Service Requests and Complaints Handling Policy

HUNTER’S HILL COUNCIL POLICY REGISTER

Service Requests and Complaints Handling Policy

CORP.S-POL.22 Document ID 200982 Adopted 24/02/2014 1 | P a g e

SERVICE REQUESTS AND COMPLAINTS HANDLING POLICY

PURPOSE

The purpose of Council’s complaints system is to improve service delivery in all areas

and maintain a high standard of customer service.

The key objectives of Council’s Complaints Handling Policy are to:

Effectively resolve complaints and dissatisfaction with Council services

Improve Council’s service delivery

Reduce complaints in the future

Improve community satisfaction

This policy aims to provide guidance about:

The difference between a service request and a complaint.

How Council assesses and processes service requests and complaints.

The procedures to lodge a service request or complaint.

Providing a high standard of customer service to all customers.

Recording all customer requests and complaints.

Monitoring the request process through the Council by authorised

personnel.

Providing indicators of Council and individual staff member performance

on handling customer service requests and complaints.

The outcomes of this policy are to ensure that Council processes service requests and

customer complaints correctly and that customer/resident satisfaction improves.

SCOPE

A service request and complaint handling system is an organised way of responding

to, recording, reporting and using complaints to improve service to residents. An

effective complaints handling system is an essential part of providing a quality service.

It is a measure of resident satisfaction. This policy covers the following features:

A clear definition of what is and is not a complaint.

A user-friendly procedure for lodging complaints.

A means of recording, reporting on and using complaints data to improve

systems.




A commitment to efficient and fair resolution of complaints by people at all

levels in the Council.

A referral procedure which is known to all frontline staff.

Staff training and empowerment.

Appropriate remedies.

Performance standards.

Managing difficult complainants.

Hunter’s Hill Council delivers an extensive range of services and infrastructure to its

community. The delivery of services is a key component of Council’s operations, and

requests for work to be undertaken or for a service to be provided, are a routine

occurrence.

Complaint handling is also a key component of sound corporate governance and is

fundamental to ensuring an appropriate level of accountability in the exercise of

council functions.

This policy has been developed in accordance with:

The Local Government Act 1993

The Protected Disclosures Act 1994

The Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988

‘Better Service and Communication Guidelines for Local Government’ NSW

Ombudsman, 2000.

‘The Complaint Handler’s Tool Kit (2nd edition) NSW Ombudsman, 2004.

Practice Note No. 9 – ‘Complaints Management in Councils’, NSW

Ombudsman and Department of Local Government, July 2009.

In addition, the NSW Ombudsman advocates a three-tiered approach to complaint

handling. Such a system comprises the following elements:

First tier Registration and attempted resolution by frontline Council staff or

diversion.

Second tier If a resident is still dissatisfied, his or her complaint is reviewed or

investigated by an identified complaints officer or simply by someone




who is more senior, and the results of the review reported to the

resident.

Third tier If the complaint cannot be resolved within the Council, the

complainant is referred to an outside agency such as the NSW

Ombudsman, ICAC, the Division of Local Government or to some

alternative dispute resolution procedure or, as a last resort, any legal

remedy.

Council’s focus should be on resolving service requests and complaints as quickly as

is possible using the tiered system devised by the NSW Ombudsman.

Hunter’s Hill Council is committed to implementing an effective system to ensure

customer satisfaction.

This policy applies to:

Staff

Managers

Councillors

Residents and other customers of Council

DEFINITIONS

Complaint An expression of dissatisfaction with the Council’s policies,

procedures, charges, staff, agents, or quality of service.

A complaint may relate to a specific incident or issue involving

Council, or to matters of a more philosophical or general nature

regarding Council’s processes and/or procedures.

Requests for service, documents and information, or the exercise

of Council’s regulatory functions are not classified as complaints,

unless it is a second request where there was no response to the

first.




Council Staff Council staff refers to all employees of Hunter’s Hill Council

including Councillors, the Mayor, members of Council

committees and all other employees of council.

Public Officer Council’s Customer Service Supervisor

infoXpert Council software which enables staff to lodge and track requests

and complaints.

Record Letters, comments, reports, documents, attachments, tapes,

emails, video and audio recordings, graphics, slide presentations,

online content and other forms of information, including

computer based information created or received.

Responsible

officer

The officer in charge of handling and resolving a complaint. This

will be one of Council’s Customer Service Officers, or the officer

to whom a complaint has been referred by Customer Service.

Service

Request

A request for Council to take action on a particular issue.

POLICY STATEMENT

PART 1 POLICY GUIDELINES

1. GUARANTEE OF SERVICE

Council is committed to the resolutions of complaints and will ensure that complaints

are received courteously, investigated and acted upon quickly and appropriately.

All complaints will be investigated impartially and all relevant evidence will be

gathered.

People who complain about the services provided by or the conduct of council or

its staff will not be subjected to victimisation, harassment, discrimination or other

prejudice or reprisals.

Council welcomes complaints as a way of improving services to the community.

Council will produce regular reports on complaints received and where possible,

implement any procedural changes necessary to ensure similar complaints are not

received again.




Council will endeavour to respond to complaints promptly, provide complainants

with realistic timeframes for the handling of complaints, and provide ongoing

feedback about the progress of the complaint-handling process.

Council will ensure the community is aware of our complaints handling policy, and

understand how to lodge a complaint and how complaints will be responded to.

2. ACCESS TO INFORMATION

2.1 What is a service request?

A service request includes a request to take action about a Council

service, or a request for information. Customers may request that

Council staff inspect, remove, replace, repair or reinstate Council

facilities or amenities which have been damaged, or appeal for

information about a Council service, program or project. Specific

examples of requests for service include:

road maintenance, e.g. request to fix a pothole, damaged

kerb/gutter

footpath maintenance

park maintenance

nature strip maintenance

street sweeping

stormwater pollution, runoff and drainage

tree pruning

request to fix damage to a toilet block

graffiti

missed waste service

missing or stolen bin

overflowing public waste bin

tree maintenance

abandoned vehicle

illegal dumping

lost/found dog/cat.




2.2 What is a complaint?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with the council’s

policies, procedures, charges, employees, agents or the quality of the

services it provides. There are some areas that fall outside this definition

which are to be deemed a complaint and include:

Unauthorised building works/swimming pools.

A complaint about the conduct of a staff member.

2.3 What is not a complaint?

On its own, a request for a council service or the exercise by Council of

its regulatory functions, are not complaints about Council.

2.4 How do we receive a service request or complaint?

A service request or complaint can be received via the following

methods:

Telephone.

In writing by letter, fax or email.

Face to face at the Customer Service Desk.

The following details should be gathered (and will be recorded in

infoXpert – see Point 3. for further details):

Customers name, address and contact details.

How the request was lodged (phone, fax, letter, email).

Details of the complaint/request for service.

Person who took the complaint and person the complaint has

been forwarded to for action.

Dependant on the nature of the templates established under each

departmental heading, e.g. Corporate Services, additional information

may need to be gathered which will be outlined within the documents

in infoXpert.

3. INFOXPERT

InfoXpert has been implemented to electronically record and store Council’s files

and correspondence. This software enables fast access to records by staff and is an




essential part of the Council’s Customer Service request and complaints handling

system. By using infoXpert staff can maintain full and accurate records of all service

requests/complaints received and monitor their progress through Council.

4. LODGING A COMPLAINT

Members of the local community who do not believe Council has provided

adequate service or fulfilled its commitments are encouraged to lodge a complaint

to Council’s Customer Service department.

Complaints will be received over the telephone, in writing via letter, email or fax, or

face-to-face at the customer service desk.

When lodging a complaint all relevant information should be provided to enable

quick and accurate investigation and response. Outline the circumstance of the

case, provide all relevant documentation and state what you want to happen in

order to resolve the matter. Serious allegations will require sufficient proof for

complaints to be substantiated.

Consistent with a commitment to quality service, Council endeavours to respond to

the demands of the local community in as short a time as possible. However,

Council does have limited resources. Council asks members of the local community

to accept these reasonable limitations in regard to the time taken to respond to

customer requests.

5. PROCEDURE FOR RESPONDING TO SERVICE REQUESTS AND COMPLAINTS?

To create a service request or complaint, go to infoXpert. The ‘Requests for Service’

folder can be found under the Document Library (a more detailed process can be

found under ‘Customer Service requests’, p.47 in the ‘infoXpert End User Guide’

distributed to all staff).

Further sub classifications are outlined below:

Document Libraries

Building Certificate

Code of Conduct Complaints

Complying Dev Certificate

Converted InfoVision Records

Corporate

Development Applications

Legal Register

Service requests

Complaints

o Community Services

o Corporate Governance

o Corporate Services

o Development and Regulatory Control




o Works and Services

Corporate

o Applying for a Pension Rebate

o Community Grants

o Creditors Payments

o Payroll Enquiries

o Pension Rebate Enquiries

o Property Enquiries

o Rates and Property Searches

o Rates Enquiries

Development

o Building Enquiries

o Building Inspections

o Building Searches

o Development Compliance Enquiries

o Illegal Building Works

o Planning Scheme Enquiries

o Town Planning Certificates

o Town Planning Enquiries

o Water Quality

o Zoning and Land Use Enquiries

Engineering

o Boat Ramps

o Bus Shelters

o Council Buildings

o Drainage (pits culverts etc.)

o Driveway Crossings

o Emergency Call Outs

o Feral Pest

o Footpaths

o GIS Mapping

o Mowing Park Infrastructure

o Noxious Weeds

o Public Swimming Baths

o Public Toilets

o Road Design

o Road Signage

o Road Signage Maintenance

o Rubbish

o Street Lighting

o Street Signage

o Tree Removal Approvals

o Trees in Public Spaces

o Vandalism

o Water Mains (burst leaks etc.)

Public Health

o Abandoned Vehicles




o Advertising Signage (Business)

o Dog or Cat Complaints

o Dust Complaint

o Fire Hazard Complaint (Building)

o Fire Hazard Complaint (Bush)

o Food Complaints

o Food Shop Inspections

o Hire of Hall and Parks (Consent Letter)

o Licenses and Permits – Other

o Licences and Permits – Tradewaste

o Noise Complaints

o Odour Complaints

o Overgrown Land

o State Emergency Services

o Waste Management

Subdivisions

Workspace

The above folders have been developed to comply with functions of Council. If the

folder you require is not listed above, please forward your request to create a new

folder to Council’s IT Department.

Once an appropriate folder is located select the New>Document from

Template menu option. From the list of templates select the Service Request

Template and click OK.

The name and design of the service request template that appears will vary

depending on the organisational requirements. See Council’s IT Department

for further clarification.

Complete the form and click submit. Another screen will appear with the

heading Save Form As.

1. Enter a Document name.

2. Enter a Description.

3. Select a workflow, which will send the document to where you need it

to go.

4. Click Next.




Choose the document type, e.g., service request. A confirmation displays

stating that ‘required customer property set for this document type has

already been applied’, which means the relevant data that has been

entered onto the form has been saved to the required customer property set.

Click Finish.

6. IMPROVING SYSTEMS

In the interest of good administrative practice, and in keeping with the State

Records Act 1998, Council is required to maintain full and accurate records of its

activities. This in turn enables Council to process service requests and complaints,

and determine actions for improving functions and services of Council generally.

Complaints data is a useful basis for resident satisfaction research. If information on

complaints is captured, classified and analysed, systemic and recurring problems will

be more easily identified and rectified.

7. A COMMITMENT TO EFFICIENT AND FAIR RESOLUTION OF ISSUES BY PEOPLE

AT ALL LEVELS WITHIN THE COUNCIL

Hunter’s Hill Council is committed to the provision of quality customer service across

all of its departments. It is important for Council to ensure that its processes and

procedures are transparent, as well as keeping effective records that follow

legislative guidelines.

It is also important for Council to (at any time) determine the nature of a customer

request or complaint, and where it is at in terms of completion/rectification. The

infoXpert system will allow all members of staff to lodge a service request or

complaint and forward it onto the most relevant colleague for further action.

8. REFERRAL PROCEDURES

The following procedure will be followed by staff members receiving service requests

and complaints via phone or over the counter:

1. Identify themselves.

2. Actively listen to the customer.

3. Determine what the customer wants by being courteous and without

apportioning blame or potential liability.

4. Explain the proposed course of action (resolution process) and

timeframes.




5. Record the details of the service request or complaint in the infoXpert

system (details of how to complete this are outlined above under point

5.).

6. Officer to provide customer with a reference number and

communicate how the service request or complaint will be actioned

and to whom the service request or complaint will be forwarded to.

7. Complaint is tasked to appropriate Officer through infoXpert.

8. Officer to respond to all formal requests in writing within 10 working

days of being received.

Note:

Council front line staff will always try and resolve service requests/complaints at the

first point of contact (except in regards to complaints regarding staff). The need for

the escalation of service requests/complaints is kept to a minimum and done on an

as need basis. If a service request or complaint is to be tasked to a Council Officer,

always provide the customer with an id/reference number.

Service requests and complaints received via email:

1. Forward an automatic reply stating that the email has been received.



5.).

3. Service request or complaint tasked to appropriate Officer through

infoXpert.

4. Officer to provide customer with a response within 10 working days of

email being received outlining how the service request or complaint

will be actioned and an expected time of completion (if appropriate).

The response must contain the name and contact details of the officer

responsible for resolving the complaint. The responsible officer must

communicate with the complainant until the complaint is resolved.

Service requests received via letter:



5.).

2. Service request or complaint tasked to appropriate Officer through

infoXpert.

3. Officer to provide customer with a response within 10 working days of

letter being received outlining how the service request or complaint

will be actioned, and an expected time of completion (if appropriate).




The response must contain the name and contact details of the officer

responsible for resolving the complaint. The responsible officer must

communicate with the complainant until the complaint is resolved.

The Public Officer is responsible for overseeing Customer Service

Officers in the resolution of such complaints.

9. INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS

Investigation of a complaint must be carried out in an impartial manner. The

responsible officer should approach the investigation with an open mind and avoid

forming judgments until all available, relevant evidence has been gathered and

assessed.

The investigation process must be appropriately documented and recorded.

Investigations should only be finalised after properly considering any submissions that

affected parties may wish to make.

If a complaint is rejected, the responsible officer must provide the complainant with

proper reasons for the decision.

9.1 Complaints Concerning Councillors and Council Staff

Complaints concerning Councillors should be directed to the Mayor or

the General Manager.

Complaints concerning council staff should be directed to the officer’s

manager.

Council encourages members of the local community to make

complaints about conduct they are dissatisfied with and name the

responsible members of staff, or Councillors if they are known to the

complainant. However, Council does not accept complaints making

personal reflections.

Complaints should focus on conduct, not personalities. For example, a

complaint that an officer has delayed acting on an application is quite

different from a complaint that an officer is lazy. A complaint that a

Councillor spoke rudely on a particular occasion is different from one

alleging that the Councillor is a rude person.

The investigation of complaints concerning Councillors and Council

staff will:

a) have regard for the principles of procedural fairness for both the

complainant and the subject of the complaint;

b) respect the confidentiality of all parties, where practicable and

appropriate, until such time as the investigation process is

completed;




c) be undertaken quickly, in order to ensure that the opportunity

for further misconduct and the potential for breach of

confidentiality are minimised;

d) be documented and recorded, including recording of reasons

for all significant decisions.

9.2 Serious Complaints

Council has additional provisions for receiving complaints concerning:

a) Corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantiated

waste of public money.

b) Competitive neutrality issues.

c) Breaches of the Code of Conduct

d) Pecuniary interest.

e) Conflicts of interests.

f) Criminal behaviour

Where a complaint falls within the definition of a “Code of Conduct

Complaint” the procedures outlined in Council’s Model Code of

Conduct and Model Procedures for the Administration of the Code of

Conduct (Corp.S-Pol.03) will apply. A specialist coordinator receives

these complaints and refers them onto an independent specialist for

review and advice.

All other complaints as listed above, which involve Hunter’s Hill Council,

its staff and Councillors should be directed in the first instance to the

General Manager and dealt with in accordance with Council’s

Internal Reporting Policy. Such complaints involving the General

Manager should be referred to the Mayor.. These matters will be dealt

with confidentially, and the details of the complaint will be recorded

using an alternative recording system for sensitive and confidential

material.

Complaints involving criminal action must be automatically referred to

the police.

Councillors and Council staff are ‘public officials’ for the purposes of

the Protected Disclosures Act 1994, and under that Act can make

protected disclosures. Disclosures may be protected if they show or

tend to show corrupt conduct, maladministration, or serious and

substantial waste of public money by Council or any Council officials.

Protected disclosures must be made in accordance with Council’s

Internal Reporting Policy. See that policy for further information on




what constitutes a protected disclosure and the procedures for

making a protected disclosure.

Complaints concerning failure to disclose conflict of interests or

pecuniary interests must be referred to the General Manager and will

be dealt with in accordance with Council’s Conflict of Interests policy

and Code of Conduct Policy. Such complaints involving the General

Manager should be referred to the Mayor.

Complaints concerning competitive neutrality will be immediately

referred to the General Manager for investigation.

A competitive neutrality complaint is:

A complaint that a council has not met its obligations under the

Policy Statement of Pricing and Costing for Council Businesses –

A Guide to Competitive Neutrality issued by the Department of

Local Government in July 1997. This includes a concern that a

council has not established an effective complaints handling

mechanism.

A complaint that a council has not abided by the spirit of

competitive neutrality in the conduct of a business activity.

Complaints relating to an alleged breach of Council’s Code of

Conduct must be dealt with in accordance with the procedures

prescribed under the Code rather than under Council’s general

complaint handling procedures.

Under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998,

a person may seek an internal review by a council of the

following conduct:

a) a breach of any information protection principles

applying to Council;

b) a breach of the Privacy Code of Practice for Local

Government;

c) a disclosure of personal information held on a public

register in a manner inconsistent with that permitted

under the Privacy Code of Practice for Local

Government;

d) a breach of a health privacy principle under the Health

Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 that applies to

Council;

e) a breach of a health privacy code of practice that

applies to Council.




See Council’s Privacy Code of Practice for further

information.

10. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES/OUTCOMES

In order to improve customer satisfaction it is important that any service request

or complaint is handled according to strict policy and procedure as outlined

within this document.

One of the most effective outcomes is to ensure that a service request is carried

out in the timeframe advised to the customer. Likewise with a complaint, it is

important to communicate with the customer that the appropriate steps will be

taken and an outcome, whether it be favourable or not, will be communicated

back to the customer.

There may be a number of remedies that will be acceptable to both Council

and the customer, including:

An explanation.

An apology (see below for further advice).

Mediation (Council has a qualified mediator on staff).

An admission of fault.

A change in decision.

A change in policy, procedure or practice.

A correction of misleading errors.

Financial reimbursement, including a refund of any fees.

The remission of a penalty.

Disciplinary action.

Referral of a matter to an external agency for further investigation.

Sometimes things go wrong, and when they do go wrong it is often not just the

event that has caused the damage, it is often the way the customer has been

treated afterwards that causes the most upset.. Mistakes, delays, omissions and

misunderstandings happen, so it is important to advise the customer that from

this point forward the issue will be handled with the upmost importance.

If a complaint is found to be justified, the responsible officer should seek to put

the complainant in the position they would have been in if things had not gone

wrong. This may mean providing the desired service or changing a decision.

If this is not possible, an alternative form of compensation may be required. In

this instance, the input of the complainant is always useful.




Remedies should be consistent and fair for both Council and the complainant.

A remedy should provide a comprehensive resolution of the complaint and deal

with all justified issues raised by the complainant.

There will always be situations when a customer may never be happy with an

outcome. It is important to ensure that as a Council Officer you have done

everything within the terms of Council policy that you feel has been warranted

to try and resolve the issue/situation.

If a customer remains dissatisfied by the responsible officer’s investigations, the

complaint will be referred to a more senior officer for review.

Where a complaint cannot be resolved within the Council, the complainant is

referred to an outside agency to seek resolution. External agencies include the

NSW Ombudsman, the Department of Local Government (if the matter

concerns a serious breakdown in council operations, if the council as a whole is

not operating satisfactorily), and the ICAC (if the matter concerns corrupt

conduct).

11. STAFF TRAINING AND EMPOWERMENT

As a requirement of this policy, staff directly involved with receiving service

requests and complaints, particularly Customer Service personnel, Records

personnel, Development and Regulatory Control personnel and Works and

Services personnel will be guided through the infoXpert lodgement process by IT

personnel.

Additional support can be received from Council’s Corporate Strategist for

policy and corporate knowledge guidance.

Any staff training should be based on the following fundamental principles of

dealing with service requests and complaints:

Treat customers in a courteous manner and promptly respond to their

feedback.

Show good interpersonal skills.

Be aware of roles, responsibilities and authorities in respect of

feedback and complaints.

Be aware of correct procedures to follow.

Immediately refer service requests or complaints which are outside the

scope of their role to the appropriate staff member/manager.




12. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

As this document is an endorsed policy of Hunter’s Hill Council, all staff are

required to adhere to the guidelines outlined within the policy. Staff not

responding to and recording service requests and complaints will not meet their

own personal performance standards or those of Council.

Hunter’s Hill Council residents are important and should be treated accordingly.

Every role within Council deals with residents in some capacity, whether it be

receiving an email, greeting someone at the front counter, or answering an

enquiry. Every staff member has a customer service role within Council.

13. MANAGING DIFFICULT COMPLAINTS

The behaviour of difficult complainants, if not properly managed, has the

potential to pose significant resource management and equity issues for

Council. Such behaviour has the potential to force Council to divert resources to

address the demands of a small minority that may have been more

appropriately allocated elsewhere. Examples of unreasonable complainant

conduct includes:

unreasonable persistence ;

unreasonable demands ;

unreasonable lack of cooperation;

unreasonable arguments ;

unreasonable behaviours.

Where Council encounters unreasonable complainant conduct, it should

consider consulting the Unreasonable Complainant Conduct: Interim Practice

Manual, issued by the NSW Ombudsman, for strategies for managing such

conduct.

Council’s commitment to providing courteous service extends to dealings

with people who themselves are not demonstrating courteous behaviour.

However, Council expects that the behaviour of members of the local

community will stay within certain acceptable limits. If behaviour is beyond

these limits, complaint handlers should implement appropriate strategies to

deal with the behaviour.

This section does not apply to complainants who are justifiably angry or upset

because of a real or perceived error by Council, or out of frustration with their

dealings with Council. It is intended to apply to complainants who exhibit

unreasonable conduct, as defined below.

Unreasonable complainant conduct should be managed by complaint

handlers based on responding appropriately to observable conduct, not on

an assessment of the psychological state or possible motives of such

complainants.




Unreasonable complainant conduct can be divided into five broad

categories. It can be any one or a combination of the following:

Unreasonable persistence

Examples include:

persisting with a complaint even though it has been

comprehensively considered by Council, and even where all

avenues of external review have been exhausted;

reframing a complaint in an attempt to get it taken up again;

showing an inability to accept the final decision;

persisting in interpreting the law or policy in a way that is not in

accordance with generally accepted or expert views on the issue

and insisting that action be taken accordingly;

demanding a review because it is available, but not arguing a

case for review;

making an issue out of anything;

getting gratification from the process of regular contact with the

case officer, possibly including inventing unnecessary reasons for

such contact.

Unreasonable demands

Examples include:

insisting on outcomes that are unattainable (e.g. demanding

outcomes that are beyond Council’s power to deliver, demanding

unreasonable outcomes, wanting to turn back time, unreasonable

prosecution of individuals);

insisting on a ‘moral’ outcome, (e.g. justice in the community

interest, when really a personal interest is at stake);

demanding an apology and/or compensation when no

reasonable basis for expecting such an outcome exists;

wanting revenge, retribution;

wanting what is not possible or appropriate (e.g. copies of sensitive

documents, private contact details of staff, other complainants or

whistle-blowers etc.);

issuing instructions and making demands on how a complaint

should be handled;




providing supporting details that are extraordinarily detailed when

such detail is not relevant to the complaint;

making unreasonable resource demands, expecting resources in

excess or out of proportion to the seriousness of the issue;

wanting regular and lengthy phone contact where this is not

warranted;

showing reactions or demands for action that are out of proportion

to the significance of the issue;

moving the goal posts – changing the desired outcome;

shopping for a sympathetic ear in Council – demanding to talk to a

supervisor or the General Manager personally;

placing the complaint handler or Council on an extensive email

copy list and expecting responses to numerous emails;

consistently creating complexity where there is none;

presenting as overly needy or dependent.

Unreasonable lack of cooperation

Examples include:

presenting a large quantity of information which is not organised,

sorted, classified or summarised, where the complainant is clearly

capable of doing this;

presenting information in dribs and drabs – refusing to present all

available information at the outset;

refusing to define issues of complaint where the complainant is

clearly capable of doing this;

focusing on ‘principles’ rather than substantive issues;

changing the complaint, raising new issues in the process of

Council’s consideration of it;

displaying unhelpful behaviour (e.g. withholding information,

dishonesty, misquoting others, swamping Council with documents).

Unreasonable arguments

Examples include:

holding irrational beliefs (e.g. seeing cause and effect links where

there clearly are none);




holding what is clearly a conspiracy theory unsupported by any

evidence;

insisting that a particular solution is the only correct one in the face

of valid contrary or alternative arguments;

interpreting facts in a clearly irrational/unreasonable way and

insisting that this interpretation is the correct one;

insisting on the overwhelming importance of an issue that is clearly

trivial.

Unreasonable behaviours

Examples include:

displaying confronting behaviour, e.g. rudeness, aggression,

threats;

sending rude, confronting, threatening letters;

making threats of self-harm;

making threats of harm to others;

displaying manipulative behaviour (e.g. overly ingratiating, tears,

veiled threats).

Strategies for handling unreasonable complainant conduct will vary

depending on the particular circumstances. Generally, complaint handlers

should:

manage unreasonable expectations from the outset, including

ensuring that initial expectations are realistic;

adopt a firm and authoritative communication style both in writing

and verbally;

define key issues and keep the focus on them.

Strategies should be informed by the following basic principles for each

category of unreasonable complainant conduct:

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable persistence

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable persistence are about saying ‘no’.

Examples include:

communicating clearly and transparently (e.g. telling complainants

firmly that something is not going to happen);




requiring complainants who want an internal review to provide an

argument for one;

providing one review only;

making it clear following internal review that Council has made its

decisions and advising the complainant to seek external review if

they remain dissatisfied;

maintaining a ‘no means no’ stance following internal review;

adopting, when appropriate, a firm no further

correspondence/contact stance and requiring any variation from

this to be authorised at a high level;

ending telephone calls that are unproductive;

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable demands

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable demands are about setting limits.

Examples include:

letting the complainant know in advance how Council intends to

deal with the complaint;

making sure the complainant understands that Council decides

how the complaint should be handled;

clarifying the limitations of Council’s complaint handling system;

avoiding being drawn into hypothesis, hysteria, conspiracy theories,

unproductive arguments and personal attacks;

restricting contact to defined times and staff members where

necessary;

responding only to emails and mail addressed to Council

directly/not responding to mail where Council is copied in;

ending telephone calls that are unproductive;

limiting contact to writing only;

not doing for unreasonably demanding complainants something

Council would not do for any other complainant, just to appease

them;

as a last resort, informing the complainant that Council finds his or

her interaction with it is placing unreasonable demands on its staff

and setting defined limits for further contact. Such decisions will be

made only by senior staff.




Strategies for dealing with unreasonable lack of cooperation

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable lack of cooperation are about

setting conditions.

Examples include:

requiring complainants to organise or summarise the information

they have provided before you look at the complaint (where they

are clearly capable of doing this);

requiring complainants to define what their issues are or to pursue

further enquiries before you will look at the complaint;

telling complainants that you will not look at their complaint until all

the information has been presented;

ending your involvement with the complainant where it is

discovered that they complainant has been wilfully misleading or

untruthful in a significant way and inviting them to raise their

concerns with the appropriate external agency if unhappy with

Council’s response.

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable arguments

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable arguments are about declining or

discontinuing involvement at the earliest opportunity.

Complaints that are based on unreasonable arguments need to be

declined at the outset, or discontinued as soon as it becomes clear

that the arguments are unreasonable or the complaint is otherwise

groundless.

Alternatively, where unreasonable arguments are mixed with

reasonable arguments, the strategy should be to refuse to deal with

the unreasonable portion.

Where Council does so, it should invite the complainant to raise

their concerns with the appropriate external agency if unhappy

with Council’s response.

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable behaviour

Strategies for dealing with unreasonable behaviour include:

returning letters framed in rude and intemperate language and

request that the complainant reframe their concerns in more

moderate language;

ending telephone calls and interviews where the complainant

becomes abusive and confronting;




setting conditions to encourage acceptable behaviour where the

complainant wants further contact with Council.

14. LIMITING ACCESS

Strategies to manage unreasonable complainants may have to confront the

issue of limiting access to Council. It is important that such decisions are made

within the wider framework of public access rights and responsibilities.

Limitations may include terminating phone calls, assigning one officer to deal

with the complainant, and directing the complainant to communicate only via

letter in future.

Limiting access will be treated as a last resort, and decisions to limit access will

be made only by the General Manager. Any approach to the question of

limiting the access rights of the public to the services provided by Council must

have regard for the following:

in the absence of very good reasons to the contrary, the public have

a right of access to Council seek advice, help or services that Council

provides to the community;

members of the public have specific statutory rights to inspect council

documents and attend council meeting that cannot be restricted

(see below);

members of the public are entitled to seek to raise their concerns with

their elected representatives on Council;

criticism and complaints are a legitimate and necessary part of the

relationship between Council and the community;

nobody, no matter how much time and effort is taken up responding

to his or her complaints or concerns, should be unconditionally

deprived of the right to have those concerns addressed.

In determining whether to restrict, withhold or withdraw the provision of services

to complainants who are behaving unreasonably, there are three key threshold

considerations:

Has the complaints procedure been correctly implemented so far as

possible to this point and no material element of the complaint

been overlooked or inadequately addressed?

Has the complainant demonstrated one or more of the behaviours

the NSW Ombudsman has identified as unreasonable complainant

conduct? (see above)

Does that behaviour constitute an unreasonable demand on the

council’s resources or does the council have an obligation to

protect its staff from that behaviour?




Internal review procedures should be exhausted before service or access

restrictions are placed on habitual or obsessive complainants. Such

complainants will be informed of any external rights of appeal or review that

may be available.

A decision to limit access will have full regard for the principles of procedural

fairness. The complainant in question will receive prior notice of the grounds on

which the limitation is being imposed and the nature of the limitation, and be

given the opportunity to respond. Council will consider any such response

before deciding to limit access.

The only circumstances where a council should contemplate completely

withdrawing services or access should be where the person concerned:

is consistently rude or abusive, or makes threats to staff or other members

of the public using the services of or in the premises of the council,

causes damage to the property of the council or threatens physical harm

to staff or other third parties, and

is physically violent or produces weapons.

Depending on the importance of the service to the physical or mental well-

being of the person concerned, even if the person exhibits one or more of the

abovementioned behaviours, it may be preferable to modify the way a service

is provided rather than to withdraw or withhold the service. Possible strategies

might include using specially trained staff for interviewing certain people, or

delivering material to the person’s home rather than having it collected from the

council.

If a decision is made to limit communication with a complainant, adequate

documentary records of the decision and the surrounding circumstances will be

made and maintained by the officer responsible for the decision.

The Public Officer will maintain a list of people, whose access to Council has

been restricted in any way, including the specific directions in relation to each

person.

Against each person’s name and file number on the list will be the name of a

staff member who is familiar with the person who can be called upon if further

issues arise.

Council has specific statutory obligations to provide access which must be

complied with even if a decision has been made to limit or withdraw access:

Members of the public have the right to inspect certain Council

documents identified in Section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993.

Members of the public have the right to attend Council meetings and

committee meetings where all committee members are Councillors under

Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1993, unless the meeting has

been closed to the public under Section 10A.




Members of the public may be expelled from the meeting by resolution if they

engage in an act of disorder. They cannot be prevented from attending future

meetings as a result of an act of disorder at previous meetings; each act of

disorder must be dealt with at the meeting at which it occurs.

Under Section 232(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, the role of a

Councillor as an elected person includes facilitating communication

between the community and Council. While Council may restrict or

withdraw access to staff or the Council building, it will be up to individual

Councillors to decide whether they will continue to have dealings with a

complainant whose conduct is unreasonable.

Where a Councillor raises concerns or asks questions on behalf of someone

whose complaint has previously been finalised under council’s complaints

processes and access restricted, the question or request should be dealt with in

accordance with Council’s normal procedures for dealing with such requests or

questions. However, in responding to Councillor requests or questions, staff

should ensure the Councillor has a complete understanding of the context in

which the concerns have arisen. The response should include an explanation of

the history of the matter, the steps taken to address the complainant’s concerns

and why the restriction has been imposed.

15. CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

Hunter’s Hill Council will continually improve the effectiveness and efficiency of

its Service Requests and Complaints Handling Policy to ensure the fostering of a

customer focused approach within Council. Continual improvement and the

encouragement of innovation will be highly regarded.

16. REPORTING AND EVALUATION

At three monthly intervals (quarterly) results of service requests and complaints

will be tabled at Council’s Senior Management Team Meeting (SMT). This will

enable Council to develop continual improvement strategies and enable

feedback to be documented. This will in turn ensure transparent evaluation of all

policies and procedures. Complaints concerning individual staff members will

not be discussed at SMT.

Council will periodically produce reports on service requests made verbally, in

writing and via email. The reports will examine:

A breakdown by categories of the subject matter of

complaints/requests.

The percentage that are resolved and remain outstanding.

The time taken to resolve complaints/requests.

The outcome of the complaint/request.




A great deal can be learned from analysing complaints and service requests,

such as:

What is important to customers/residents.

Council services that need improving.

Council areas requiring additional resources.

Process or procedures within Council that can be improved.

The performance of Council’s Service Requests and Complaints Handling

Policy.

Useful information from these reports will be communicated to relevant

departments and outcomes will be analysed against performance targets. The

appropriate manager will address areas needing improvement or additional

resources.

17. CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

Staff members who do not comply with this policy will be subject to disciplinary

action determined by their manager. Examples of non-compliance include:

Not responding to requests within a reasonable time frame.

Not making detailed file notes of communication or action taken.

Not regularly checking their infoXpert in-tray.

18. EXTERNAL REVIEWS

In many circumstances involving a serious complaint, or in cases where Council

cannot resolve a matter, or the complainant remains unsatisfied with the

outcome of a complaint, the matter may need to be referred to external

agencies for review. The primary review bodies for Local Government matters

are the NSW Ombudsman, the Department of Local Government, and the

Independent Commission Against Corruption.

There are other specialist complaint agencies that may be able to assist with

certain types of grievance. For example, the Privacy Commissioner deals with

complaints about privacy issues and the Anti-Discrimination Board deals with

discrimination issues, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

(ACCC) deals with trade practices issues.




RELATED RESOURCES

Media Policy (CORP.S-Pol.18)

Code of Conduct (CORP.S-Pol.03)

Sponsorship Policy (CORP.S-Pol.19)

Privacy Code of Practice (CORP.S-Pol.08)

Information Systems and Surveillance Policy (GOV-Pol.02)

Filming Protocol and Manual (WS-Pol.01)

Community Consultation Policy (COMM-Pol.03)

Local Government Act 1993

Copyright Act 1968

State Records Act 1998

Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act 1998

Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009

Racial Discrimination Act 1975

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Sex Discrimination Act 1984

POLICY OWNER

The policy authority is the General Manager.

AUTHORISATION AND REVIEW

Next Review Date

This policy is to be reviewed in line or with any changes to relevant legislation or

Council policies.

Version Control Table

Date Version Res. No. Key Changes Author

11.11.96 1.0 4056/96 Initial Adoption by Council

26.06.06 1.1 263/06 Review and Update

28.09.09 1.2 308/09 Review and Update

24.02.14 1.3 34/14 Review and Update Annie Goodman

Service Requests and Complaints Handling Policy

Documents

Transcript of Service Requests and Complaints Handling Policy