How to make a complaint
We want our complaints process to be accessible for all. If you need help in lodging a complaint, you may contact us.
For example:
- You may remain anonymous or ask us to talk to someone acting on your behalf. Note: If you choose to remain anonymous it may limit our ability to resolve the complaint.
- Interpreter services can be arranged (costs may apply).
- The National Relay Service (NRS) is available for those who are deaf or who find it hard to hear or speak on the phone. The NRS can be reached on 133 677 or 1800 555 677.
Information to provide
We ask that you provide as much information as possible to assist us in assessing and resolving your complaint, including:
- the date, time and place of the event the complaint relates to
- who was involved
- what was the impact and who was impacted
- any attempts to resolve the complaint
- the outcome you are seeking (noting the outcome will depend on our investigation)
- any other information that may support the complaint
How will we deal with your complaint
- We investigate all complaints we receive about services we provide or fund.
- We will investigate and assess all complaints in a fair and transparent manner.
- We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as we can. Sometimes, a complaint may require that we engage with parties external to our organisation (e.g. a commissioned service provider) which may impact on our response times
If you agree for us to contact you:
- we will acknowledge your complaint within 3 business days of receipt, even if we can’t resolve it right away.
- we will keep you informed as we investigate.
- we may contact you for further information.
- we will notify you when our investigation is complete. This may occur verbally or in writing.
- we will tell you how you may seek a review of your complaint.
- we will tell you how you may escalate your complaint if you are not satisfied with our review process.
If you do not want us to contact you, or you choose to remain anonymous:
- we may acknowledge receipt of your complaint (if you provide an email address).
- we will take what action we can to resolve your complaint. However we will not contact you for further information or notify you when the investigation is complete.
If your complaint does not relate to a service that we provide or fund, we will notify you that we cannot assist and where we can, we will provide you with an alternate escalation path.
Right to review
You can ask us for a review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation.
- To request for review, you can contact us online, by phone or in writing.
- You should provide the complaint reference (which we will tell you) and any additional information you’d like us to consider. You won’t need to repeat information you have already provided to us.
- The review will be conducted by an independent person, who was not involved in the initial assessment.
After the review, if we cannot agree on a resolution, you may have the option of escalating the complaint to external bodies. We will provide you with information on how you can escalate your complaint.
Important Information
You have the right to make a complaint if you are not satisfied with the service you have received. You may withdraw a complaint at any time by providing notice to us. There is no fee to lodge or withdraw a complaint.
You have a right to be treated in a considerate, fair and respectful manner, as do our staff. We reserve the right to change the way we interact with you if our staff are not treated appropriately.
We may use the information you provide in the complaints process to respond to your complaint and for the purpose of improving local healthcare service and delivery. Any information you provide to us will be managed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
