Complaints and feedback

All members of the public have the right to provide feedback or make legitimate complaints. Your feedback helps us to continuously improve our programs and services.

We treat all complaints and feedback seriously and handle them quickly. Our Customer Service Charter outlines our commitment to you.

How we respond to complaints

We will handle your complaint in a professional and confidential manner. Making a complaint will not affect your relationship with us. Our Privacy Policy explains how we treat information received from you.

When we receive your complaint we:

• acknowledge we’ve received your complaint within 5 business days
• forward it to the relevant area who will respond and keep you informed
• resolve issues within 20 business days where possible

At the end of the process, you will receive the decision in writing.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can:

• contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman

• write to our Ministers or your local member of Parliament

Specific complaints

Procurement complaints

You can make a complaint if you:

• are unhappy about the way we have procured goods and/or services
• believe our department has breached Commonwealth Procurement Rules under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018

Find out how to make a procurement complaint.

If you have questions about procurement complaints, please email Procurement.Complaints [at] industry.gov.au.

Compensation for detriment caused by defective administration

If you believe you have experienced detriment as a result of an agency’s defective actions or inaction, you may seek compensation under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (the CDDA Scheme). The CDDA allows government agencies to compensate persons who have experienced detriment. Payments under the Scheme are discretionary. This means there is no automatic entitlement to a payment.

If you have and questions about the CDDA Scheme, please email us at feedbackandcomplaints [at] industry.gov.au.

Read more about the CDDA Scheme on the Department of Finance website.

How to submit a general complaint

Please clearly explain the issue and what you think can be done to fix it.

Send your complaint with copies of any relevant documents via any of these channels:

• Use the online Complaint form
• Download the Complaint form [230KB DOCX] and email it with any attachments to feedbackandcomplaints [at] industry.gov.au
• Post it ATTN to: Complaints, CN Support Centre, Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601