EWON can take complaints from customers or community members impacted by NSW’s five statutory irrigation corporations:
- Murrumbidgee Irrigation
- Murray Irrigation
- Coleambally Irrigation
- Jemalong Irrigation
- Western Murray Irrigation.
If the complaint is outside EWON’s jurisdiction, we can also provide a ‘no wrong door’ referral service for customers and impacted community members, connecting them with the most appropriate channels to address their complaints.
When will I be able to make a complaint to EWON?
Who can EWON help
- Customers of an irrigation corporation (for example, someone who holds a Water Entitlement or Water Delivery Contract).
- Small business customers (generally fewer than 20 full-time employees or annual turnover under $2 million).
- People affected by irrigation infrastructure or operations (for example, a neighbouring landholder) even if you are not a customer.
What issues can EWON help with?
We can investigate issues about an irrigation corporation’s actions relating to the supply of water, if those actions affect customers or community members.
This may include complaints about:
- customer service and complaint handling including delays, poor communication or not following the corporation’s process
- water delivery and operational issues eg delivery reliability, outages, interruptions or infrastructure/maintenance impacts
- billing, fees and charges including incorrect charges, disputed invoices, payment arrangements or affordability support
- metering, readings and allocations eg disputed readings or account information
- access, connection, transfers or service requests including delays or administrative errors
- impacts on neighbouring landholders from irrigation infrastructure or operations where the issue is linked to the corporation’s actions or omissions.
What issues can’t EWON help with?
Water and irrigation matters can be complex, and some issues are outside EWON’s jurisdiction. We can’t investigate complaints about:
- irrigation providers that are not members of EWON (ie not one of the five statutory irrigation corporations)
- government policy, legislation, regulations, licensing or ministerial decisions
- matters currently before a court or tribunal or where legal action is pending or underway
- criminal matters, fraud allegations or serious misconduct that must be referred to another authority
- broad community or sector wide issues that are not linked to a specific complaint about an irrigation corporation’s service or decision (EWON considers complaints from individuals directly impacted by the service)
- issues that occurred, or first became known to you, more than 12 months before you contacted EWON.
EWON also cannot review issues that relate to:
- governance or internal decision making of irrigation corporations eg board decisions, voting rights or shareholder treatment
- the setting of prices or charges
- water trading activities, including trading decisions or commercial arrangements.
How does EWON resolve complaints?
We need details of your complaint, the contact you’ve had with the irrigation corporation, their response and what resolution you are seeking.
We will discuss your complaint, ensuring we understand the issues and background. We can provide independent advice and assistance, including information on the applicable guidelines, rules and regulations, industry practice and other information relevant to your complaint.
We also investigate complaints by:
- requesting information from the irrigation corporation/you
- seeking independent expert advice, where appropriate
- continuing to investigate for as long as there are grounds to support further investigation, or until the matter is resolved.
All complaints are different, and the outcome will be based on our independent investigation. We consider what is fair and reasonable regarding laws, codes and good industry practice. We complete our investigations as quickly as possible and will contact you at least once every two weeks to update you.
I have a complaint about an irrigation company not listed as an EWON member; can you help?
EWON’s jurisdiction extends to NSW’s five statutory irrigation corporations, Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Murray Irrigation, Coleambally Irrigation, Jemalong Irrigation and Western Murray Irrigation.
If you receive irrigated water from another company, we will try to direct you to the appropriate organisation to assist you with your complaint. Depending on the circumstances of your complaint this may be WaterNSW, NSW Fair Trading or the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Can I complain about water bills from my local council?
No, we don’t take complaints about water supplied and billed by most local councils. However, if your complaint is about Shoalhaven Water, we can assist you as they are an EWON member. If your complaint is about another council, you should contact the NSW Ombudsman on 1800 451 5245
What do I need to do before I make a complaint?
You can read about what you should prepare before making a complaint to EWON.
What if the issue impacts multiple people?
EWON looks at complaints individually, we don’t take complaints on behalf of groups. If you have a complaint that concerns multiple impacted customers or community members, each person will need to contact EWON individually.
Who else can I contact?
If your complaint is not something that EWON can assist with, we will connect you with the most appropriate organisation that can help. Refer to our No wrong door referral map for more information.
Below are the contact details of some organisations that might be able to assist you.
|
Agency |
Role in water management |
Types of complaints or concerns |
Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water NSW (DCCEEW NSW) |
Oversees NSW water policy, environmental water planning and sustainable use |
Controlled activity approvals (eg works near rivers), licensing issues, compliance of water allocations and offtake, infrastructure funding |
1300 081 047
|
|
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Commonwealth (DCCEEW Cth) |
Oversees national water policy and environmental water programs |
Concerns about water recovery programs, water trading reforms, or federal policy impacts on irrigation rights |
1800 920 528
|
|
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) |
Manages federal environmental water to support ecosystems |
Impacts of environmental water releases on irrigation supply, partnerships for environmental watering, water trading by CEWH |
1800 920 528
|
|
Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) |
Oversees Basin Plan, water sharing rules and trading regulations (federal) |
Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs), water trading restrictions, Basin Plan compliance, allocation concerns |
1800 230 067
|
|
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) |
Enforces water market and charge rules |
Unfair trading practices, delays in transforming irrigation rights, pricing transparency, market conduct |
1300 302 502
|
|
Inspector-General for Water Compliance (IGWC) |
Monitors and enforces compliance with Basin water laws |
Non-compliance with water take limits, failure to meet metering obligations, lack of enforcement by other agencies |
134 492
|
|
Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) |
Enforces NSW water laws and investigates illegal water use |
Unauthorised water take, breaches of licence conditions, metering failures, illegal storage or diversion, fines for illegal water offtake |
1800 633 362
|
|
NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
Regulates water pollution and environmental harm |
Discharges from irrigation activities, chemical runoff, breaches of environment protection licences |
131 555
|
|
WaterNSW |
Manages bulk water delivery, licensing and infrastructure |
Water access licence issues, delivery delays, infrastructure faults, account disputes (EWON can review a complaint about WaterNSW but not about granting of licences) |
1300 662 077
|
|
NSW Members of Parliament (MPs) |
Advocates for constituents and influences water policy |
Lobbying for allocation changes, infrastructure funding, Basin Plan amendments, drought support |
Helen Dalton MP for Murray Griffith: 02 6962 6644 Deniliquin: 03 5881 7034 Wentworth: 02 6962 6054
Philip Donato MP for Orange 02 6362 5199
|
|
Local councils |
Manages local water infrastructure and planning |
Local water issues, stormwater impacts, drainage, land-use planning affecting water access |
Visit www.olg.nsw.gov.au/public/find-your-local-council |
