An Australian energy company sent family violence victim-survivors’ new addresses to their abusers.
Following an investigation into the incident by Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC), Momentum Energy has been fined $764,380.
The company said it was the result of a “system error”.
Investigation
The ESC found that Momentum sent automated letters about financial hardship assistance to people impacted by family violence.
However, these people could not access the letters because they were sent to addresses where their abuser lived.
Separately, three customers’ information was disclosed across 19 individual incidents between 2022 and 2025.
In 15 of those incidents, letters were sent to family violence perpetrators with victim-survivors’ new addresses.
The regulator also found Momentum failed to establish “a safe method of communication” for customers it knew had experienced family violence.
It’s alleged Momentum was notified about the privacy breach by a customer in 2023, but failed to address or investigate the matter until it was reported to the regulator by a customer two years later.
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The regulator accused Momentum of failing vulnerable customers who were “placing their trust” in the company.
Momentum's response
Momentum Energy is owned by Hydro Tasmania, a Government-owned clean energy provider.
In a statement, a spokesperson attributed the breaches to a “system error” that has since been fixed.
The spokesperson said it has since introduced system changes and additional staff training to “prevent future occurrences”.
1800 RESPECT
Call: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732
Video: 1800RESPECT.org.au
