To be considered for participation in the Energy Debt Relief Trial, please ensure you read all 3 documents carefully. These documents contain important information regarding eligibility, the consent process, and other requirements for the trial.
The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Department) requests your consent for the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information, for purposes relating to the NSW Energy Debt Relief Trial (Trial). This may include your personal information, details about your energy account and bills, and why you may be eligible to participate in the Trial, including information about the financial hardship you may be experiencing.
Where it is practical to do so, the Department will use, hold and disclose your Personal Information in a way that does not identify you, for example by removing your name and address details from any records.
The Department is collecting and will use this information for the following purposes:
- firstly, for the purposes of the Trial, including to:
- administer the Trial and contact you in relation to the Trial;
- assess your eligibility to be enrolled into the Trial and
- monitor outcomes of the Trial and improve any relevant debt relief program.
- secondly, for the purposes of other debt relief or consumer-focused energy related policies, projects or programs undertaken (or to be undertaken) by the Department (which we refer to here as ‘Consumer Energy Projects’);
- thirdly, the Department may create a database of Personal Information of such customers for the purposes of the Trial or Consumer Energy Projects; and
- lastly, for other governmental purposes, including for program evaluation or where the Department is under a legal obligation to disclose the information.
For these purposes, the Department may disclose your Personal Information to:
- your retailer;
- third parties for the purpose of evaluation of the Department’s programs; and
- other departments or branches within the NSW Government.
If you are approved by the Department for participation in the Trial, the Department will provide you (or your authorised person) with further information and seek your (or your authorised person’s) consent to participate. If you are approved and consent to participate in the Trial:
- the Department will provide you with Energy Debt Relief Payments, which will be applied as a credit into your energy account(s); and
- your retailer may provide you with additional assistance prescribed for this Trial under the NSW Social Programs for Energy (Energy Debt Relief Trial) Code v 1.0.
If you are not selected for the Trial, you will not receive an Energy Debt Relief Payment, but your information will still be collected and used by the Department.
What is the Energy Debt Relief Trial?
You have been identified for potential participation into the Energy Debt Relief Trial (Trial). This is a pilot program run by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Department) on behalf of the NSW Government to help people who have energy bill debt and are experiencing financial hardship.
The Department will be assessing your eligibility for participation in the Trial.
If you are selected for the Trial, you will receive assistance to reduce your energy bill debt, which is an amount due under a bill issued on an active, retail residential electricity or gas account with your energy retailer which has not been paid within 180 days from the due date on that bill and is between $800 and $4,000 (inclusive of GST). The assistance may also include non-financial support and/or assistance from your energy retailer aimed at helping you reduce your energy bills. More details regarding this assistance will be provided by your energy retailer if you are selected to participate.
Collection of your personal information by the Department
This notice has important information about your privacy and participation in the Trial.
For the purposes of the Trial, the Department will collect your personal information from you, your energy retailer and the Energy & Water Ombudsman of NSW. This information could include:
- your personal details (name, date of birth, address, postcode);
- details about your energy account and bills, including the level of energy bill debt; and
- details about why you may be eligible to participate in the Trial, including information about your financial circumstances and ability pay your energy bills.
This could include sensitive personal information.
Why is the NSW Government collecting my personal information?
The NSW Government is collecting this information for the purposes of the Trial, including to:
- assess your eligibility to participate in the Trial;
- administer the Trial, including providing you with debt relief and other assistance as part of the Trial if you are selected to participate; and
- monitor and report on outcomes of the Trial and the effectiveness of the Trial.
The NSW Government is also collecting this information for the purposes of:
- other debt relief or consumer-focused energy related projects or programs undertaken (or to be undertaken) by the Department (Consumer Energy Projects); and
- directly or indirectly creating, fetching, caching, indexing or retrieving any personal information of energy customers. The Department may create a database of personal information of energy customers for the purposes of the Trial or Consumer Energy Projects.
Even if you are not selected for the Trial and will not receive any energy related assistance as part of the Trial, your personal information will still need to be used by the Department for these purposes.
Will the NSW Government share my personal information with anyone?
For the abovementioned purposes, the NSW Government may share some details with:
- your energy retailer, to allow them to provide debt relief and assistance as part of the Trial;
- third parties for the purpose of audit and/or evaluation of the Department’s programs. The Department will notify the third party that the information may contain personal or confidential information and request that the third party agree to keep all information acquired, material prepared or collected and any findings, confidential; and
- other departments or branches within the NSW Government or court, where the Department is under a legal obligation to disclose information (for example, under statute or standing order, for a parliamentary inquiry, or under order from a court).
Otherwise, the NSW Government won’t share your personal information unless you have given consent or to meet a requirement under law.
How can I access my information or get more information about privacy or the Trial?
To access your information, or to get more information about privacy or the Trial please contact:
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Information Access & Privacy Unit
Locked Bag 5022 Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 02 8275 1095
Email: [email protected]
These Terms and Conditions apply to customers referred to the Department for the program. You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
The Energy Debt Relief Trial is a NSW Government program that offers energy debt relief payments to eligible customers experiencing financial hardship. It also provides support to help customers engage with their energy retailer to manage their debt and, where possible, reduce their energy costs.
Referrers including the participating retailers, the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman and the Department will identify customers for potential participation into the Trial.
Participation in the Trial involves an eligibility assessment determined by the Department. If found eligible, approved customer’s payments are sent directly to their energy account.
Contents
- Definitions
- Eligibility Criteria
- Appointing an Authorised Person
- Providing false or misleading information
- Assessment of your Referral and providing further information to the Department
- Program activities
- Withdrawal from the program
- Closure, suspension or variation of the program
- General
1. Definitions
The following definitions apply to these Terms and Conditions:
- Authorised Person is defined in clause 3 of these Terms and Conditions.
- customer or you means a person who is being referred to the program.
- Department means the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
- eligible customer means an individual customer of a participating retailer who meets the eligibility requirements of the program.
- eligibility criteria is defined in clause 2 of these Terms and Conditions.
- eligible energy bill debt means an amount due by an eligible customer under a bill issued on an active, retail residential electricity or gas account with the participating retailer which has not been paid within 180 days from the due date on that bill and is between $800 and $4,000 (inclusive) including GST.
- participating retailer means one of the following retailers or exempt sellers authorised by the Australian Energy Regulator to sell energy (electricity or gas) to a person for premises:
- AGL Sales Pty Limited (ABN: 88 090 538 337, ACN: 090 538 337);
- AGL Retail Energy Limited (ABN: 21 074 839 464, ACN: 074 839 464);
- EnergyAustralia Pty Limited (ABN: 99 086 014 968, ACN: 086 014 968);
- ENGIE (ABN: 67 269 241 237)
- IPower Pty Limited (ACN: 111 267 228) and
- IPower 2 Pty Limited (ABN: 24 070 374 293);
- Origin Energy Electricity Limited (ABN: 33 071 052 287, ACN: 071 052 287);
- Origin Energy LPG Limited (ABN: 77 000 508 369, ACN:000 508 369); or
- Red Energy Pty Limited (ABN: 60 107 479 372, ACN: 107 479 372).
- program means the Energy Debt Relief Trial (Trial).
- program activity means an activity that an approved eligible customer is expected to complete.
- program payment means a one-off payment made by a participating retailer to an approved customer.
- referral means an application submitted by a participating retailer or the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman on behalf of a customer to be assessed for the program by the Department.
2. Eligibility Criteria
2.1 You confirm that you meet all the following eligibility criteria participation in the program:
- in relation to the energy account for which you are referred to the program:
- you are a residential customer in NSW;
- you are the account holder of an active retail account for electricity or gas (i.e. the energy account is in your name solely or jointly, and your name is on the energy bill for the account) with a participating retailer with eligible energy bill debt; and
- you are part of a household that has not already received a program payment under an active retail account.
- you are able to demonstrate:
- you are going without basic needs to pay an energy bill; or
- you do not have enough money to pay for your ongoing energy consumption and arrears, as a result may face disconnection, or have been disconnected.
2.2 You agree that you will notify the Department as soon as possible if any of your circumstances change which may affect your ability to meet the eligibility criteria.
3. Appointing an Authorised Person
3.1 You can appoint a person to act on your behalf (‘the Authorised Person’) during the Department’s assessment of your referral under the program by completing an Authority to Act form.
3.2 When you authorise a person to act on your behalf, the Department may:
- request information about you from the Authorised Person;
- provide information about you to the Authorised Person;
- deal with the Authorised Person as if it was dealing with you; and
- still contact you directly if required.
3.3 The same obligations and responsibilities apply to you in relation to information provided by the Authorised Person to the Department to support the assessment of your referral.
3.4 Appointing an Authorised Person does not prevent you from dealing with the Department concerning the program.
3.5 The Authorised Person may be asked to provide evidence that they are acting on your behalf.
3.6 The Authorised Person is unable to complete a program activity (specified at clause 6) on your behalf at any time.
4. Providing false or misleading information
4.1 You are responsible for all information you provide to your participating retailer or to the Department.
4.2 You acknowledge that you understand that it is an offence under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) to provide false, misleading or fraudulent information to a public authority.
4.3 If you provide false, misleading or fraudulent information to your participating retailer or to the Department, the Department may take any or all of the following actions:
- refuse a referral that relates to you;
- refuse any future referral that relates to you; and
- advise any relevant public authority that you have provided false, misleading or fraudulent information.
5. Assessment of your referral and providing further information to the Department
5.1 You acknowledge that you understand that the Department will assess your referral in accordance with the eligibility criteria and these terms and conditions.
5.2 The Department, solely at its discretion, will decide the outcome of your referral in accordance with clause 5.1 of these terms and conditions.
5.3 The Department may at any time require you to provide any of the following:
- information to support your referral, including to verify your identity;
- information or evidence to demonstrate you meet the eligibility criteria;
- a full copy of your most recent energy (gas or electricity) bill, which includes:
- First and last name (your account and bill must be in your name);
- Participating retailer’s name;
- Energy account number;
- National Meter Identifier (NMI) number;
- Delivery Point Identifier (DPI) and Meter Installation Registration Number (MIRN);
- details or evidence of any circumstances relevant to the referral;
- information or evidence to allow the Department to assess your referral in accordance with these terms and conditions;
- information or evidence for the Department to assess if you have provided false, misleading or fraudulent information; or
- information or evidence to allow the Department to consider if you have received assistance under the program in accordance with these terms and conditions.
5.4 If you do not provide information or evidence requested in accordance with clause 5.3, the Department may refuse a referral that relates to you.
5.5 The Department may disclose any of the information you provide to a relevant third party such as your participating retailer to verify your energy bill information or eligibility for the program for the purpose of processing a referral that relates to you.
5.6 Any information you provided by you or an Authorised Person, may be audited by the Department.
5.7 The program payment is sent electronically to your participating retailer and used to credit your home electricity or gas account.
6. Program activities
6.1 If approved for the program, you are expected to complete program activities.
6.2 An Authorised Person may assist you to complete a program activity, but they cannot complete a program activity on your behalf.
6.3 Program activities may include (but are not limited to):
- surveys sent to you by the Department (including an exit survey when withdrawing from the program);
- energy assessments with your participating retailer;
- interviews with the Department to assist with its evaluation of the impact of the program.
6.4 You are expected to complete program activities until one of the following occurs:
- the program ends; or
- you are withdrawn from the program by the Department.
6.5 If you fail to complete a program activity, your participating retailer or the Department may contact you to discuss your progress.
7. Withdrawal from the program
7.1 The Department reserves the right to withdraw you from the program at any time if you:
- do not agree to complete a program activity;
- do not complete a program activity;
- are unable to be contacted by the Department or a participating retailer;
- cease to be a customer of a participating retailer;
- are found to have acted in bad faith or provided false or misleading information to the Department; or
- request to be withdrawn from the program.
7.2 The Department will notify you in writing if a decision is made to withdraw you from the program.
7.3 You may contact the Department to request to be re-enrolled in the program.
7.4 The Department reserves the right to approve your re-enrolment in the program.
8. Closure, suspension or variation of the program
8.1 The Department reserves the right to, at any time, unilaterally do any of the following:
- vary:
- these terms and conditions; or
- its assessment of referrals;
- any aspect of the program;
- temporarily cease accepting and processing new and/or current referrals; or
- permanently cease accepting and processing new and/or current referrals.
8.2 Any variation, suspension or closure made under clause 7.1 will be published on the Department’s website.
8.3 The NSW Government reserves the right to, at any time, permanently suspend or cancel the program.
9. General
9.1 No rights under these terms and conditions will be waived except by notice in writing signed by both you and the Department.
9.2 The program terms and conditions and all related documents are governed by the laws of the State of NSW.
9.3 Where the Department has issued a notice to the email address provided in a referral, the notification will be deemed to have been received by you immediately upon receipt of electronic transmission confirmation.
9.4 Any payments made to you under the program may be audited by the Department.
Note: You have previously consented to the Department’s collection and use of your information, for the purposes of the Trial.