Hardship
ACCESSIBILITY
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यदि आप अंग्रेजी नहीं बोलते हैं और इस दस्तावेज़ की सहायता की आवश्यकता है, तो दुभाषिया द्वारा सहायता के लिए 13 14 50 पर अनुवाद औरव्याख्या सेवा (Translating and Interpreting Service - TIS) 13 14 50 को कॉल करें।
Jika Anda tidak berbicara bahasa Inggris dan memerlukan bantuan dengan dokumen ini, hubungi Layanan Penerjemahan dan Penerjemahan (TIS) pada 13 14 50 untuk bantuan oleh seorang juru bahasa.
Se non parli inglese e hai bisogno di aiuto con questo documento, chiama il Servizio di traduzione e interpretariato (TIS) al numero 13 14 50 per l’assistenza di un interprete.
英語を話せず、このドキュメントに関するサポートが必要な場合は、13 14 50にある翻訳および通訳サービス (TIS）に電話して、通訳の支援を受けてください。
영어를 구사하지 못하고이 문서와 관련하여 도움이 필요한 경우 통역사의 도움을 받으려면 번역 및 통역 서비스 (TIS) 13 14 50로 전화하십시오.
Se você não fala inglês e precisa de ajuda com este documento, ligue para o Serviço de tradução e interpretação (Translating and Interpreting Service - TIS) da 13 14 50 para obter assistência de um intérprete.
如果你不同意這個文檔講英語和需要幫助的，通過解釋致電翻譯和口譯服務（TIS）13 14 50尋求幫助。
Nếu bạn không nói tiếng Anh và cần trợ giúp với tài liệu này, hãy gọi Dịch vụ Phiên dịch và Phiên dịch (TIS) theo số 13 14 50 để được thông dịch viên hỗ trợ.
如果您不會說英語，並且需要本文檔的幫助，請致電13 14 50致電翻譯服務處以尋求口譯員的幫助。
OBTAINING A COPY OF THIS HARDSHIP POLICY
We send our customers a copy off our Hardship Policy in our welcome packs. We can also send you a free copy of our Hardship Policy in accordance with your preferred method of receiving written communication. Other ways we provide access to this policy include:
a reference to this Hardship Policy in online customer bills
inclusion of this policy in paper bills
assisting customers to access interpreter services
helping our customers to access services for the hearing and speech impaired, and
helping our customers to access services for the hearing and speech impaired, and
You can call our Customer Relations Team on 1300 805 925 or our Hardship Team directly on 1300 805 926 to obtain a copy of this Hardship Policy. You can also email our Hardship Team directly (hardship@radian.com).
1. INTRODUCTION
This policy applies to all residential customers living in QLD, NSW, TAS, SA and ACT who find it hard to pay their energy bills due to hardship.
You might experience hardship because of factors like:
death in the family
household illness
family violence
unemployment
reduced income
Falling on times of financial difficulty can happen to anyone. We understand that sometimes our customers need extra flexibility to pay their energy bills, and we care about assisting them to find ways to manage their energy account.
Whether it’s providing minimum forms of assistance to all residential customers to help them avoid getting into debt, or for residential customers who have an outstanding balance, Radian Energy can provide options that suits each customer’s needs.
This policy explains:
what we will do to help you manage your energy bills
how we consider your circumstances and needs
your rights as a customer in our Hardship Program
Radian Energy has systems in place to enable us to meet our obligations with respect to customer hardship in:
the Retail Law, and
the Retail Rules, and
the AER Customer Hardship Policy Guideline, and
This hardship policy
1.1 THIRD PARTY/SUPPORT PERSON
You can ask a support person to contact us, such as:
a financial counsellor
someone who helps you manage your energy bills.
We need your permission to talk to your support person. Where you have elected a representative to act on your behalf, Radian Energy will engage with the representative according to the level of authorisation you’ve consented to. To authorise a support person, contact our Customer Relations Team on 1300 805 925.
1.2 WHAT WE WILL DO TO HELP YOU
Our plan is to work with you to set up an arrangement that fits your circumstance and assists you to:
Pay your on-going energy use in manageable instalments
Understand how to become more energy efficient
Reduce and pay off your energy debt
While you are on the Hardship Program, we’ll also:
Make sure your energy supply remains connected
Assist you in applying for any relevant government and non-government assistance or grants
Offer you the most suitable energy plan for their needs
Provide support aimed at minimising energy costs
Although we want our customers to feel comfortable approaching us, we understand that starting a conversation about money troubles can be tough. For this reason, we may also look out for early warning signs or triggers that our customers may need support.
The following steps will be followed to identify a customer that may be experiencing hardship
Hardship Team reviews reports weekly (including late or unpaid bills, regular payment extensions, government assistance received)
Hardship Team will determine if these indicators constitute a customer going through hardship (for example customer is two bills behind)
Customers determined to be going through hardship will be provided information to help them.
If a customer is flagged as a potential hardship customer, we will provide them with information on the following assistance options:
Our Regular Payment Plans which enable our customers to pay energy costs and debt over an agreed length of time
Advice about the likely cost of future energy use and how costs may be lowered, based on our customer’s pattern of energy use
Information on any assistance from government or non-government organisations, including energy concessions and grants our customers may be eligible for
Information on how our customers are progressing towards lowering their energy costs
Information to ensure our customers are on the right plans to minimise their energy costs
For those customers that are unable to meet their ongoing energy costs, we will provide additional support and assistance to become more energy efficient
Options for payment of ongoing energy use being made separately to any outstanding balance
We will tell you about our Hardship Program if:
you tell us you are having trouble paying your bill
you are referred to our program by a financial counsellor or other community worker
we are concerned that you may be experiencing financial hardship
Meaningful and timely communication sits at the heart of the Hardship Assistance Program. If you are facing or expecting hardship or payment difficulties, we encourage you to contact us personally, or through a support person.
We’re eager to give you information about the Hardship Assistance Program and provide assistance to get you back on track as soon as possible. We understand that this is a sensitive matter, we will make contact with you within 5 business days using your preferred contact method.
We will recommend you speak to a staff member to help you join our Hardship Program if you have:
a history of late payments
broken payment plans
requested payment extensions
received a disconnection warning notice
been disconnected for non-payment
We can also support you to join our Hardship Program if you tell us:
you are eligible for a relief grant or other emergency assistance
you have personal circumstances where hardship support may help. For example, death in the family or job loss.
You may have trouble paying your bills for different reasons. Please contact us so we can discuss your individual situation.
Our staff are specially trained to help you with hardship. Staff will:
ask you a few questions about your circumstances
work out if you can join the Hardship Program
We will assess your application for hardship assistance by three business days.
We will let you know if you are accepted into our Hardship Program within five business days from receipt of the application.
If you are accepted into our Hardship Program, we will:
tell you if you are on the right energy plan or if there is a better plan for you
tell you about government concessions, relief schemes or energy rebates you may be able to receive
give you ideas about how to reduce your energy use
talk to you about a payment amount that suits your circumstances
If you have any questions about our Hardship Assistance Program, call us on 1300 805 926 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm AEST) and we’ll be happy to help.
To access our Financial Hardship Policy, visit https://radian.com.au/policies
2. PAYMENT OPTIONS
2.1. What we will do
There are different payment options available to hardship customers, including:
Payment plans
Centrepay
Regular Payment Plans
Our Regular Payment Plans are designed to assist our customers manage their payments in regular instalments. These instalments can be made weekly, fortnightly or monthly. We will work with you to arrange a payment plan that suits your needs.
When you are in our hardship program, we will offer you flexible payment options to suit your individual situation. We will see if another energy plan may be better for you. If you agree, we can transfer you to a better energy plan for free. Depending on the rules in our hardship policy, we may be able to remove some debt, fees or charges you owe.
Working with you we will consider:
how much you can pay
how much you owe
how much energy we expect you will use in the next 12 months
This will help us figure out a payment plan that is right for you.
We will offer a payment plan to suit your situation. This will include payments to cover:
what you owe
an amount to cover your energy use
Once we agree to a payment plan, we will send you information including:
who you can contact for more help how long the payment plan will go for
the amount you will pay each time
how many payments you need to make
when you need to make your payments (this is also called the frequency of the payments)
how we worked out your payments
You can choose to use Centrepay, if you are eligible.
Centrepay is a free service you can use to help pay your bills. Centrepay can automatically take an amount of money from your Centrelink payments to go toward energy bills and expenses.
Alternatively, if you aren’t eligible for CentrePay, we will be happy to give you more information on our other payment options.
Monitoring and reviewing our customer’s energy plan and Regular Payment Plan
If at any point, our customers fail to make a payment by the date payable and they’re having difficulty keeping up with their payments, we ask that our customers contact us so we can discuss their options.
The Hardship Assistance team will check to see whether a customer’s energy plan is the best fit for their needs and will let them know if there might be a more suitable energy plan.
We also recognise that not all customers will contact us if they experience further financial difficulties, so we’ll periodically review Regular Payment Plans to ensure customers are on track with their payments and if anything changes, we will make contact.
If you miss a payment, we will contact you to see if you need help. We will contact you by your preferred method of contact on at least two occasions in order to allow you to respond. These contacts will be
two business days after the payment due date
Seven business days after first contact attempt
2.2. What you must do
Tell us if your situation changes and you can no longer make the payments in your plan. We can then review your payment arrangements.
Tell us if your contact details change.
Where customers are facing changes in their circumstances or are unable to propose a suitable payment arrangement, we will work together to determine how best to adjust the arrangement so that it’s achievable. This might include accepting payments of different amounts at different time periods, extending the repayment period, or increasing the time a customer has to reduce their energy usage if appropriate.
Any decision to stop hardship assistance is a difficult one, and one that we don’t take lightly.
We may stop helping you if you:
stop making payments under your plan
do not tell us when your contact details change.
If you have had two payment plans cancelled in the last 12 months because you did not follow your plan:
we do not have to offer you another plan
we might disconnect your energy
3. OTHER SUPPORTS TO HELP YOU PAY YOUR ENERGY BILL
Depending on the state or territory you live in, there are other supports to help you pay your energy bills.
3.1. What we will do
We will tell you about other ways you can get help to pay your energy bill, such as:
government relief schemes
energy rebates
concession programs
financial counselling services
3.2. What we need you to do
If you find out you are eligible for these programs, let us know as soon as possible so we can help you.
4. OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
4.1 Determining Eligibility for the Hardship Assistance Program
When you enter the Hardship Assistance program you can expect to go through the following steps, which are designed to help you navigate the program and get back on track with your energy costs.
Step 1: Assesment
Step 2: Payment Plans
Step 3: Monitoring and energy efficiency advice
Step 1: Assessment – first we will assess whether you are eligible for assistance under the Hardship Program. In this step we will ask you questions regarding what you can afford to pay and whether you are entitled to any concessions that may help reduce the costs immediately. This information helps us to determine what assistance may be best suited in your circumstances.
Step 2: Payment plans – in this step we will work with you to develop an affordable payment plan. Our payment plans come in two categories, short and long term payment plans. This process is the same regardless of the category of payment plan.
Step 3: Monitoring and energy efficiency advice – we will monitor payments and usage to gauge whether they are likely to get you back on track with your energy payments. We will contact you if we feel that we need to reassess or if there are other forms of assistance available that will help.
For those customers who can pay for their ongoing energy usage, but perhaps need assistance paying off their debt, we can work together to design a payment arrangement.
We can give our customers information about their pattern of energy use, what this is likely to cost in the future, and how this cost may be lowered. We will provide advice on government or non-government assistance that may be available and will suggest suitable repayment options based on our customer’s situation for them to consider.
4.2 What we will do
We will consider your individual situation to find the right programs (e.g. concession programs) or services that meet your needs.
Our Hardship Team will provide our customers with timely information and advice about any assistance they may be eligible for and support them through the application process including any paperwork.
If deemed ineligible, Radian will ensure that a reason is provided to a customer for this.
4.3 Following are the grant and rebates programs you can access:
QLD Customers
Electricity Concession
Reticulated Natural Gas
Electricity Life Support Concession Scheme
Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concession
Home Energy Assistance Scheme (HEAS)
For more information visit - https://www.qld.gov.au/community/cost-of-living-support/concessions/energy-concessions
NSW Customers
NSW Low Income Household Rebate
Life Support Rebates
Medical Energy Rebate
Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA)
For more information visit - https://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/energyconsumers/financial-assistance/rebates
TAS Customers
Annual Electricity Concession
Heating allowance
Life support concession
Medical cooling and heating concession
For more information visit - https://www.concessions.tas.gov.au/concessions/electricity_and_heating
SA Customers
Cost of living concession
Medical heating and cooling concession
For more information visit - https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/care-and-support/financial-support/concessions
You can contact the following financial counselling services for further assistance.
New South Wales
Money Smart – 1800 007 007
Catholic Care Sydney – 13 18 19
Wesley Financial Counselling – 1300 827 638
Queensland
Central Queensland Financial Counselling Service - +61 7 49 281 844
Uniting Care Community – +61 7 3253 4000
St Vincent de Paul – +61 7 3010 1096
Tasmania
Anglicare TAS – 1800 243 232
Rural Financial Counselling Service Tasmania - +61 3 6334 2768
South Australia
The South Australian Financial Counsellors Association - 1800 007 007
Medisec Financial Advisor - +61 8 8377 7795
4.1 Financial counselling services
Financial counsellors can support customers to better manage their finances and can represent the customer in discussions with Radian Energy. We can refer customers to accredited financial counselling agencies who offer their services at no cost to the customer.
Financial counsellors can contact the Hardship Team directly on behalf on their clients on 1300 805 926 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm AEST).
5. WE WANT TO CHECK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT ENERGY PLAN
5.1 What we will do
When you join our Hardship Program, we will talk to you about your energy use and whether you are on the right plan.
As a hardship customer, you can access a range of programs and services to help you:
Financial relief grants;
Access to independent free financial counselling;
Access to an energy usage auditor; and
Energy Efficiency advice.
If we think there is a better energy plan for you, we will:
explain why the plan is better
ask if you’d like to transfer to the new plan for free.
We will only talk to you about energy plans we can offer.
6. WE CAN HELP YOU SAVE ENERGY
Using less energy can save you money
6.1. What we will do
When you join our Hardship Program, we can give you tips to use less energy. This can be different depending on the state or territory you live in.
We will also provide practical assistance to customers on how they can become more energy efficient and to understand how they are tracking towards lowering those costs.
6.2. Energy efficiency information
A key step in taking control of an energy account is by understanding energy use, energy costs and how to use energy more efficiently. To help, we monitor the energy usage patterns of our Hardship Assistance Program customers to ensure they are on the energy plan most likely to minimise their energy costs and provide assistance and information to help reduce those costs. Hardship Assistance Program customers can receive advice on how their energy usage and home appliances impact their energy bills. In some cases, this will be done through phone consultation or in-home energy efficiency visits, completed by our community partners at no cost to the customer.
6.3. Putting debt on hold
It can take time to put into action ways to reduce our customer’s energy usage. To manage this, Hardship Assistance Program customers who cannot pay for their ongoing energy usage can have the repayment of their debt put on hold for an initial period of six months. This gives us time to work with our customers to lower their energy costs and let them implement the recommended measures while also making payments towards their on-going energy usage. While unpaid usage amounts are added to our customer’s outstanding balance, we’ll be working with our customers to try and help reduce their usage costs.
7. WE WILL WORK WITH YOU
If you have joined our Hardship Program, we will not:
charge late payment fees
require a security deposit
make changes to your plan without your agreement. For example, we will not put you on a shortened collection cycle unless you agree first.
We want customers on our Hardship Assistance Program to feel supported. That’s why they aren’t charged paper bill fees, merchant fees or asked for security deposits.
Also, customers on the Hardship Assistance Program will not lose any pay-on-time discounts if they miss the due date of their bill or Regular Payment Plan instalments.
8. GRADUATION FROM HARDSHIP ASSISTANCE
The ultimate goal of our Hardship Assistance Program is to set our customers up so that they can independently and effectively manage their energy costs and get things back on track.
To assist a Hardship customer to graduate from the Hardship Assistance Program we will
providing regular updates on progress towards reducing arrears, and
engaging in regular dialogue with the customer to ensure the payment plan remains appropriate.
Once a customer is no longer in a position of hardship or financial difficulty, they will graduate from the program and return to our standard billing and collection terms.
9. OUR COMMITMENT
Radian Energy is committed to make it easier for our customers to stay on track and in control of their energy bills.
We will
Treat our customers with respect and empathy
Provide our customers with timely assistance and information
Provide information to our customers on how to increase energy efficiency to manage energy usage and costs
Facilitate ongoing training of our staff
Maintain strong relationships with community stakeholders
Handle each situation with respect and empathy
Act fairly and reasonably having regard to our customers’ circumstances
Offer our customers the most suitable energy plan
Ensure our customers don't lose any pay-on-time discounts for late payments
Work with our customers to develop a sustainable payment plan
Review payment plans to make sure our customers are on track
Make sure our customers have information on relevant concessions, government and non-government assistance/grants
Let our customers know where they can get free independent financial counselling in their area
Provide our customers with tips on energy efficiency and ways to reduce energy costs
Ensure energy supply remains connected while we continue to work together
Work with our customers to create a suitable payment plan
Inform our customers of the agreed payment dates to ensure they pay on time and in full
In addition to our commitment above when dealing with a customer who is experiencing payment difficulties Radian Energy will
Consider all circumstances of the customer of which we are aware and, having regard to those circumstances, act fairly and reasonably, and
In a timely manner when it is relevant to do so, including being contacted by a customer, give a customer clear information about the assistance available to the customer under this hardship policy, and
As soon as practicable, provide a customer who is entitled to receive assistance under this hardship policy with that assistance.
10. FAMILY VIOLENCE PROTOCOL
Whenever Radian Energy staff suspect that a customer may be affected by family violence, they will refer them to the Hardship Team to offer the support outlined in this document if needed. We understand that these circumstances are sensitive and complex, which is why our Hardship Team undertakes ongoing training in this area and handles information in accordance with the relevant privacy requirements.
11. COMPLAINTS
We want to do everything we can to make this program work for our customers and we will do what we can to resolve their concerns.
If a customer has a complaint about the Hardship Assistance Program, we will work with them to resolve the complaint.
Customers can lodge a complaint using any of the following methods
Phone
Customer Relations Team
1300 805 925 (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm AEST)
Radian Energy: Complaints
4/50 Queen Street
Melbourne Victoria
Web form
support@radian.com.au
Upon receipt of your complaint we will follow these steps
We will acknowledge your complaint (immediately if made in person or within two working days if via email, phone message or post)
We will attempt to resolve your complaint at first contact if possible
If a resolution is not possible on first contact, we will outline the timeframe for resolving the complaint
If we have to investigate your complaint, we will do so within 10 working days and advise you of the outcome by your preferred method of contact.
If there are delays, we will contact you and advise of the delay, the reason for the delay, and will outline a new timetable for resolution.
If you are unsatisfied with how we have handled your complaint then you have the right to contact the Energy Ombudsman Scheme in your state, they may be able to assist with your complaint. However, Radian Energy would prefer that you contact us first.
Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW
Freecall: 1800 246 545
Freefax: 1800 812 291
Interpreter: 131 450
NRS: 133 677
Email: complaints@ewon.com.au
Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland
www.ewoq.com.au
PO box 3640, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101
Free call: 1800 662 837
Email: complaints@ewoq.com.au
Energy and Water Ombudsman SA
www.ewosa.com.au
GPO Box 2947, Adelaide, SA 5001
Free Call: 1800 665 565
Ombudsman Tasmania
GPO Box 960 Hobart, TAS 7001
Free Call: 1800 001 170
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.tas.gov.au
ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal
https://www.acat.act.gov.au/case-types/energy-and-water-cases
GPO Box 370 Canberra, ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6207 1740
Email: Tribunal@act.gov.au
12. PRIVACY
Radian Energy is fully committed to respecting our customer’s privacy. We protect the personal information of our customers in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) and the National Privacy Principles.
More information can be found in our Privacy Policy - visit https://radian.com.au/policies?tab=privacy or call us on 1300 805 925 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm AEST).
13. REVIEW AND TRAINING
Radian Energy regularly reviews and updates our customer hardship training. All staff (including the Hardship Team) receive access to refresher training when Radian Energy updates its hardship policy or hardship training materials.
14. CONTACT US
You can contact us through any of the following methods;
Phone
Customer Relations Team
1300 805 925 (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm AEST)
Hardship Team
1300 805 926 (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm AEST)
Mail
Radian Energy
Address
Level 1, 16 McDougall St, Milton QLD 4064
Web form
https://radian.com.au/contact
Email
connect@radian.com
