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Jan - Dec 2019
ActionFinancial Inclusion
Plan
Foundation Document
inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing inclusion resilience wellbeing
Supporting the community together.
A message from our Executive General Manager
We understand that sometimes it can be tough for households to pay for everyday essentials, such as electricity. But we also know they can’t live without it, so we’d like to help if we can.
Ergon Energy Retail has a strong history of working closely with customers experiencing financial hardship to help them manage their electricity bills and energy usage.
The development of our foundation Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) demonstrates our commitment to ensuring financial inclusion within the communities we serve.
We set out to create a plan that supports our existing programs, refines our approach and gives us the best chance to positively influence our customers’ financial inclusion and resilience.
Through the development process, we identified opportunities to consolidate and strengthen our support programs for customers who face genuine hardship.
This plan gives us the foundation to ensure it’s as simple as possible for customers to get the help they need. A key part of this is for us to identify and reach out to those who could be at risk of financial exclusion.
Ergon Energy Retail is proud to join the FIAP community. As an organisation focused on our customers, their needs are at the centre of everything we do.
I’m confident this action plan will help us achieve the FIAP goals of financial inclusion and financial resilience, promoting inclusive growth and reducing inequality.
Cheryl HopkinsExecutive General Manager - RetailEnergy Queensland
We get what it’s like to live and work in regional Queensland, because we’re here too. Every time a customer calls or emails us, they get 100% local service from our teams in Townsville, Rockhampton and Maryborough.
As an electricity retailer, we buy electricity from generators and sell it to our customers throughout regional Queensland.
We sell it at the Queensland Government’s notified prices, which are set by the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) and supported by a Queensland Government subsidy to keep regional power prices on par with those in the southeast.
Access to grants and rebates
We make it easy for our customers to access government financial assistance programs including the:
• Queensland Government Electricity Rebate for eligible pensioners, seniors, health care card holders and asylum seekers.
• Queensland Government’s Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme.
Customer Assist Program
For over 10 years, our Customer Assist program has helped thousands of customers to work through short to long-term financial hardship and difficulties.
More importantly, it has helped them build knowledge and resilience so they are better placed to manage their financial situation in the future without falling back into hardship.
Support for farming communities
With many of our farming communities across Queensland continuing to battle drought, we’re here to help through our drought relief program.
Help is available for farmers living in drought declared areas through waived charges and deferred payments.
Our partnership with the Flying Doctor
For almost two decades, we’ve helped our customers and our teams to raise over $13 million for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland and bring vital health services to rural and remote areas.
As a 100% Queensland owned company, we’re with our customers 100% of the way.
ImpactWe’ll provide expert advice and support to help our customers, our teams and the broader community to achieve their financial goals.
Our TeamsWe’ll support our people to identify and support at-risk and vulnerable customers with specialised products and services.
LearningWe welcome feedback relating to our service, products and people to better understand the needs and priorities of our communities, and improve how we serve them.
Community and PartnersWe’ll continue to be active in our regional communities by creating local employment and supporting each other like family.
ReportingWe’re committed to delivering measurable outcomes to make a difference for our customers’ financial inclusion and resilience.
SuppliersWe believe in making it as convenient as possible to deal with us. We’ll enable our suppliers to engage with us in ways that suit them.
Relationships We’ll continue to work closely with groups and organisations including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and councils.
CustomersWe’ll be here to provide our customers with great service and help them stay on track with affording their energy bills.
Operating principles.Our goal in delivering the plan is to add value in line with the FIAP operating principles.
Stakeholders.We’re actively responding to the stakeholder-led energy transformation taking place.
We will work with community support groups and our customers to deliver products and services that are affordable and accessible to suit differing needs.
Our focus will be on early identification and engagement of customers at risk of financial exclusion.
Products and services.
Stakeholder Action Statement Output Outcome Responsible Timeframe
Customers Continue to deliver for vulnerable customers, access to products that assist with affordability and improve energy efficiency through the use of energy monitoring and gamification based tools.
Installation of a further 4000 interval meters to low income households and access to online tools and appropriate billing methods.
Increase in targeted and scaleable resources to build financial knowledge, skills and behaviour. Increased pathways and tools for ongoing support for vulnerable groups.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers, Our Teams
Specifically targeted review of the existing Hardship Policy and processes, including the existing products and services for customers in financial hardship.
Overhaul of hardship policy and processes to proactively identify customers in financial hardship and match them to tailored, sustainable options such as (but not limited to) payment matching incentives and debt waiver programs.
Improved access to appropriate financial products and services.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers, Community
Proactively advocate for policy and regulatory improvements to support financial inclusion.
Engagement with internal stakeholders, government and appropriate regulatory bodies on policy and regulations to promote financial inclusion.
Increase in policies, processes and actions to address economic inequalities.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers, Our Teams
Review channels for vulnerable customers to increase access and choice to deliver highly accessible and usable products and services. Channel considerations will recognise disability and diverse groups that have challenges with traditional means.
Review and recommend improvements to usability and accessibility of products and services for vulnerable customers through specific channels.
Improved access to appropriate financial products and services.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Knowledge, behaviour and capabilities.
We will seek to build upon our overall knowledge and skills, attitudes, and behaviours — particularly those that have a direct impact on vulnerable customers’ financial inclusion and resilience.
We will do this by giving our teams the resources and tools required to serve our customers with more informed decision-making processes.
Stakeholder Action Statement Output Outcome Responsible Timeframe
Our Teams Review and evaluate the way Ergon Energy Retail supports our teams to understand financial inclusion and build capability to support customers experiencing financial exclusion.
Development and delivery of ongoing training, awareness sessions and the advocacy for the Financial Inclusion Action Plan.
Increased understanding of barriers to financial inclusion, financial resilience and financial wellbeing. Our teams are better able to identify and support vulnerable groups.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers Develop metrics and indices to gain deeper insight and understanding of our customers and increase financial inclusion.
Development of customer segmentation for vulnerable and hardship customer groups.
Increase in targeted and scaleable resources to build financial knowledge, skills and behaviours.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers, Our Teams, Community
Continue to build relationships with non-government organisations and financial counselling providers to increase access and awareness of the assistance available to customers. Maintain and expand our community directory.
Stronger connections to community networks, regular contact with non-government organisations from our community directory.
Improved support for at-risk customers, our teams, suppliers and the wider community.
Ergon Energy Retail
Ongoing
Customers, Community
Build community engagement framework that identifies new and existing opportunities to increase Ergon Energy Retail’s visibility in communities.
Attend and participate in identified engagement opportunities to improve accessibility and awareness of products and services to increase financial inclusion.
Increase in knowledge and availability of appropriate financial services.
Ergon Energy Retail
Jun 2019
Our Teams Provide a flexible and safe workplace for our teams affected by domestic and family violence to support and improve financial resilience at times of need.
Delivery of the Energy Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Guideline document. Providing access to Domestic and Family Violence paid leave.
Increased understanding of barriers to financial inclusion, financial resilience and financial wellness.
Energy Queensland
Ongoing
Our Teams Boost awareness of the link between financial wellbeing and mental health. Establish a network of peer support within the organisation. Create a mentally healthy workplace, home and community to build resilience to financial exclusion.
Delivery of Mates in Energy training to our teams. Ensure the link between financial inclusion and mental health is highlighted.
Increased understanding of barriers to financial inclusion, financial resilience and financial wellness.
Energy Queensland
Ongoing
Our Diversity and Inclusion teams will acknowledge our customers’ cultural and ethnic diversity so we can help improve access for vulnerable groups to financial support and increase financial inclusion and resilience.
This process will be supported by the development of our Indigenous Connections Plan and the commitments we make within it to work with Australian Indigenous communities.
Stakeholder Action Statement Output Outcome Responsible Timeframe
Customers Conduct research and develop reporting and understanding of financial hardship indicators within remote and isolated Indigenous communities with card operated meters, to recommend specific financial hardship assistance.
Make recommendations of financial hardship indicators within remote and isolated card operated meter communities.
Increased pathways and tools for ongoing support for vulnerable groups.
Ergon Energy Retail
Aug 2019
Customers, Our Teams, Suppliers, Community
Conduct interviews and outreach to understand language or cultural barriers to make recommendations on products and services and financial literacy for multicultural, non-English speaking groups.
Deliver recommendations of products and services to non-English speaking and multicultural groups.
Increased understanding of barriers to financial inclusion, financial resilience and financial wellbeing.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Customers, Our Teams, Suppliers, Community
Raise financial inclusion awareness with relevant customer groups across the Energy Queensland portfolio.
Attend forums and share our work on improving financial inclusion, with these stakeholders to improve their understanding of financial inclusion.
Improved support for at-risk customers, our teams, suppliers and the wider community.
Energy Queensland
Dec 2019
Customers, Our Teams, Community
Create an inclusive workforce and culture in Energy Queensland that is considerate of the diversity of our teams, customers and communities.
Incorporate an inclusion index in the Engagement Survey that measures our teams’ experiences of being pyschologically safe, feeling they are included and having a voice in the organisation. Introduce a network of Diversity Working Parties that drive and implement our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Increased understanding of economic participation and status (e.g. employment, procurement, supply chain). Our teams are better able to identify and support vulnerable customer groups.
Energy Queensland
Ongoing
Understanding of financial vulnerability.
We will encourage meaningful economic participation through employment conditions and the services we offer to improve the economic status of vulnerable groups.
This includes how we consider the different requirements of customers who may be experiencing mental or physical health issues, family or domestic violence and other life events that can place undue pressure on a person’s financial situation.
Stakeholder Action Statement Output Outcome Responsible Timeframe
Customers, Our Teams, Suppliers, Community
As part of our Reconciliation Action Plan, formalise partnerships to support financial inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, through employment opportunities and access to products and services.
Review of our procurement policy to understand exceptions and provide flexibility to include all businesses. Targeted activities to attract, recruit and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Improved support for at risk customers, our teams, suppliers and the wider community. Increase equal opportunities and asset building (for individuals and business).
Energy Queensland
Dec 2019
Customers, Community
Develop energy literacy programs to educate and enable customers to build financial resilience.
Develop energy literacy programs and deliver through a forum to community groups.
Increased financial knowledge and skills of individuals.
Ergon Energy Retail
Dec 2019
Our Teams Provide access to financial advice and financial literacy programs and include this in induction training and separation processes.
Development of a program to provide advice and awareness of superannuation, insurance and redundancy advice when employees enter or exit the business.
Increase in strategies to address economic inequality.
Energy Queensland
Dec 2019
Our Teams Continue to provide access to paid maternity leave with options of half pay and superannuation benefits for mothers.
Provide access to a maternity leave calculator and continuous payment of superannuation for 12 months for eligible employees.
Increased equal opportunities and asset building.
Energy Queensland
Implemented
Customers, Community
Provide access to support for farmers located in drought declared regions who may be experiencing financial difficulty in managing energy costs.
Administer the Drought Relief from Electricity Charges Scheme. Improve awareness and accessibility to the scheme for those in drought declared regions, this includes removal of supply charges for eligible tariffs.
Improved access to appropriate financial products and services. Increased pathways and tools for ongoing support for vulnerable groups.
Ergon Energy Retail
Ongoing
Economic participation and status.
Statement from the FIAP partnership group.
On behalf of the FIAP Partnership Group, I would like to congratulate Ergon Energy Retail for your ongoing public commitment to financial inclusion and financial resilience.
Together we are embarking on a journey to explore, learn and grow – both as a program through this Foundation FIAP and as partners undertaking the important process of reducing inequalities and promoting inclusive growth in our communities.
Financial hardship can impact us all, at any stage in our lives – through the FIAP, our hope is that every organisation will be able to respond in time and every time to ensure financial hardship can be identified early, managed and overcome.
By building capacity, awareness and greater access to appropriate products and services,
organisations will see the social and economic benefits in their engagement, outcomes and prosperity of customers and employees.
The FIAP Partnership Group exists to support the growing community of practice to identify opportunities to better respond to financial risks, develop meaningful actions across key stakeholders and measure the social and economic impact.
Drawing on our individual expertise the FIAP Partnership Group will provide implementation, evaluation and quality assurance support to ensure key actions you have identified are (i) on track to achieve the intended impact and (ii) engaging those stakeholders in most need of support. We are proud to be on this important journey with Ergon Energy Retail.
At the heart of the FIAP program is the belief that together we can achieve more. Ergon Energy Retail joins the growing community of organisations that understand they play a critical role in Australia’s financial future – together we can reduce inequalities and realise inclusive growth for all Australians.
Sincerely,
Vinita Godinho General Manager, Advisory Good Shepherd Microfinance On behalf of the FIAP Partnership Group
Supported by:
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Customer service
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ergon.com.au/contact
Ergon Energy Queensland Pty Ltd
ABN 11 121 177 802
