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How to ask a question, make a complaint, provide feedback or a compliment to the NSW Department of Education.

We value our relationships with parents, carers and families, and we want all students to be happy and thrive at school. But we know that sometimes things may not go as you thought they would. So if you want to ask us a question, provide feedback, make a complaint, or tell us if we have done something well, we’d like to know as soon as possible!

How to contact us

First, contact your child’s school. Not all schools are the same. Your child’s teacher is often the best place to start. In primary school, this will be your child’s classroom teacher. In high school, you can contact the teacher or head teacher of a specific subject, or the year advisor.

If you are unsure who to speak to, the school’s office staff may be able to help find the best person. Sometimes, this may be the Principal or another member of the school executive.  At other times, this may be a more senior person at one of our local NSW Department of Education offices. The school can provide you with their contact details.

Contacting the school is easy. You can do this in person, by phone, letter, email, whenever you see the feedback assist widget, or the complaints and compliments form on our website. When contacting us, please tell us what you are concerned about, such as what happened, when, who was involved, and the outcome you seek. We might ask you to do this in writing. If you need help, or don’t understand something, let us know, so that we can support you.

Most issues are resolved quickly but if we need more time to reach and outcome, we will let you know. We will acknowledge your feedback, question or complaint, within three working days, and aim to provide you a response within 20 working days. We may respond to your feedback, question or complaint by taking action to address the situation, reviewing how we do things, or apologising and explaining why things happened the way they did.

We’ll keep you informed throughout the process. Sometimes we may not be able to change what has happened or the decisions made, but we will provide clear reasons for the outcome reached. If you’re not happy with the response you receive, you can speak to the person managing the issue. Sometimes another person from the NSW Department of Education may review what has happened. They will let you know what can happen next. If you’re still not satisfied, you can ask an external organisation, such as the NSW Ombudsman to review your complaint.

We want to work with you to create safe, supportive learning environments. So please contact us if you have feedback, a question or complaint, or if you want to tell us about something we are doing well! Together we can help our students connect, succeed and thrive in public schools.

For more information, see the guide for parents, carers and students, or our complaints handling policy on our website. Visit education.nsw.gov.au and search for feedback or complaints.

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