Complaint Management
Policy

Purpose

This policy and procedure sets out how any person can provide feedback and make complaints about any aspect of Sparrow Collective operations and the process of addressing or responding to feedback and complaints.


Definitions

Compliment – an expression of praise, encouragement or gratitude about an individual staff member, a team or a service.

Complaint – an expression of dissatisfaction made to or about an organisation, related to its products, services, staff or the handling of a complaint, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.

For the purpose of this policy and procedure, a complaint is defined as an issue of a minor nature that can be addressed promptly or within 24 hours, and does not require a detailed investigation. Complaints include an expression of displeasure, such as poor service, and any verbal or written complaint directly related to the service (including general and notifiable complaints).

General complaint – addresses any aspect of the service e.g. a lost clothing item or the service's fees. The complaint must be dealt with as soon as is practicable to avoid escalation of the issue.

Grievance – a formal statement of complaint that cannot be addressed immediately and involves matters of a more serious nature e.g. the service is in breach of a policy or the service did not meet the care expectations of a family. 

Applicability

When

  • applies when participants want to submit feedback or make a complaint;

  • applies to all feedback and complaints received regardless of the source.

Who

  • applies to all representatives including key management personnel, directors, full-time workers, part-time or casual workers, job candidates; student placements, apprentices, contractors, volunteers


Documents relevant to this policy

  • Complaint record form

  • Complaint register

  • Feedback and complaint Policy and Procedure (easy read)

Policy

  • Compliments, complaints and other feedback provide:

  • valuable information about participant satisfaction; and

  • an opportunity to improve upon all aspects of its service.


  • Sparrow Collective records and handles feedback effectively in order to:

    • identify areas for improvement;

    • coordinate a consistent approach to complaint resolution;

    • reduce the potential for future complaints; and

    • allow for reporting and efficient allocation of resources.


  • Sparrow Collective’s feedback, compliment and complaint handling system addresses the principles of:

    • visibility and accessibility;

    • Responsiveness;

    • assessment and investigation;

    • Feedback;

    • continuous improvement; and

    •  service excellence.


  • Sparrow Collective seeks to build a responsive, efficient, effective and fair complaint management system. Resolving complaints at the earliest opportunity in a way that respects and values the person’s feedback can:

    • aid in recovering the person’s confidence about Sparrow Collective’s services;

    • help prevent further escalation of the complaint.


  •  Sparrow Collective’s approach to feedback, compliments and complaints management ensures:

    • people understand their rights and responsibilities;

    • information on the feedback, compliment and complaint management process is easily accessible;

    • increased satisfaction of participants in the management of their compliments and complaints;

    • the recording of data to identify existing or emerging trends or systemic issues;

    • staff demonstrate an awareness of Sparrow Collective’s feedback, compliments and complaints management processes;

    • staff develop the range of skills and capabilities required to manage compliments, complaints and feedback; and

    • an organisational culture that is focused on effective, person-centred complaints resolution and utilising feedback for continuous improvement. 

Procedure

  • Sparrow Collective will promote best practice, continuous improvement and an open, supportive, respectful culture that encourages and supports staff, participants and other stakeholders to make complaints and report concerns without fear of retribution.

  • Sparrow Collective’s Welcome Pack, participant induction and Community Portal provide participants, their families and carers and all other stakeholders with information about this policy and procedure, in an easy to understand format. This will include information on how feedback and complaints will be addressed and who to contact to provide feedback and complaints to external agencies, including external advocacy and support agencies. Information will be clearly displayed in Sparrow Collective and provided by staff when requested.

  •  Information about providing feedback and making complaints will be provided in a variety of formats where appropriate. Interpreters and referrals to advocates can be provided.

  • Sparrow Collective will provide all participants, their families and carers with information about our complaint management system when they first access the service and, throughout service delivery, remind them of the policy and their right to make a complaint without fear of affecting their service.

  • All personal information Sparrow Collective collects to manage feedback or complaints will be handled in accordance with privacy legislation and the Privacy and Confidentiality Policy and Procedure. Feedback and complaints will be dealt with in a confidential manner and will only be discussed with the people directly involved. All information regarding feedback and complaints will be kept securely in accordance with the Records and Information Management Policy and Procedure.

  • Complaints and feedback can be lodged by a third party on behalf of another person, if their consent has been provided. 

  • Where required, an advocate or someone sensitive to the participant’s cultural needs will be appointed to assist in providing feedback or making a complaint.

  • Sparrow Collective will track and analyse feedback and complaint data to identify any ongoing issues and opportunities for service improvement.

Feedback

  • Provision of feedback to Sparrow Collective is voluntary;

  • Feedback will be collected regularly:

    • after major interaction with the service (e.g. initial assessment and planning; reviews; exit);

    • during participant service delivery;

    • through satisfaction and improvement surveys.

  •  Stakeholders can provide feedback at any time through:


  •  Where feedback is provided verbally, the receiving staff member will transcribe the feedback onto a Feedback and Complaint Record.