If you have been disconnected or you are at immediate risk of being disconnected, please call us on 1800 001 170.
What can you complain to us about?
You can complain to us if you have an issue with an energy provider in Tasmania, for example an electricity or gas retailer. There are some issues we can't help with.
What do you need to do first?
Unless it is an emergency, before making a complaint to us you will need to complain about the issue to your energy provider first. You can do this either to a senior member of staff or through the complaints department.
How to make a complaint to us
If the issue is still not resolved after a complaint to your energy provider or if you are not satisfied with the response, you can then lodge a complaint with us.
You can make a complaint to us by:
- using our online or PDF complaint form (both found on our make a complaint page).
- calling us on 1800 001 170
- visiting us in person at our office.
You will find details of how to contact us on our contact page.
We generally ask that you put your complaint in writing before we make any enquiries.
Make a complaint
Visit our make a complaint page.
What happens after you make a complaint?
Our first step is to ensure that your complaint is within the Energy Ombudsman's jurisdiction, for example it is about an energy provider in Tasmania.
If we can't handle your complaint, we'll usually refer you to someone else who can.
If we accept your complaint, an investigation officer will be assigned to manage it. If you haven't spoken with your energy provider’s complaints department, we may arrange for them to contact you. In some cases, this helps resolve the issue quickly.
If the issue isn't resolved quickly, we'll make enquiries and gather information from your energy provider. In some cases, we may also seek independent expert advice to help us understand the issue.
Once we have gathered this initial information, we will decide whether we need to investigate further or dismiss your complaint. We will contact you and let you know what we decide to do, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions or provide us with more information. Most complaints are resolved by these preliminary enquiries.
Some possible outcomes of making a complaint include:
- a detailed explanation
- compensation
- financial correction (you may get an updated bill)
- change to process
- an apology.
The Energy Ombudsman can also make a binding decision called an Award which may require the energy provider to take a particular action, for example, pay compensation.