Why utilities recovery is its own discipline.
A utilities customer in arrears is often a customer in genuine distress. Disconnection is a real consequence, and the regulator is watching. A generic collections approach doesn't work, and it shouldn't.
AER/ESC-aligned by default
Hardship, payment-plan, and disconnection-referral workflows built around the AER Statement of Expectations and state-based regulators, not bolted on.
Vulnerable-customer trained
Extended training in life-support protocols, family and domestic violence, mental health first aid, and language-other-than-English support.
Hardship isn't the exception
A significant share of utilities files present in hardship. We treat the hardship pathway as the primary journey, not a side door.
Disconnection pathway care
Where disconnection is a live risk, our escalation protocol is conservative and documented, with notice periods, welfare checks, and clear retailer sign-off gates.
National Debt Helpline linked
Warm-transfer pathway to the NDH and state-based financial counsellors, with the file paused while external advice is received.
EWOV/EWON/EWOQ-ready
Complaint logs and case files built EDR-ready from day one, so external dispute resolution escalations are handled clean.
Six practices that keep utilities recovery compliant and humane.
These aren't optional. They're the operating defaults we score ourselves against every month, and they're the thing a regulator or ombudsman can hold us to.
Life-support register respected
Life-support flags carry across every channel, every touchpoint, with no-contact windows honoured automatically.
Plans built to complete
Instalments sized to actual capacity to pay, not a portfolio minimum. A plan that completes is worth more than three that break.
Disconnection as last resort
Files proposed for disconnection referral go through a documented welfare and hardship review first. No quiet referrals.
Seasonal sensitivity
Contact cadence and tone tuned to heatwaves, cold snaps, and regional events, because an energy customer in a heatwave doesn't need a payment reminder at 8am.
Language and accessibility
TIS National interpreter access, plain-English copy, and accessibility-compliant portals, so nobody is pushed into hardship by a UX barrier.
Ombudsman pack
Every file escalated to EWOV/EWON/EWOQ ships with a clean, chronological pack, timestamps, disclosures, recordings, and hardship history.
Plausible ranges, not vanity numbers.
Every retailer has a different customer base and regulatory posture. These are the directional patterns we tend to see across utilities engagements.
Talk to us about your hardship and recovery book.
Book a walkthrough with our utilities lead, they'll show you the pathway from the customer's side and where your current process could tighten.