accept the final outcome of a complaint after all avenues available through EWOV have been exhausted
   • trying to get a different answer by reaching out to multiple EWOV team members.
3. Unreasonable demands – for example:
   • using pressure or threats to influence EWOV team members
   • insisting on talking to the Ombudsman or a senior manager personally after we’ve explained why it is not possible or in line with our procedures 
   • demanding things we can’t do, like asking for someone to be fired or prosecuted.
4. Unreasonable lack of cooperation – for example:
   • being obstructive and refusing to follow EWOV’s process or instructions without a good reason 
   • intentionally giving us an overwhelming amount of irrelevant information, including through the inappropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools 
   • intentionally holding back information or giving false details.

Where unreasonable conduct occurs, you may be given a formal warning to stop the conduct. 

If you keep acting in an unreasonable or unacceptable way, we may:

• require you to contact us through a representative 
• restrict the ways in which you can contact us, or
• decide to stop handling your complaint.

We understand that consumers will sometimes be angry and frustrated about their complaint. Although EWOV team members are trained to handle difficult calls with professionalism, we do not tolerate aggressive, abusive or sustained unreasonable behaviour directed towards our team members. 

Where such behaviour is demonstrated during phone calls, and where the behaviour does not stop following a warning, we may terminate the call. We will only provide one warning. We do not expect our team members to accept continued unreasonable behaviour.

In some cases, such as where we need to terminate a call on more than one occasion, or where behaviour is particularly unreasonable, we may decide that any further communication will need to be in writing or we may take other action.