Janine Young, Ombudsman
Janine Young was appointed Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW in November 2014, having gained extensive experience providing independent dispute resolution service as the Victorian Public Transport Ombudsman (2010-14) and Deputy Ombudsman at the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (2003-2010).
Janine is passionate about social justice and ensuring essential services are accessible, especially for those experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, vulnerability. Across her career, Janine has focused on improving social inclusion and community connectedness and delivering innovative, accessible, and equitable services.
Janine is Secretary/Treasurer of the Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association (ANZOA) and a member of Chief Executive Women. Janine holds undergraduate qualifications in Marketing and Management, an MBA and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Janine is also on the Standards Australia QR015, the Committee responsible for reviewing/maintaining the Guidelines for Complaint Handling in Organisations (AS10002).
Helen Ford, Deputy Ombudsman
In 2018/19 we appointed Helen Ford as Deputy Ombudsman, to provide strategic support to the Ombudsman and undertake high level stakeholder engagement.
Before joining EWON, Helen worked for over a decade at the NSW Ombudsman’s office dealing with complaints about NSW government agencies and investigating systemic issues. She gained practical policy development experience working in the NSW Maritime Division of Roads and Maritime Services to improve operational procedures for Boating Safety Officers.
Helen is admitted as a lawyer in England and NSW, and has worked in Australia, the UK and the United States. She has worked in university administration, been a complaints advocate for people with disabilities and worked for the American Civil Liberties Union in the east coast state of New Jersey.
Our Teams
Dispute Resolutions
The Dispute Resolutions Team handles customer complaints against providers. This includes receiving, assessing, investigating and reviewing complaints to ensure that EWON achieves its key objective of fair, reasonable and independent complaint handling.
Governance, Awareness & Policy (GAP)
The Governance, Awareness & Policy Team oversees our governance, quality, member relation, communication, community outreach and policy functions by:
- coordinating our governance processes, including supporting the EWON Board and maintaining member relations through regular contact and reporting, and by holding forums to discuss issues underpinning complaints
- building awareness of our services and educating consumers and their advocates about energy and water issues through strategic communication activities and an extensive community outreach program
- driving continuous improvement of case management process by reviewing cases and implementing quality assurance processes
- identifying complaint trends and systemic issues arising from case work, providing advice and analytical support, conducting research, and preparing public submissions and comments on regulatory changes and industry developments.
Finance & Corporate Services
The Finance & Corporate Services Team manages our infrastructure and service delivery, including overseeing our finances, information and IT resources, human resources, general administration, and internal and external reporting functions.
