ELOUERA ASSOCIATION LTD
Introduction
1.1 Purpose and Scope
This procedure applies to all Elouera Association Ltd services including the Elouera
Special School in handling complaints made in respect of services provided by the service
or school or against staff members, which includes employees, contractors and
volunteers.
This procedure does not extend to personal grievances between parents, guardians or
other members of the community.
Whistle Blowing Complaints
This procedure does not extend to complaints which are whistle blowing disclosures. The
procedure for processing whistle blowing complaints are dealt with in the organisations
whistle blowing policy.
In summary a whistle blowing disclosure is a disclosure which:
- is made by a board member, staff member, a person who supplies goods or services
to the organisation or school, including a volunteer, an employer of a supplier or a
relative of any of these people; - involves alleged misconduct, an improper state of affairs or circumstances, or illegal
activity, and - is made to a senior staff member, or officer of the organisation or school, the school’s
auditor or a person who the school has authorised to collect such disclosures.
1.3 Related Policies
Complaints about reportable conduct will be addressed in accordance with the school’s
Child Protection Policy.
Complaints regarding a grievance between staff members about work matters, including
work relationships and decision made by other staff members which impact on their work,
are addressed in accordance with the organisations Staff Grievance Policy.
Complaints regarding unlawful discrimination, harassment or bullying between staff are
generally addressed in accordance with the organisations Discrimination, Harassment
and Bullying Statement.
1.4 Confidentiality
All parties involved in complaints handling are required to maintain appropriate
confidentiality, including in relation to handling and storing records.
Complaints
A complaint or grievance is an expression of dissatisfaction made to the Service or school
about an educational and/or operational matter relating to services provided by the
organisation or school or the behaviour or decisions of a staff member, contractor or
volunteer, including misconduct.
If a parent/carer or service recipient/student has a concern about the conduct of a staff
member, they should raise their concern with the service or school in accordance with
section 3. If a complaint that concerns the behaviour of a school staff member may
constitute reportable conduct, the matter will be addressed in accordance with the school’s
Child Protection Policy in accordance with section 1.2. Please refer to the school’s Child
Protection Policy for information about reportable conduct. Complainants are not required
to assess whether their concern meets the threshold of reportable conduct before making
a complaint. Any concern about a child’s wellbeing may be reported under this policy.
Complaints may be made by a service recipient/student or parent/carer.
The organisation will seek to resolve complaints informally where possible but
acknowledges that in some cases a person may wish to make a formal complaint.
3. Raising a Complaint
3.1 The Complainant
Informal complaints may be raised by a complainant directly with the person involved.
However, if the complainant does not feel comfortable doing so or the matter is one where
it may not be appropriate to do so a complaint can be made to the area Supervisor, Head
Teacher or any Senior Staff Member. Any complaint about the conduct of a school staff
member should be raised directly with the Head Teacher or Chief Executive Officer in the
first instance.
Should the matter not be resolved through informal processes, the complainant may raise
the matter formally with the organisation or school. A formal complaint can be made in
writing to the Chief Executive Officer, via email allan@elouera-association.com
Where a person wishes to make a formal complaint concerning the Chief Executive Officer
the complaint should be made in writing to the Chair of the Board, via mail to PO Box 271,
Cootamundra NSW 2590. In this situation, the references in this policy relating to the role
of the Chief Executive Officer should be read as references to the Chair of the Board.
3.2 The School and Other Elouera Services
The Chief Executive Officer will generally acknowledge receipt of a formal complaint in
writing as soon as practicable
4. Handling Complaints
4.1 Assessing a Complaint
The Chief Executive Officer generally will assess the complaint and determine:
- whether the complaint is one to be addressed under this policy or is a staff grievance
or reportable conduct matter which are dealt with by the relevant policies, see section
1.2; and - the priority of the complaint in accordance with the urgency and/or seriousness of
the matter raised; and - whether the school may be required to report the matter to the Ombudsman, Police,
Family and Community Services or other relevant authorities should the complaint
relate to possible unlawful conduct or other reportable matters.
4.2 Managing a Formal Complaint
The Chief Executive Officer generally will manage a formal complaint by:
a) advising the complainant of the likely steps that will be undertaken by the
organisation or School in relation to the complaint;
b) if appropriate, advising the relevant parties of the complaint at the relevant time and
providing them with an opportunity to respond;
c) collecting any additional information, the organisation or School considers necessary
to assess the complaint;
d) making a decision about how the complaint will be resolved (“resolution decision”);
and
e) advising the complainant in writing, and any other relevant parties as appropriate, of
the resolution decision of the Chief Executive Officer and if appropriate, any
proposed action to be taken.
There may be circumstances where some of the steps outlined above are not appropriate
and the organisation will determine, on a case by case basis the most appropriate method
of handling the complaint.
A complainant and the relevant parties that the complaint is about may choose to have an
appropriate support person present at any meeting with representatives of the
organisation or School about the complaint. However, the organisation maintains the right
to determine whether the person’s preferred support person is appropriate and may not
approve the attendance of a support person where they are determined by the
organisation to be inappropriate.
5. Contact
If you have any queries about this procedure, you should contact Chief Executive Officer
for advice.