Complaints handling
Direction and guidance on how the department receives, addresses and follows up complaints to improve its delivery of education programs and services.
Audience
All employees and any person in the community who engages with the department.
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
| V06.0.0 | 14/05/2024 | Updated under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, including conversion into the new template, consolidating existing instructions, and improving document readability. | Chief People Officer |
Document history
2023 Sep 07 - updated implementation document, School Community and Consumer Complaint Procedures to repair hyperlinks.
2020 Oct 06 - policy maintenance, which may include but not limited to, updated contact details, business unit or position titles, typographical, text and style changes and repairing hyperlinks.
2020 Sept - policy maintenance, which may include but not limited to, updated contact details, business unit or position titles, typographical, text and style changes and repairing hyperlinks.
2020 Apr - broken links fixed on both implementation documents. Updated contact details and made minor style changes.
2017 Jan 25 - major changes made to policy text. The new Complaints Handling Policy and associated Guidelines do not significantly change the process for handling complaints.The major change over the previous version is a shift in formatting of the Guidelines from a single document to a series of links to documents that enable the user to easily access the particular aspect of the Complaints Guidelines they require. The significant shift is from formalised responses to complaints to encouraging complaint managers to deal with complaints quickly, and where feasible, informally. Complaints Handling Policy (Implementation Date 01/09/2006) (Reference No. PD/2002/0051/V02).
Superseded documents
Replaces the Complaints Handling Policy (Implementation Date 01/09/2006) (Reference No. PD/2002/0051/V02)
- Policy statement
- The department fosters a safe, respectful and inclusive culture where members of the community and employees can raise their concerns directly.
- Complaint handling in the NSW Department of Education is fair, efficient and accessible. Concerns are addressed promptly, locally and as informally as possible; with regard to the relevant procedure or process for addressing the specific nature of the concern.
- Managers or their delegates are responsible for addressing concerns that are brought to their attention and can decide on what action to take based on the nature and seriousness of the issue.
- When making decisions, employees take reasonable steps to ensure cultural and psychological safety in the complaint process. They consult with the relevant members of the community on matters with long-lasting impact and when planning significant changes that shape student learning and wellbeing, through open and transparent communication.
- Some complaints are not dealt with by the department or require specialist handling. Where there is a risk of significant harm to a child or class of children, the matter must be reported to the Child Protection Helpline as advised by the Mandatory Reporter Guide or NSW Police for allegations of criminal conduct.
- A complainant can request a review of a complaint’s outcome. This should be done within 10 business days from the decision. The review process is detailed in Community Complaint procedures and Staff Complaint procedures.
- Context
- A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to or about the department related to its services, employees and/or complaint handling, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required.
- A staff complaint is a concern raised by an employee about situations arising in the department’s workplaces.
- A community complaint is a concern raised by members of the community about the department’s products, services, employees and/or complaints handling.
- All complaints must be handled in compliance with the department’s Code of conduct and/or any pertinent polices or procedures that set acceptable standards for employee behaviour. This includes but is not limited to racism, religious intolerance, bullying, unlawful discrimination, harassment and inappropriate communication of any kind.
- Policy Contact
Executive Director, Performance and Ethical Standards
PES@det.nsw.edu.au - Monitoring the policy
The Executive Director, Performance and Ethical Standards monitors the implementation of this policy, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.