How do I make a complaint to my energy retailer?
What the law requires when your electricity or gas retailer gets it wrong, how to complain so it must respond, and where to escalate.
AI-assisted research and reviewed for accuracy. Something out of date? Let us know.
Put it in writing to the retailer's complaints team. Under the National Energy Retail Law every retailer must run a published complaints procedure, tell you the outcome and its reasons, and tell you about the ombudsman; the law sets no fixed day count, so give the retailer 10 business days in your message. If it refuses or stalls, your state energy and water ombudsman decides, for free.
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Ajust writes to the business, tracks the deadline and escalates if they don't fix it.
Does your energy retailer have to deal with your complaint?
Yes. It must handle it under a published procedure, tell you the outcome with reasons, and tell you that you can go to the ombudsman. It cannot disconnect you over a bill you are disputing.
In NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT the rules are sections 81 and 82 of the National Energy Retail Law (NERL), enforced by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). Section 81 requires every retailer and distributor to publish "standard complaints and dispute resolution procedures" substantially consistent with Australian Standard AS ISO 10002. Section 82 requires it to handle your complaint under that procedure, inform you of the outcome and its reasons "as soon as reasonably possible", and tell you that you can take it to the energy ombudsman.
There is no national "20 business days" rule. The time limit is whatever the retailer's own published procedure says, so read it and hold them to it.
Victoria's equivalent is clause 14 of the Essential Services Commission's Energy Retail Code of Practice, which imposes the same AS ISO 10002 requirement. In Western Australia the Code of Conduct for the Supply of Electricity to Small Use Customers applies, overseen by the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA), and it is the one place with a number: if an electricity retailer or distributor does not respond within 20 business days, you are entitled to a service standard payment.
The fork that decides where to send the complaint:
- Retailer: bills, estimated reads, tariffs and discounts, how the plan was sold, switching, payment plans, hardship, debt collection and disconnection for non-payment. Your contract is with the retailer, so most complaints go here.
- Distributor: outages, supply quality, poles and wires, gas pipes, meter faults and meter reads, and damage from surges. There is usually one per area; its name is on your bill.
- A disputed bill: rule 29 of the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR) requires the retailer to review a bill when you ask, check the read or test the meter if you request it, and tell you that you can go to the ombudsman afterwards. You may have to pay the undisputed part, or your average bill, while it reviews.
- Disconnection threatened: rule 116 bans disconnection while a complaint directly related to the debt is unresolved with the retailer or the ombudsman.
Every retailer and distributor must be a member of the energy ombudsman scheme in each state where it operates (NERL section 86).
The AER is rewriting the guidelines that shape how retailers communicate with you. In June 2026 it released draft Retail Guidelines that fold the Benefit Change Notice, Better Bills, Customer Hardship Policy and Retail Pricing Information guidelines into one document, with a new overarching principle that retailers communicate honestly and fairly. The AER's timetable has the Customer Hardship Policy Guideline and Billing Guideline finalised in the third quarter of 2026 and the pricing guideline in the fourth. The complaints rules in sections 81 and 82 of the NERL are not changing.
What should you do first?
Step 1: Get the four facts straight
Before you contact anyone, write down the problem in one or two sentences, the evidence (bills, account number and NMI or MIRN from the bill, photos, dates, names), the impact on you, and the outcome you want. "I want the $412 estimated bill replaced with an actual read and the late fee removed" gets a faster answer than "my bill is wrong".
If you phone first, ask for a complaint reference and the person's name. The AER's advice is to try the retailer before anything else, and the ombudsman will send you back if you have not.
Step 2: Ask in writing and set a deadline
Use the complaints form or email in the retailer's published complaints procedure (it must be on its website). Send this:
Subject: Formal complaint, account [number], NMI [number]
On [date], [what happened in one sentence]. This is a formal complaint under your standard complaints and dispute resolution procedure, as required by section 82 of the National Energy Retail Law [Victoria: clause 14 of the Energy Retail Code of Practice].
[If a bill: I request a review of the bill dated [date] under rule 29 of the National Energy Retail Rules, including a check of the meter read. Under rule 116 you must not arrange disconnection while this review is open.]
I want [outcome]. Please send me a complaint reference now and your written decision with reasons within 10 business days of this email. If it is not resolved I will lodge with [EWON / EWOV / EWOQ / EWOSA / Energy Ombudsman Tasmania / ACAT / Energy and Water Ombudsman WA].
Step 3: Escalate inside the retailer
If the deadline passes, reply to the same thread and ask for the complaint to go to the retailer's resolutions or escalations team. Quote your reference and keep every reply. If your retailer is AGL, Origin Energy or EnergyAustralia, its complaints page has the channel to use.
Step 4: Keep paying what you do not dispute
Pay the undisputed part of any bill and any new bills. It keeps rule 116 protection intact and stops the dispute turning into a debt.
What if the retailer refuses or ignores you?
- Energy and water ombudsman. Free, independent and able to make a decision that binds the retailer: EWON (NSW), EWOV (Victoria), EWOQ (Queensland), EWOSA (SA), Energy Ombudsman Tasmania, Energy and Water Ombudsman WA, Ombudsman NT for Jacana Energy and Power and Water, and ACAT in the ACT. Most first refer you to a senior person at the retailer, who must contact you within 5 business days at EWON and EWOQ and 3 business days at EWOV, then investigate if that fails. EWOV says most complaints are resolved within 28 days, EWOQ that an investigation takes about 20 business days, EWON that most investigations finish within 45 days. Lodge within 12 months in Victoria, Queensland and WA. The full state list is on complaining to the energy ombudsman.
- The regulator. The AER, the ESC and the ERA do not resolve individual complaints, but they enforce the rules and take reports. A breach of the complaints provisions is enforceable, so a report matters when the retailer is doing it to many customers.
- Your bank. If a card or direct debit payment was taken that you did not authorise or that the retailer agrees was wrong, ask your bank to dispute it. Under rule 32 the retailer must stop a direct debit when you ask.
- State Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs. For misleading sales, door-to-door conduct or anything under the Australian Consumer Law rather than the energy rules.
- Tribunal. Your state civil and administrative tribunal hears claims the ombudsman cannot, or that exceed its limit; in the ACT, ACAT is both. Fees and limits vary by state.
If the complaint is about an unpaid bill or a disconnection threat, see what to do if you're behind on your energy bill.
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What doesn't work
- Phoning only. Without a reference number and a written record there is nothing to hold the retailer to, and nothing to show the ombudsman.
- Complaining to the wrong company. A blackout or faulty meter is the distributor's; a bill or plan is the retailer's. The wrong one just forwards it, slowly.
- Going straight to the ombudsman. Every scheme refers you back to the retailer first.
- Waiting for a "20 business days" deadline that does not exist. Set your own and act when it passes.
- Stopping all payments. Pay the undisputed part; otherwise the complaint becomes a debt and the ombudsman may close the case.
- Not saying what you want. A complaint without an outcome gets an apology and nothing else.
Common questions
How long does my energy retailer have to respond to a complaint?
No fixed number applies nationally. The National Energy Retail Law requires a response within the time limits in the retailer's own published procedure, so check that document and quote it. Only Western Australia sets 20 business days, after which a service standard payment is owed.
Who do I complain to about a blackout or a faulty meter?
The distributor, not the retailer. Distributors own the poles, wires, pipes and meters and must run the same complaints procedure under section 81 of the National Energy Retail Law. Its name and faults number are on your bill, and the ombudsman covers distributors too.
Can they disconnect me while my complaint is open?
No. Rule 116 of the National Energy Retail Rules bans disconnection while a complaint directly related to the reason for disconnection is unresolved with the retailer or the ombudsman, or while a bill is under review. Keep paying any amount you do not dispute.
I am in Victoria. Does the National Energy Retail Law apply to me?
No. Victoria uses the Energy Retail Code of Practice made by the Essential Services Commission, but clause 14 requires the same published, AS ISO 10002 complaints procedure, and EWOV is your ombudsman. Quote the code rather than the national law in your complaint.
Does the Australian Energy Regulator handle my complaint?
No. The AER enforces the National Energy Retail Law but does not resolve individual disputes; it receives complaint data from retailers and ombudsman schemes. Complain to the retailer, then your state ombudsman. You can still report a breach to the AER.
My power comes through a caravan park or apartment embedded network. Do these rules apply?
Partly. The AER requires exempt sellers to have a complaints and dispute resolution procedure consistent with AS/NZS 10002 and to tell you about it. Ombudsman access varies by state: EWOQ, EWOV and EWON take embedded network complaints; the WA scheme cannot until late 2027.
- Queensland Legislation, National Energy Retail Law (Queensland), Part 4 sections 81 to 86
- AEMC, National Energy Retail Rules rule 29: Billing disputes
- AEMC, National Energy Retail Rules Part 6: De-energisation (or disconnection) of premises
- Essential Services Commission, Energy Retail Code of Practice (version 7)
- Economic Regulation Authority WA, Complaints and service standards
- Australian Energy Regulator, AER is reviewing four retail guidelines in 2025 and 2026
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