Our Ombudsman and staff
Clare Petre, Ombudsman
The Ombudsman is responsible for the management of EWON’s day-to-day operation. In consultation with the Council, the Ombudsman develops procedures to pursue EWON’s objectives in a just, fair, informal and expeditious manner.
Clare Petre, the current Ombudsman, was appointed to the position in 1998. Prior to EWON, Ms Petre was the Senior Assistant Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Ms Petre has extensive experience in the community sector, with government, and the media. She has worked with community legal centres, as a reporter with ABC TV’s 4 Corners and The Investigators, and in the health system. Ms Petre has served on a range of NSW and Commonwealth government advisory bodies, and on the boards of community groups, including ACOSS. Ms Petre has a Bachelor of Social Studies and Diploma of Criminology (Sydney University) and a Masters in Social Administration (London School of 
Economics).
Our teams
Investigations
Our Investigations team is made up of specialist intake staff to deal with matters as quickly as possible; investigations officers working to investigate ongoing matters; and senior officers to manage the team and handle more complex cases.
Community and Service Development
The Community and Service Development team promotes and raises awareness of EWON’s services and utility issues affecting consumers, manages member and stakeholder relationships, coordinates internal and external reporting functions, organises learning and development for staff and provides other essential resources for the Investigations team.
Policy and Research
Our Policy and Research team helps to identify and address systemic and topical issues that arise from our complaint investigation, to provide research and analysis support to the Investigations team, and to inform stakeholders and the community generally of the issues customers are raising with EWON through reports and submissions.
Corporate Services
Our Corporate Services team provides essential administrative, IT and human resources support for the organisation.
