Complaints Guidelines - examples
To respect and protect children and young people, and to provide opportunities for organisational improvement, it is vital that all organisations have complaints systems that are accessible and responsive to children and young people.
In 2009, working in collaboration with the Equal Opportunity Commission and the Office of Health Review (now the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office), the Commissioner held a consultation with children and young people to find out what issues and challenges they face when making a complaint, and what they would need to support them in the process.
This information was used in the development of the first edition of the complaints guidelines to help government agencies to make their complaints processes accessible and responsive to children and young people.
Complaints examples
The Commissioner is working with agencies to publish good practice examples of complaints systems that are accessible and responsive to children and young people.
Department of the Attorney General
The Department of the Attorney General encourages compliments, suggestions and complaints from children and young people. It has developed a feedback brochure to encourage and empower children and young people to have a say and voice their compliments, suggestions and complaints via an online customer feedback system.
Child focused complaints system for students at residential colleges
The Department of Education in collaboration with the Country High School Hostels Authority has created a system that allows students to register complaints on a child-friendly website or by telephone to a team of child protection investigators.
Hearing the voices of children and young people in care
The Department of Child Protection and Family Support has employed an Advocate for Children in Care, and has introduced a computer-assisted program to help childen and young people in care have a say in decisions that affect their lives and the services provided for them.