Complaints Management Policy

Objective

The Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) is committed to maintaining and enhancing public confidence in the Queensland Government by creating an environment that encourages feedback and manages complaints in a responsive, timely and fair manner.

Rationale

Complaints management aims to resolve individual complaints and identify opportunities for organisational improvement. It is a community expectation that QRA be customer-focused and responsive to complaints about its services and/or functions.

Section 264 of the Public Sector Act 2022 (the PS Act) requires QRA to establish and implement a system for dealing with customer complaints. The complaint management principles underlying this policy reflect the Australian Standard AS/NZS 10002-2014 Guidelines for complaint management in organisations and section 264 of the PS Act.

Scope and coverage

This policy applies to:

all public service employees of QRA and non-employees including contractors, consultants, volunteers, along with any other person or entity who provide QRA with services on a paid or voluntary basis
any of the following types of complaints
- Customer complaints
- Employee complaints.
complaints about any of the following:
- A breach of QRA’s obligations under the Information Privacy Act 2009 regarding the personal information of an individual (privacy complaint).
- Allegations of corrupt conduct, as defined in the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 (CC Act).
- Allegations about the conduct of the Chief Executive Officer, as per s.48A of the CC Act.
- A human rights complaint under the Human Rights Act 2019.
- A public interest disclosure about wrongdoing in the public sector that serves the public interest under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2009 (PID Act).

For the purpose of this policy, the following are not classified as complaints:

Questions, enquiries and requests for information or action.
Feedback obtained during public consultation processes.
Feedback received about matters outside the direct responsibility of QRA.
Feedback received about another agency or organisation.
Complaints that are primarily contractual disputes.

This policy does not replace, modify or revoke any legislative requirements or appeal processes that apply to the management of particular types of complaints (e.g. privacy complaints, Right to Information, criminal conduct, corrupt conduct, human rights complaints, public interest disclosures, and complaints under the Industrial Relations Act 2016.

Related legislation

External links:

Principles

People focus

QRA recognises and respects everybody’s right to provide feedback.
Feedback will be addressed in a timely manner.
QRA decisions and actions can impact upon an individual’s human rights, in either a positive or negative way.
QRA will consider human rights in all decision-making and action and will only limit human rights in certain circumstances and after careful consideration.

Visibility and access

Information about how and where to complain to QRA will be available for customers, employees and other interested parties.

Responsiveness

Complaints will be acknowledged promptly and responded to in a timely manner.
Each complaint will be assessed and finalised as quickly as possible.

Objectivity and fairness

QRA’s Complaints Management Policy and related procedures will be open, transparent and effective.
Each complaint must be assessed, categorised and managed in an equitable, objective and unbiased manner in accordance with the principles of natural justice, and without actual or perceived conflicting interests.
The rights of officers are protected where they are the subject of a complaint.
QRA may refuse to investigate a complaint if it is considered to be trivial, frivolous or vexatious.

Confidentiality

Complaints are dealt with confidentially to the extent possible and with regards to personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.

Monitoring and reporting

Complaints will be recorded and reported on in accordance with legislative and other requirements.
Complaints feedback and trends are used as an essential tool for continuous improvement.

Resources and training

All QRA staff have an awareness of the Complaint Management Policy and related procedures.
Adequate training is available for the staff who will handle complaints on behalf of the organisation.

Continuous improvement

Complaints and feedback are opportunities to build knowledge and improve services.
Complaints are an essential tool for continuous improvement of QRA’s service delivery and the complaints management process.

Types of complaints

QRA has an obligation to deal with various types of complaints. The relevant procedure and/or legislation governing the management of the complaint are shown below. Complaints may fall within one or more of the following types.

Type of complaint	Complaint is governed by the policy
Human rights complaint	Human Rights Act 2019 Queensland Government Guide: Handling Human Rights Complaints
Customer complaint	Customer complaint procedure Public Sector Act 2022, section 264.
Employee complaint	Managing employee complaints policy & procedure Directive relating to managing employee complaints Directive relating to appeals Discipline guideline
Privacy complaint	Privacy complaint procedure Information Privacy Act 2009
Complaint about the CEO	Dealing with a complaint involving the Chief Executive Officer procedure Crime and Corruption Act 2001, section 48A
Complaint comprising allegation/s about (or including information giving rise to a reasonable suspicion of) corrupt conduct	Corrupt conduct procedure Crime and Corruption Act 2001 The complaint may be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) for investigation or investigated by QRA and reported to the CCC if required under the CC Act.
Complaint assessed as a public interest disclosure (PID) in accordance with the PID Act	PID procedure Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010

Responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities in relation to QRAs complaints management are as follows:

All employees:

Be familiar with QRA’s Complaints Management Policy and related procedures, and assistance provided to people to access QRA’s complaint process.
Receive and action complaints in accordance with this policy and applicable procedure.

Managers and supervisors:

Ensure employees under their supervision are aware of QRA’s Complaints Management. Policy and related procedures, and can assist people to access QRA’s complaints process.
Encourage, demonstrate and model ethical conduct in their teams.

Complaints Coordinator:

Has responsibility for managing customer complaints in accordance with relevant legislation, policies and associated procedures.
Provides reports to senior management and meets annual reporting requirements (section 264 Public Sector Act 2022).
Assist people to make a complaint, if needed.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO):

Ensuring a complaint management framework is established and maintained within QRA.
Reports annually on QRA’s complaint handling.
Appointing a senior executive with overall responsibility and authority for complaints management.

Definitions

The following definitions apply for this policy:

Terms and definitions:

Term	Definition
Complaint	Expression of dissatisfaction, orally or in writing, about the products, policies, services or actions of QRA and/or the associated conduct of officers, or representatives of QRA.
Corrupt conduct	Refer to section 15 of the CC Act for the legal definition.
Customer Complaint	As defined under section 264 of the Public Sector Act 2022.
Privacy complaint	As defined under Section 164 of the Information Privacy Act 2009.
Public Interest Disclosure	Refer to Chapter 2 of the PID Act for the legal definition.

Document review

The Chief Executive Officer will review this policy within twelve months of the initial approval date, then at least once every three years, and as required to take into account changes to relevant legislation, government policy and practices, changing trends, and feedback.

(QRA policy document reference: CM QRATF/23/5540. Last reviewed January 2024)