Definitions
We use the following definitions in this policy.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Feedback |
A view, comment or communication about the department’s programs, services, staff or processes that does not seek a remedy or resolution through the complaints process. Feedback may include:
|
| Complaint | An expression of dissatisfaction to or about the department, its services, actions, decisions, or staff conduct, where the person explicitly or implicitly expects a response or resolution. |
| Not a complaint |
These are not complaints:
If it is unclear whether it is feedback or a complaint, staff will seek clarification from the person who provided it. |
| Unreasonable complainant conduct |
Any behaviour which, because of its nature or frequency, raises health, safety, resource or equity issues for the department and its staff. This can include:
|
| Procedural fairness |
This is an essential legal requirement of the administrative decision-making process. It affects the rights, interests or legitimate expectations of a person making a complaint. It involves 2 elements:
|
How to give feedback or make a complaint
We welcome feedback and complaints as they help us improve our delivery of programs and services.
You can give feedback or make a complaint by:
- filling in our online feedback and complaint form
- emailing feedbackandcomplaints@industry.gov.au.
We will acknowledge complaints within 5 business days of receipt.
What information you should include
To help us address your concerns effectively or take your feedback on board, we ask that you include specific information.
This can include:
- a description of the issue you are making a complaint or giving feedback about
- the date it happened
- the location, time and names of relevant people
- any more details you think are important
- any evidence to support your feedback or complaint
- consent for the department officer/s looking into the matter to disclose your personal information to the relevant parties (if applicable).
If you don’t give us enough information, we may be unable to appropriately assess or resolve your complaint.
How long it takes to resolve a complaint
We aim to resolve complaints within 20 business days where possible.
If it becomes clear the process will take longer, the area responsible for handling your complaint will contact you. They will explain the reasons for the delay and update you on timeframes.
You can give feedback or complaints anonymously
It is possible for you to give feedback or make a complaint anonymously to the department. However, this means we may be unable to get in touch with you for more details, or to let you know the outcome.
We will only be able to address the content of anonymous feedback or complaints where you have given us enough information to do so.
How you can access assistance
Our feedback and complaints handling process is accessible to everyone.
You can choose different ways to submit your feedback or complaint. You can also get help communicating with us. For example, through:
- translation and interpretation services
- hearing or speech assistance
- meeting your disability or accessibility requirements.
If you need any special arrangements or support to use the process, we encourage you to let us know in your initial communication so we can give you the right help.
How we handle feedback
Here are the steps in our process.
1. Receiving and recording your feedback
We will record your feedback in our feedback handling system. We then allocate it to the relevant business area of our department.
2. Reviewing and actioning your feedback
The business area will review feedback to decide whether it needs any further action, escalation or referral.
We consider feedback as part of continuous improvement processes, including identifying opportunities to enhance the way we deliver our policies, processes or service delivery.
3. Communicating the outcome
If you have provided contact details, you may receive a response to your feedback if it is necessary. Responses and acknowledgments of feedback are not mandatory.
How we handle complaints
Here are the steps in our process.
1. Receiving and recording your complaint
We will record your complaint in our complaint handling system. The type of information that we capture at the start and during the complaint handling process includes:
- when and how you made the complaint
- your personal details (name and contact information)
- what the complaint is about
- the outcome you are seeking
- the outcome of complaint
- our actions, decisions and interactions with you and anyone else involved in resolving the complaint.
We triage and allocate all complaints to an official in the business area best placed to manage the complaint.
2. Acknowledging the complaint
We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days.
We will inform you about the likely next steps in the complaint handling process, expected time frames for our actions and a contact point for enquiries.
We will update you if our actions are delayed during the complaint handling process.
3. Assessing the complaint
The responsible area will assess the issues you raised in the complaint. They decide if the issues are in their control to address. They also identify the outcome you are seeking.
They prioritise complaints according to the seriousness, complexity and urgency of the issues, considering:
- whether there are concerns about people’s health and safety
- how the person making the complaint is affected
- the risks involved if resolution of the complaint is delayed
- whether a resolution needs to involve other organisations
- whether the complaint has, or may have, broader public-facing, reputational, media, Parliamentary or ministerial implications. This includes whether it needs internal executive or ministerial briefing to support appropriate preparedness and response.
4. Offering remedies
If we prove the complaint issues, we offer remedies that are reasonable, timely and proportionate. Appropriate remedies will depend on the kind of issue as well as the outcome you are seeking. They may include:
- an acknowledgement
- an explanation
- a verbal or written apology
- a different decision
- changes to improve our policies or processes where appropriate
- disciplinary or management action against an employee where they have broken the law or contravened the APS Code of Conduct. For example, referring them to counselling or professional training.
5. Resolving complaints about departmental partners
In some situations, you may be complaining about a person or organisation that delivers programs, services or resources with or on behalf of our department (a departmental partner). If further action is needed, we notify the departmental partner and explain the complaint handling process.
We will not disclose your identity to a departmental partner without your consent.
As part of resolving the complaint, we provide information about the complaint to the departmental partner and give them an opportunity to respond. We consider any information they give us when deciding the outcome of the complaint.
6. Communicating the outcome
At the end of the complaint-handling process, we contact you and communicate:
- the outcome of your complaint and any action we took
- the reasons for our decision
- the resolution or remedy that we propose or have already put in place
- how to give feedback on how we handled a complaint
- external options for review.
7. Closing the complaint
At the end of the complaint-handling process, we will record information in our records management system about:
- how we managed the complaint
- the outcome of the complaint
- any outstanding actions that we need to follow up
- learning opportunities to improve.
What you can do if you are not happy with the outcome
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you should first speak to the area that handled your complaint. They will discuss your concerns and try to resolve them. If you are still not satisfied, you can request an independent review. A staff member who was not involved in the original decision will review the complaint handling process and outcome.
If you are still dissatisfied with our response, you can seek a review from an external body:
- The Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate a complaint unless you have first raised it with us.
- The Australian Human Rights Commissioner, who can investigate complaints of discrimination and breaches of human rights.
How we manage unreasonable complainant conduct
We are committed to being accessible and responsive to anyone who wishes to give feedback or make a complaint to the department.
Most people who make a complaint act responsibly. However, there may be times where the area responsible for handling a complaint deals with unreasonable demands or behaviours from complainants during the process. This may include:
- repeatedly raising issues that we have previously assessed without presenting new information
- behaving abusively to staff (e.g. swearing and threatening)
- making unreasonable demands about timeframes for resolutions
- complaints that are not in good faith, are non-genuine and made with the intent to waste resources or cause distress.
When a complainant behaves unreasonably in their dealings with us, their conduct can significantly impact on:
- our ability to do our work and perform our functions in the most effective and efficient way possible
- the health, safety and security of our staff
- our ability to allocate our resources fairly across all the complaints we receive.
We will take action to manage any unreasonable conduct that negatively affects our staff or the department.
Any action we take will prioritise the safety and wellbeing of staff and their right to a respectful and safe working environment. We will try to continue to assess and address the complaint, however, unreasonable conduct may impact time frames and our ability to finalise a complaint. We will act consistently, transparently and fairly, and will continue to consider the substance of the complaint wherever possible.
Occasionally, people may misuse the complaint handling process or repeat it beyond its intended scope. We carefully assess all complaints we receive. If we believe that a complaint has no or very limited merit or is made with the intent to cause distress or waste resources, we may decide not to take further action. We will inform the complainant of this decision.
How we manage reprisals
Retaliating against someone who has made a complaint or given information as a witness to a complaint, could be a potential breach of the APS Code of Conduct. This includes the requirements for our staff to:
- Behave with integrity in connection with employment.
- Comply with all applicable Australian laws.
- Treat everyone with respect, courtesy and without harassment.
We are committed to ensuring the privacy of people who make a complaint. Where possible we will protect them from adverse consequences of coming forward with concerns or information.
How your personal information is protected
Our department complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). These set out how we must collect, use, disclose and secure personal information.
We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to manage and respond to your complaint or feedback, and we notify you when we collect it. We also ask you to confirm at the time of collection that you agree with how we will handle your personal information, outlined in the privacy collection statement provided. It may not be possible to effectively resolve your complaint or address your feedback if you do not provide this consent.
Your personal information may be used within our department or disclosed to relevant government agencies or third parties where necessary to resolve an issue. In some situations, an external party can better resolve a complaint or provide additional information to assist in the consideration or resolution of a complaint.
We will not disclose your information externally without your consent unless authorised or required by law. We handle all personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act and in line with our Privacy policy.
We also collect and use personal information for monitoring, evaluating, reporting on and improving our services and functions, and for meeting statutory timeframes. We remove any identifying details, unless it is reasonably necessary to use or disclose the personal information for these purposes.
We use several safeguards to keep your personal information secure. These include monitoring and controlling access to it. We manage data breaches in line with our data breach management plan.
Our Privacy policy gives more information about:
- how we protect your personal information
- who to contact if you wish to access or correct any personal information you give us
- who to contact if you have an enquiry or complaint about privacy.
How we store information
Complaint records may be subject to access or disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth). We may provide them to oversight bodies where required by law.