Origin Energy fined $1.6m after sharing private details of family violence victims
Origin Energy fined $1.6m after sharing private details of family violence victims
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Company apologises over disclosure of information and collection of debts from vulnerable people. Human error has been blamed after a major energy retailer shared family violence victims’ private details without their consent and for chasing other survivors for unpaid power bills.
Origin Energy has coughed up $1.6m after it was served penalty notices by Victoria’s Essential Services Commission for breaching rules designed to protect the vulnerable cohort. Between June 2021 and March 2024, Origin was found to have disclosed confidential information of 16 family violence-affected customers without their consent 21 times, and took debt recovery action against another 38 without considering the potential impact.
Energy retailers must not disclose a customer’s information to third parties without consent, and are required to consider the potential impact of debt recovery on those customers under Victorian rules. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email.
In a statement, the ASX-listed company apologised to customers for not meeting its regulatory obligations. “We self-reported the breaches to the Essential Services Commission, co-operated with the investigation and have taken significant steps to improve our processes and procedures,” an Origin spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“These breaches largely occurred due to human error.”. Customer service staff have since completed refresher training to reduce the risk of human error and more breaches, while customers caught up in debt collection breaches received an apology and “substantial remediation”, including waiving their outstanding debts, the company said.
