Step 2: Contact us

To allow us to discuss your complaint with your supplier, we will need to get information from you.

For example, if your complaint is regarding a high bill you should:

• have the high bill with you
• have details of your previous bills/usage
• have your account/customer number
• have your meter number (water), NMI (electricity) or MIRN (gas)
• be prepared to explain exactly why you feel the bill is incorrect
• tell us what you want/seek to resolve the dispute

Allow yourself enough time to talk to us (usually 15-20 minutes). If you cannot give us all the information we need to help you, we may ask you to call back at another time.

If speaking English is hard for you, we can contact a person who speaks your language to help.

If you are acting on behalf of someone else, we require permission from the account holder, please complete our Authority to Act form before proceeding. You can get a copy of the form here.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help you prepare a complaint. They may help you organise events, summarise the main issues or write in plain English. If you use AI, please make sure your complaint is specific, accurate and easy to understand.

What AI tools cannot do

AI tools can be useful, but they do not replace your own knowledge of what happened. They may not understand your circumstances, EWOSA’s role or the regulatory requirements that apply to South Australian energy and water complaints. They may also produce general statements that do not explain your specific issue.

What we need from you

To assess your complaint, we need clear and concise information. You do not need to write a long letter, send every document you have or refer to every issue in detail. This may slow the complaint handling process. We are looking for:

• a straight-forward description of your complaint and your provider’s response
• what outcome you are seeking to resolve your complaint
• what you have already done to try to resolve the complaint with your provider

Our online complaint form guides you through the information we need. If your complaint is unclear or lengthy, we may ask you to state your complaint more clearly and simply in two pages or less.

Risks when using AI

Mistakes

AI tools can produce information that is wrong, incomplete or not relevant. They may also refer to regulatory requirements that do not exist. If you use AI, you are still responsible for making sure the information in your complaint is correct, clear and relevant. 

In assessing your complaint, we rely on the information you provide to us.  If the information you provide to EWOSA through the use of AI tools is wrong or irrelevant, it could prejudice or cause delays in our consideration of your complaint or lead to us taking irrelevant matters into account.

Privacy and confidentiality

Be careful about what you put into public AI tools. Some tools may store the information you enter. Avoid entering personal information, account numbers, addresses, health information or details about another person unless you are sure it is safe to do so.

Information you receive from EWOSA relating to your complaint is confidential.  EWOSA does not authorise you sharing that information with a public AI tool.

We may share information about your complaint with your provider and other relevant parties so we can handle your complaint. This is different from entering information into a public AI tool. Please read our Privacy Policy if you have questions about how we handle personal information.

You are responsible for your use of AI

AI tools may assist you in informing us of your complaint, but they do not replace your own understanding of your situation. You are responsible for the content of your complaint, and EWOSA accepts no liability for any consequences of your use of AI tools, including any inaccuracies or omissions in AI‑generated material or any inadvertent disclosure of confidential or private information.