Our complaints process is:
FREE
It's free and confidential.
IMPARTIAL
We do not advocate for either party.
VOLUNTARY
We cannot force participation in complaint resolution.
AN ALTERNATIVE
An alternative to legal proceedings: You don't need a lawyer.
Consumer
Provider
Deciding how to handle complaints
When we receive a complaint, our first question is whether this office, or another agency, is best to deal with it.
Next we consider whether the person making the complaint has tried resolving it directly with their health service provider first. This is often the quickest and easiest way to resolve an issue and we're legally required to recommend this happens before we deal with it. We have tips on how to make complaints and can also provide advice by phone. Some people may have good reasons why they can't contact their provider.
We have several ways of helping to resolve complaints but always prefer the least formal option.
Our approach to handling complaints respectfully and fairly
We’re committed to handling complaints and inquiries in line with our Service Charter, and to engaging with you in a way that is respectful, fair, and trauma informed.
We receive a high volume of complaints and do our best to prioritise them fairly, based on urgency and seriousness. This means some people may need to wait longer for a response — but if your circumstances change, please let us know. We’ll keep you informed about what to expect and update you as your complaint progresses.
We recognise that sharing your experience — and going through the complaints process — can be difficult, particularly if it involves distressing or traumatic events. You may be feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or upset, and that’s understandable. We believe that working together respectfully can help make the process easier.
To ensure a safe and respectful environment for everyone, we ask that you also treat our staff with courtesy. We will not tolerate behaviour that includes aggression, abuse, threats or harm. If this occurs, we’ll manage the situation in accordance with our Service Charter and our responsibilities under occupational health and safety laws.
Early resolution
Early resolution is the least formal – and often the quickest – way to resolve complaints. In most cases, we discuss the complaint with both parties over the phone to clarify the problem and to identify an acceptable solution.
If no resolution is reached through this process, we may be unable to assist you further.
However, if we find the complaint is too complex to resolve over the phone, but that it can be resolved, we may attempt a formal resolution. We may also decide to initiate a formal investigation.
Formal resolution
The formal resolution process involves a series of documented steps, each leading towards finding an acceptable solution.
First, we work with the complainant to write a formal description of the complaint and develop a resolution plan, which may include requests for meetings, medical records, reports or independent opinions. We then send the formal description of the complaint to the health service provider for a response.
If the provider agrees to improve their service in response to the complaint, these commitments can be documented and shared with all parties. We may check with the provider later to confirm these improvements have been made.
If no resolution is reached we may be unable to assist further.
The complaint may also be considered for investigation.
Conciliation
As with formal resolution, the conciliation process involves a series of documented steps with the aim of resolution. However, in the conciliation process, all discussions are privileged and confidential. This means all information or documents obtained in this process cannot be discussed outside the process, and cannot be used in any future legal proceedings.
Our role is to enable open and frank discussion of the issues in the complaint.
These complaints are typically resolved in less than 12 months, but may take longer.
Investigation
At any stage we may choose to investigate a complaint. An investigation is a formal and detailed examination, often used in handling large or highly complex matters. We may investigate public and private organisations as well as individual general health service providers.
While investigating a general health service provider, we may issue an interim order prohibiting them from delivering all or part of a service. A final prohibition order may then be issued following investigation, if appropriate to do so.
General health service providers are those not regulated under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and are also known as non-registered providers.
Following an investigation into a general health service provider, we may issue a public warning statement to alert people to serious risks to their health, life, safety or welfare.