Make a claim

If you have experienced an unplanned outage, you may be able to make a claim for:

• Food spoilage
• Electrical appliance damage
• Damage to property
• Other reasons
  
  

You may also be able to make a claim if you think that Ausgrid has not met the Customer Service Standards in Ausgrid’s Distribution Network Service Provider’s Licence. Read the requirements for making a Customer Service Standard claim.

You can also read about Ausgrid's Guaranteed Service Levels for more information on our obligations to supply you with power.

We are unable to compensate customers for any loss or damage caused by third parties or as a result of events outside our control, such as:

• Severe weather
• Accidents
• Vandalism
• Damage caused by you or by a fault on your electrical installation
• Interference by animals or vegetation
• Bushfires
• Power interruptions for planned work (or planned outages)
• Emergency action by emergency personnel
  
  

Until we have carried out an investigation, we are not able to determine the cause of an incident or provide an outcome. If damage to your property was caused by any of the listed events, we recommend checking with your insurer to see if they can assist you.

Ausgrid’s standard contract for residential and small business customers is the Deemed Standard Connection Contract (DSCC). The contract provides more information about your rights and our obligations to maintain your supply of electricity.

If you have experienced loss of property due to bushfires, flooding or natural disasters, you may be eligible for financial assistance. Please visit our Customer Assistance page where you can find resources that may help you.

If you are a residential customer and have experienced an unplanned power outage for:

• 12 hours or more metropolitan areas, or
• 18 hours non-metropolitan areas
  
  

you may be eligible for a customer service payment from Ausgrid for food spoilage. These customer service payments are voluntary and are subject to specific value limits which are defined by us. You will need to provide evidence when making your claim. Please refer to the FAQ: “What evidence will I need to provide?”

Note that you cannot claim for food spoilage due to a planned outage.

If you have lost a substantial amount of food (e.g., for an event), please consider contacting your insurer.

Ausgrid has limited liability under the Deemed Standard Connection Contract. If you have suffered a significant amount of appliance damage, we recommend that you lodge a claim with your Home and Contents Insurer.

We may assist with recovering the cost of repairing or replacing damaged property or appliances under the following circumstances:

• Incorrect action, poor conduct or acts of negligence by us, or
• Foreseeable failure or incorrect operation of our equipment.
  
  

It is important to note that any customer service payment made by Ausgrid may be subject to a specific value limit. We will prioritise repairs over replacement, and where replacement is the only option, we will include the depreciation of the item based on its age.

We are unable to compensate customers for any loss or damage caused by third parties or as a result of events outside our control. Please see the FAQ: “What claims are not eligible for compensation?"

Business customers need to take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from any potential loss or damage caused by outages, both planned and unplanned. This can include having the appropriate level of business insurance, having a back-up power supply for temperature-sensitive item storage, and having the appropriate appliance protection for sensitive equipment.

We do not compensate business customers for consequential losses such as wages, productivity or trade.

You only need to complete one claim if you have multiple damage or loss across claim categories.

However, if you are claiming under the Customer Service Standards or require an Insurance Report, this needs to be completed separately. 

To obtain an incident report, please click on the "Let's get started" button above. Alternatively, you can download a PDF of the Insurance Report Request Form

Many home and contents insurance policies allow new-for-old replacements for unexpected damage to your property or electrical items. We can help with providing an insurance report which you can then take to your insurer. To obtain an insurance report, please click on the "Let's get started" button above. Alternatively, you can download a PDF of the Insurance Report Request Form (also known as the Network Incident Report Request Form).

We aim to resolve claims within 30 days of receipt.

Claims are often resolved earlier than 30 days; however, if a claim is complex or we are receiving an unexpectedly high volume of claims, it may take longer to resolve your claim. If your claim is expected to take longer than 30 days, we will be in touch to advise why, and provide you with an updated timeline.

You will receive an email or letter advising of the outcome of your claim. 

When you lodge a claim online, you may need to provide the following information:

• your name, address, telephone number, email address, etc.
• the date and time of the incident
• the location/address where the incident occurred
• a description of the incident
• details of what you are claiming including receipts/repair reports/and any other independent documentation that you already have to support your claim.
  
  

Once your online claim has been successfully submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with an Ausgrid Claim Reference Number.

Embedded network customers are not covered by our Deemed Standard Connection Contract (DSCC) as they are not direct customers of Ausgrid.

Please contact your embedded network operator if you want to make a claim. This is usually your electricity retailer which is listed on your electricity bill.

You can request a review of a claim if:

• you believe a factual error has occurred during the investigation, or
• you have new information that was not available previously which you believe will alter the outcome of the claim.
  
  

Customers have a right to request a review; however, this does not necessarily mean the decision will be changed. If you would like to request a review, you can put the request in writing and send it to claims@ausgrid.com.au.