Complaints management policy and procedure

1.0 Statement of aims

1.1 This policy is designed to assist Council to record, respond to and manage complaints so that

Council operates, and is seen to operate, in an environment of respect and professional behaviour
Opportunities for continuous improvement of processes and procedures can be identified, implemented and thereby improve customer service in all areas.

2.0 Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all complaints received by Council from members of the public and includes complaints relating to Councillors, employees of Council, contractors to Council and volunteers with Council services. The policy conforms with the Model Code of Conduct adopted by Council on 1 February 2005.

2.2 Notwithstanding 2.1 above, this policy does not generally apply to complaints made by one employee of Council about another. The Award, the Protected Disclosures Act, Council's Grievance Procedures or relevant anti-discrimination legislation generally cover these complaints.

2.3 Because of specific legislative requirements and requirements of some funding bodies, some sections within Council have additional responsibilities in terms of reporting complaints. The managers of these sections are responsible for ensuring their employees are aware of, and comply with, such requirements.

2.4 This policy is not intended to conflict in any way with Award provisions including grievance and dispute procedures and disciplinary procedures.

3.0 Objectives

3.1 The objectives of this policy are to:

provide a system to effectively investigate expressed customer dissatisfaction with any aspect of Council operations or service
develop an organisational culture that accepts complaints as an opportunity to improve the service to the community
ensure commitment to efficient and reasonable resolution of complaints
ensure the privacy and fair treatment of complainants
ensure the privacy and fair treatment of Councillors, employees of Council, contractors to Council and volunteers with Council service against whom complaints may have been made
provide a framework for the recording of complaints to assist with continuous improvement of Council's policies and work practices.

4.0 Legislation

4.1 Council will manage complaints within the requirements of:

the Freedom of Information Act
the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act
the ICAC Act
the Protected Disclosures Act
the Local Government Act
anti-discrimination legislation
the Trades Practices Act
the Local Government (State) Award
State Records Act
Health Records and Information Protection Act
relevant workplace agreements
relevant criminal acts
National Competition Policy for Local Government.

4.2 Council will take all reasonable steps to protect the identity of complainants. However, Council recognises that in some cases it will be necessary to disclose the identity of the complainant in order to fully investigate the complaint. In that regard Council recognises the right of the Union to request access to information for investigative purposes.

5.0 Related Council policies

This document is directly related to the following legislation and Council policies:

Child Protection
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy and Procedure
Employment Screening Kiama Council (March 2001)
Grievance Handling Policy and Procedure
Recruitment, Selection and Appointment Policy
Workplace Harassment Policy and Procedure
Reporting Procedures for Disclosures made under the Protected Disclosures Act
Model Code of Conduct
State Records Act
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Policy
Health Records and Information Protection Policy
National Competition Policy for Local Government.

6.0 Definitions

For the purpose of this policy, the following definitions apply:

Action Officer is the person to whom a complaint is assigned in the first instance.

Employee means employee of Council, contractor or agent to Council and volunteer with Council services.

CARS is the Customer Action Request System. CARS is a module of the Authority program widely used throughout Council.

A Conduct Review Committee is formed to investigate complaints against a Councillor and/or general manager.

A Complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with the Council's policies processes, procedures, charges, Councillors or employees.

A serious complaint is one which:

relates to Competitive Neutrality
relates to alleged criminal activity
relates to alleged conflict of interest
alleges corrupt activity
is made under protected disclosure
relates to harassment of an employee or member of the public.

Corrupt activity could involve, but is not limited to:

dishonest or partial exercise of official functions
a breach of public trust
misuse of information or material acquired in the course of official functions.

Protected disclosures are disclosures made in accordance with the specific requirements of the Protected Disclosures Act.

The Protected Disclosures Act (NSW) 1994 provides certain protection for public officials, including Councillors and Council employees, who make protected disclosures. For more information on the Act and the procedures for reporting disclosures, refer to Council's Reporting Policy for Disclosures made under the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 or Council's Public Officer.

The Public Officer is a senior Council manager appointed under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993. The Public Officer is the officer responsible for the managing and monitoring of complaints against Council staff in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct. The name and contact details of the Public Officer can be obtained from Council's switchboard.

Responsible Officer is the supervisor or manager of the person to whom a complaint is assigned in the first instance.

7.0 Procedures

Complaints may be lodged with Council in the following ways:

by telephone
in person
in writing including facsimile, e-mail and other electronic means.

7.1 Where complaints are verbal, the receiving officer will record details of the complaint, including the name of the complainant, in an appropriate manner to enable Council to effectively act on the complaint.

Complaints received by email will be printed and treated as written complaints.

7.2

Complaints about Councillors must be referred to the General Manager.
Complaints about the Public Officer must be referred to the General Manager.
Complaints about the General Manager must be referred to the Mayor via the Public Officer.
Complaints about Councillors or the General Manager will require the Conduct Review Committee to meet.
The Committee consists of the Mayor, General Manager and an appropriate independent person. If the complaint involves the Mayor the Deputy Mayor will chair the Committee. If the complaint involves the General Manager a Councillor will replace the General Manager on the Committee. The findings of the Committee must be reported to Council. The Committee will operate in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct.
All other complaints must be recorded in accordance with the procedures outlined in this document and referred to an appropriate officer for investigation and action.

7.3 In accordance with relevant legislation, and as appropriate, the General Manager will:

determine an appropriate course of action
liaise with appropriate employees for investigation
contact an external body such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Police or the Department of Local Government.

7.4 Where a complaint is received anonymously the complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures outlined in this policy except where there is a statutory requirement for identification of the complainant.

7.5 Complaints are categorised into general complaints and serious complaints.

7.5.1 General Complaints
Where a complainant is requesting a service and there is no prior indication of a failure to provide that service to the complainant the request will be recorded as a "customer action request" rather than a formal complaint. However, if Council's records indicate the complainant has made contact with Council previously regarding a failure to provide that service, the second contact will be recorded as a general complaint.

All customer action requests and general complaints whether verbal or in writing will be recorded in Council's electronic customer action request system.

7.5.2 Verbal General Complaints - First Contact
The receiving officer shall record the information into the electronic customer action request system. The complaint shall then be forwarded to the appropriate action officer as defined under the customer action request system.

7.5.3 Written General Complaints - First Contact
The complaint shall be received by or forwarded to Council's Records Section for recording in the Customer Action Request System and for written acknowledgment of receipt of the complaint. It will then be forwarded to the appropriate action officer.

7.5.4 Verbal and Written General Complaints - Investigation
The method of investigating a general complaint by the action officer will be dependent upon the nature and severity of the complaint. Communication is an essential part of the process and as a result the person making the complaint should be informed of the outcome of the investigation or progress of the matter if it will take some time to resolve. Where the outcome may involve disciplinary action the only details that should be given to the complainant is advice that Council will initiate appropriate action following investigation.

The action officer must investigate all the facts surrounding the matter as soon as practicable.

Depending upon the nature of the complaint, the investigation may involve taking detailed notes of an employee's account and/or interviewing all persons involved that have knowledge of the situation.

If the complaint relates to an employee, the employee's manager must ensure the wellbeing of the employee against whom the complaint is alleged. Where appropriate, the employee should be offered advice and counselling, including access to Council's Employee Assistance Program. Managers may seek the advice of the Human Resources Manager in such cases.

Where a formal investigation is carried out, all persons involved are to be made aware of the allegations, advised of their right to representation and given the opportunity to respond fully to allegations made against them. Council must make every reasonable effort to ensure that the privacy of the complainant is maintained where the complainant wishes to remain anonymous. This may include providing an employee with a photocopy of the letter of complaint having removed details that may identify the complainant.

7.5.5 Verbal and Written General Complaints - Resolution
Where complaints relate to employees, resolution of complaints must be in accordance with this Policy, relevant legislation and Award requirements.

Where a complaint about an employee was found to warrant investigation, the resolution process must also include written notification of the outcome, to the employee and his/her representatives, if applicable.

A response should be provided to the complainant within a timely manner. All responses will be provided in such a way that they are considered to be polite and professional in accordance with Council's communication and customer service standards.

If a resolution to a complaint is delayed for whatever reason, the complainant must be kept informed every fourteen days of the ongoing situation.

Employees are responsible for checking with their managers/supervisors to ensure their responses to complaints are accurate, timely and appropriate.

Where an employee believes that he/she is unable to resolve a complaint within a reasonable timeframe, they must discuss the concerns with the supervisor or manager.

7.5.6 Verbal and Written General Complaints - Unresolved Complaints
When a complaint has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant, the complainant should be advised of their rights to escalate the complaint or lodge their complaint with an appropriate external body. To escalate the matter the complainant may wish to speak to the Public Officer or the General Manager and it may be appropriate for the complainant to be given contact details of the relevant external body such as the Department of Local Government and NSW Ombudsman.

Where a complaint relates to an employee and that employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints management process, the employee has the right of appeal in accordance with Award Grievance and Dispute Procedures.

7.6 Serious Complaints

Where a complaint is defined as serious under clause 6.1 of this policy, the matter must be immediately referred to the Public Officer.

The only exception to this is where the complaint is about the Public Officer in which case it must be immediately referred to the General Manager.

If the complaint is about the General Manager, the Public Officer will refer it to the Mayor, and the Conduct Review Committee will investigate and report to Council.

If the complaint is verbal, it should be recorded in an appropriate manner, including the name of the complainant, to enable Council to effectively act on the complaint.

7.6.1 Verbal and Written Serious Complaints - First Contact, Investigation and Resolution

The Public Officer will discuss the complaint with the General Manager as soon as practicable.
The Public Officer and the General Manager will determine appropriate methods of investigation and resolution, including allocating an appropriate investigating officer.
The General Manager will, in accordance with relevant legislation, or as appropriate, advise an external body of receipt of the complaint.
The Public Officer will request that serious complaints be made in writing. If the complainant does not wish to provide their complaint in writing, the Public Officer must at least obtain the complainant's details and refer the matter to the General Manager.
Serious complaints will be recorded in a manner that ensures their confidentiality.
The Public Officer or designate will communicate with the complainant within five working days of receipt of the complaint and at regular intervals thereafter.
Where the General Manager has appointed an officer to investigate a serious complaint, that officer must ensure the General Manager and Public Officer be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and the likely timeframe for resolution of the matter.
Recommendations for resolution of serious complaints must be discussed with the General Manager and Public Officer prior to their finalisation. The General Manager will notify the applicable external body of Council's proposed course of action.
Where a complaint relates to an employee and that employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints management process, the employee has the right of appeal in accordance with Award Grievance and Dispute Procedures.
Where a complaint about a staff member is found to warrant investigation the resolution process must also include written notification of the outcome to the employee and their representative if applicable.

8.0 Review

8.1 This policy was formally adopted by Council on 14th December 2004 and will be implemented on 14th December 2004.

8.2 The Public Officer will initially review this policy 12 months after Council adoption and every two years thereafter.

8.3 Council reserves the right to review or vary this policy in consultation with the Union representatives of employees affected by this policy. Once the consultative process has been finalised, the policy will be referred to the Consultative Committee for endorsement.

Complaints handling process - non-serious complaints

Complaints handling process - serious complaints

Last updated: Monday 14 May, 2012