Complaint handlingresearch, resources and training

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Complaint handling – research, resources and training 3

Message from the Ombudsman

My office, as an independent and impartial integrity body has done a great deal of work since it was first established 38 years ago to change the way complaints are viewed and dealt with by those government agencies and service providers within our jurisdiction. I am pleased to be able to say that there has been a marked change in that time, but there is always more that can be done.There is an ever-increasing focus across Australia and around the world on the importance of good customer service. Here in NSW, the Premier has placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of providing a seamless, professional and high standard of service to the community. This is demonstrated by the creation of Service NSW and the appointment of an independent Customer Service Commissioner.The work of my office has shown that effective complaint handling is at the heart of good customer service. There will always be situations, both in the public and private sector, where those receiving a particular service are unhappy and wish to complain. The way in which these concerns are dealt with, and the way any information or experience gained through that process are used, are an integral part of improving service provision. Responding appropriately can also help to maintain a relationship with those who have expressed their unhappiness or shared their concerns. This is particularly important in the provision of many if not most public services, where there is a need to maintain an ongoing relationship between the person and the agency or service provider.With this in mind, I thought it timely to provide some information about our work to improve complaint handling, along with some of the resources and training we have developed to assist agencies and service providers to improve their complaint handling systems. We have worked hard to provide useful and targeted advice and assistance on how best to respond to complaints, and we will continue to do so. This work not only benefits the community, I believe it can also help agencies and service providers to identify problems and areas for improvement quickly, and improve not only their service provision, but also their broader systems and processes. This is particularly important in a time when agencies are being called upon to work smarter, and to do more with less.I hope you find this information useful, and please feel free to contact my office if you would like to know more.

Bruce Barbour NSW Ombudsman

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Contents

1. Monitoring complaint handling systems ....... 6Complaint handling in the public sector ................... 6

Complaint handling in government and funded non-government community service agencies ........ 6

Coordination of the Official Community Visitor (OCV) scheme .......................................................... 7

2. Research ....................................................... 8Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct [UCC] ......................................................... 8

Reviewing the Australian Standard on complaint handling .............................................. 8

The Complaint Handler’s Tool Kit ............................. 8

Managing complaints in universities ........................ 9

Managing public interest disclosures ....................... 9

Researching the management of public interest disclosures – the ‘Whistling While They Work’ Project ................... 9

3. Resources ................................................... 10

4. Training ........................................................ 12

5. Electronic newsletters .................................. 15

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6 NSW Ombudsman

1. Monitoring complaint handling systems

Complaint handling in the public sectorOver the past 20 years the NSW Ombudsman has conducted several reviews of complaint handling systems across the public sector.The initial research project, (the ‘CHIPS project’), began in 1994. A survey of NSW state and local government agencies found that of the agencies surveyed:• 15% had a complaint handling manual

• 20% had a complaint handling unit

• 20% had useful records or reporting systems. Follow up research in 1999 (after the 1995 Premier’s Memorandum on Frontline Complaint Handling) found approximately 50% of agencies had a complaints procedure manual and 90% had a complaints policy. A further survey of complaint handling systems in NSW state and local government agencies was conducted in 2007. We found a reduction in the number of agencies with documented complaint handling systems, and/or with well understood procedures. Of those surveyed:• 80% said they had a policy

• 75% said they had a clear procedure for people making complaints. These reports are available on our website.In 2012 we surveyed the nine principal state government departments to determine how complaints about their various sub agencies were managed, recorded and reported. We found that in nearly all cases, there is no centralised oversight or reporting lines, with each sub agency responsible for its own complaint handling systems and policies.

Complaint handling in government and funded non-government community service agenciesOne of the Ombudsman’s functions under the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 (CS-CRAMA) is to review the complaint handling of government and funded non-government community service providers.Since 2002, the Ombudsman has reviewed the complaint handling approaches of over 250 bodies, including:• government and funded non-government disability respite care services

• funded community participation services for people with a disability

• funded family support services for children and families, and

• licensed child care services. After these reviews, we make suggestions and recommendations for improvements in complaint handling systems and practices of the bodies involved. In some cases, we also distribute reports to all relevant agencies in particular sectors, suggesting possible complaint handling system improvements relevant to the sector.

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Coordination of the Official Community Visitor (OCV) schemeOCVs are independent Ministerial appointees (under CS-CRAMA). They visit residential accommodation facilities for people with a disability and children and young people in out-of-home care. Residents’ circumstances and situations mean they are often unable or unwilling to make complaints or raise issues. During their service visits OCVs examine complaint handling policies and procedures and hear from residents and staff about any issues of concern, including services’ complaint handling. Where relevant, OCVs report issues and make suggestions about improvements in services’ complaint handling.

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8 NSW Ombudsman

Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct [UCC]The NSW Ombudsman has identified managing unreasonable conduct of complainants as one of the more problematic issues facing all complaint handlers. Initial work undertaken by our office was expanded into a joint project of all Australian Parliamentary Ombudsman conducted between 2006 and 2008. We recognised that a disproportionate amount of our time – and far more agency time – is spent dealing with a very small number of complainants whose behaviour is unreasonable. These complainants are commonly angry, aggressive, abusive, may threaten harm, may intentionally mislead or withhold relevant information and are unable or unwilling to accept the decisions made on their concerns. They will engage any and all agencies in pursuing their concerns, which may change in characterisation over time. We recognised ways must be found to limit the impact of such conduct upon agency staff and the resources spent by agencies in dealing it. This work has resulted in the development of a training course, a practice manual and a model policy and procedures, all of which have been well received by agencies.

Reviewing the Australian Standard on complaint handlingIn 2012 Standards Australia began a review of the Australian standard on complaint handling (Customer Satisfaction- Guidelines for complaints handling in organisations, AS ISO 10002:2006). They are aiming to produce a standard that will inform organisations about the key principles and concepts in an effective, dynamics complaint handling system. Deputy Ombudsman Chris Wheeler is on the Technical Committee responsible for the standard’s revision. Our office is also represented on specific working parties dealing with: social media; unreasonable complainant conduct; apologies; dispute prevention; and vulnerable persons/ persons with a disability. The revised standard is expected to be released at the end of 2013.

The Complaint Handler’s Tool KitOriginally published in 2000, the toolkit brought together a number of resources developed by the NSW Ombudsman to provide definitive guidance on the major aspects of complaint handling. In developing the guidelines, the then Public Sector Management Office, the Department of Local Government, the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, as well as the ICAC, the Auditor General, and Attorney General’s Department all provided their insights and experiences. The work in preparing the kit has now been included in a range of materials produced by the office, providing advice on topics such as:• establishing and administering a complaints system

• dealing with difficult complainants

• investigating and mediating complaints, and

• providing redress where maladministration has been established.

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Managing complaints in universitiesOur experience in dealing with complaints arising in university settings revealed that many universities could benefit from more effective and clearly understood complaint handling policies and systems. We reviewed complaint handling policies and practices at all NSW universities, developed and distributed a discussion paper and considered submissions received in response. This led to the development of best practice guidelines in 2006. These guidelines are being revised in consultation with other complaint handling agencies and universities.

Managing public interest disclosuresLegislation to manage disclosures of wrongdoing and protect public sector employees who make them was first introduced in NSW in 1994. The original Protected Disclosures Act 1994 gave the Ombudsman a statutory function to receive disclosures from public officials alleging maladministration and investigate allegations of reprisal. Significant amendments to the Act in 2011, now called the Public Interest Disclosures Act, has seen our role expand. We are now also responsible for promoting public awareness and understanding of the objects of the Act, providing advice and guidance to those who make and receive public interest disclosures, and monitoring and auditing agency compliance with the Act. We continue to:• develop and refine guidelines, fact sheets and model policies for agencies

• provide advice to agencies and staff

• facilitate workshops, conduct training and deliver presentations, and review agencies’ policies.

We have also engaged in research, built networks with relevant stakeholders, developed discussion papers in response to identified legislative deficiencies and agency concerns, and made submissions to various inquiries.

Researching the management of public interest disclosures – the ‘Whistling While They Work’ ProjectWe were one of 14 partner integrity organisations in this Australian Research Council-funded Linkage Project, led by Griffith University and involving four other universities. The project examined whistleblowing across a range of Australian public sector agencies by conducting surveys and interviews, reviewing agency systems (including 15 case study agencies), analysing relevant legislation and facilitating workshops. Deputy Ombudsman Chris Wheeler was a partner investigator on the project research team that oversaw the project and staff of this office co-authored five chapters of the project’s major report. The findings have informed revisions of our public interest disclosure guidelines and model internal reporting policies and our recommendations for legislative reform – a number of which were reflected in the 2011 amendments to the NSW Act.

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10 NSW Ombudsman

The Ombudsman has used four decades of experience with complaint handling to develop a range of practical publications to help agency complaint handlers. These are some of those more directly related to our work in promoting effective complaint handling. Further information about each is available at the publications page of our website.

Fact sheetsOver the years the NSW Ombudsman has developed a large number of fact sheets for public sector agencies and community service organisations covering a range of topics such as good complaint handling, quality customer service, investigating complaints, and apologies. These are regularly updated and are available for download from our website.

Ombudsman’s Effective Complaint Handling Guidelines Originally developed in 1992 and updated as a result of the 1994 CHIPS project and ongoing practical experience in handling complaints, the guidelines describe the essential features of a complaint handling system and a model approach to complaint handling.

Complaint Handling at Universities: Best Practice GuidelinesThe guidelines, developed in consultation with the 10 public universities and their staff and student organisations, aim to assist universities make their complaint handling policies and systems more effective. These guidelines are currently being reviewed as part of a joint Australasian Parliamentary Ombudsman project to develop a common set of guidelines for all public universities

Guidelines for Dealing with Youth ComplaintsThis booklet aims to help agencies engage more effectively with young people and their advocates when dealing with youth-related complaints; to ensure their voices are heard and their opinions considered in decisions that impact upon them.

Apologies – A Practical GuideThis guide sets out practical advice on how to respond effectively to situations where an agency’s action or inaction has caused harm. It recognises the value and importance of appropriately expressed and timely apologies in resolving sometimes serious complaints, as well as identifying and addressing common barriers to doing so.

Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct – Practice ManualThis manual was designed to help agencies and their staff to take a systematic and consistent approach to managing challenging interactions with complainants. The strategies and advice in the manual are designed to ensure all complainants are treated fairly and with respect, while ensuring the impact of such unreasonable conduct on agencies is minimised.

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Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct – Model PolicyThis model policy is based on the strategies set out in the Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct - Practice Manual. It attempts to provide a practical, robust, standardised and consistent policy and procedures that organisations can adapt to their specific circumstances.

The Rights Stuff – Tips for making complaints and solving problemsThis ‘toolkit’ was designed to assist people who commonly use community services, their families, carers and advocates.

Options for RedressThis was originally published as a chapter of The Complaint Handler’s Tool Kit in 2000. It encourages agencies and their staff to deal fairly and reasonably with people who have been detrimentally affected by poor administrative conduct and seeks to ensure a consistent approach to redress for detriment arising from poor administrative conduct throughout the public sector. It identifies a range of options that might be appropriate to address problems caused by maladministration, as well as giving guidance as to the circumstances in which they may be appropriate.

Public Interest Disclosures – GuidelinesThis series of over 20 short guidelines and close to 10 factsheets have been prepared to give practical guidance to public officials who are charged with the responsibility for implementing the Act to assist them to meet management obligations. Largely based on successive editions of the now superseded Protected Disclosures Guidelines (1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008 editions) these guidelines incorporate further insights from our work in this area since 2008 as well as changes to address the major legislative changes made to the Act in 2010.

Public Interest Disclosures – Model Internal Reporting PoliciesThese model policies are designed to form the basis of policies and procedures all NSW public authorities are required to have in place (pursuant to s.6D of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994). There are now three versions available – state government, local government and local Aboriginal land councils.

Enforcement Guidelines for CouncilsThese good practice enforcement guidelines for local councils were developed with input from the Local Government and Shires Association, the ICAC, Planning NSW, Privacy NSW. The guidelines are designed to help councils act promptly, consistently and effectively in response to allegations of unlawful activity. These guidelines are currently being significantly revised and updated.

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12 NSW Ombudsman

The NSW Ombudsman provides a number of workshops to government and non-government agencies, their staff and their clients aimed at increasing their understanding of the complaint handling process and developing skills and strategies to effectively raise and deal with complaints and resolve issues. These workshops were developed by complaint handlers for complaint handlers, and are delivered by people with practical complaint handling experience. Information about these and our other training courses is available at the training page of our website.

Complaint handling for frontline staffThis workshop provides participants with the necessary skills and strategies to respond to clients and customers confidently, effectively and efficiently. Participants are provided with a model for dealing with complaints, examining different types of complainant behaviour and overcoming personal and organisational barriers to making and resolving complaints.

Effective complaint management in the public sectorThis workshop provides an overview of the essential elements for an effective complaint handling system. Using the Australian Standard for complaint handling as a reference, participants are given guidance about what good complaint policies and systems should look like. We examine cultural and organisational issues relating to complaints, and provide an opportunity to learn how to use complaints to improve service delivery.

Effective complaint management in the community services sectorThis workshop is specifically targeted to NSW government and non-government community service providers. In addition to providing an overview of the essential elements for an effective complaint handling system, it provides information about the rights of clients and the obligations of service providers under CS-CRAMA and how to develop and implement a complaint handling system that ensures clients’ rights are upheld and services’ obligations are complied with.

Effective complaint management in the disability sectorThis workshop is tailored for the disability sector. It is based on legislative and industry requirements, quality assurance frameworks and the Stronger Together 2 priorities for person-centred approaches to service delivery. It also provides advice about and tools for analysing the critical data that should be collected and used by providers to improve responses to complaints and service quality to clients.

Managing unreasonable complainant conductBased on strategies developed as part of a joint project by the nine Australasian Parliamentary Ombudsman offices, this one-day workshop provides staff with specific strategies and skills to effectively and confidently manage unreasonable complainant conduct (UCC).

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The art of negotiationThis workshop provides a thorough grounding in interest-based negotiation with ample opportunities to practice. Participants are provided with a practical framework for planning and successfully carrying out negotiations.

Administrative law in the public sectorThis course is designed to equip those tasked with investigating the administrative conduct of public agencies and officials with a clearer understanding of relevant administrative law principles. These relate both to the conduct they are investigating, such as the appropriate exercise of discretion, as well as to how they should conduct such investigations, including procedural fairness.

Public interest disclosures trainingWe provide free training workshops for staff, management, executives and internal reporters to assist agencies fulfil their obligations under the Public Interest Disclosures Act (PID Act) and implement effective systems for handling and responding to PIDs. There are two workshops:• General awareness training provides a general overview of the PID Act. It explains

the why, what, how and who of PIDs, the process of making a PID and discusses the specific aspects of an agency’s internal reporting policy.

• Management training provides a more detailed overview of agency obligations under the PID Act. It covers the why, what, how and who of PIDs, as well as the responsibilities of the nominated officers and agency executives. The workshop also discusses strategies for managing parties involved in disclosures. It also outlines the role of the NSW Ombudsman.

PID E-learning modulesThese modules are to raise awareness and inform their staff about PIDs. The modules are a convenient way to train any number of staff in the workplace and are available for download from the NSW Ombudsman website. The modules include:• PID Awareness. This module provides an overview designed to give all staff an

overview of the main provisions of the PID Act, its protections for staff who report wrongdoing and the responsibilities of public organisations.

• PID Reporting. This module provides further information and suggested reading for public officials who are contemplating making a public interest disclosure.

• PID Management. This module is designed for nominated PID officers and coordinators and others involved in the management of disclosures. It contains interactive exercises, guidance, examples and case studies.

• PID Executive. This module informs principal officers and senior managers of their obligations and responsibilities as in relation to public interest disclosures.

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14 NSW Ombudsman

Employment related child protectionThis training is targeted at agencies with obligations relating to reportable conduct under Part 3A of the Ombudsman Act, including public and private sector agencies providing services for children, government and non-government schools, child care centres, and agencies providing substitute residential care.Our workshop dealing with responding to child protection allegations against employees provides an overview of employer’s obligations under the Ombudsman Act and covers how employers should respond to child protection allegations made against their employees. Participants examine the steps in the investigation process, risk assessment and management.Our workshop to assist in handling serious child abuse allegations against staff provides participants with specialist and practical knowledge that will help them deal with some of the more complex challenges associated with handling serious allegations against employees that may involve a criminal element.

Aboriginal cultural appreciation and working with Aboriginal communities Our Aboriginal cultural appreciation training provides an overview of Aboriginal history and culture, as well as culturally appropriate communication protocols and strategies to assist participants and organisations to more effectively assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their work.Our training on working with Aboriginal communities builds on our experience working with communities across NSW. It focuses on the key elements of good consultation, culturally appropriate communication protocols, and strategies to assist in effectively engaging and consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Disability awareness trainingOur disability awareness training has been developed to empower participants to work effectively and confidently with people with disabilities, and to explore strategies for establishing a disability-friendly workplace. This workshop provides participants with general awareness of disability and focuses on attitudinal and practical issues for people with disabilities.

Rights stuff trainingThis workshop is specifically designed for community services clients, their families, carers and advocates. This workshop covers practical information and tips to build confidence in raising issues and resolving complaints with service providers. The workshop is provided free of charge to groups of clients, families and carers, and advocates. We have presented the workshop to various community services client groups, including people with a disability, young people, the elderly, and people of CALD backgrounds.

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Ombo InfoThis is the NSW Ombudsman’s e-newsletter, and is available twice a year. It features updates and information about the range of our functions and activities, as well as the programs and courses provided by our Community Education and Training Unit.

Public Interest Disclosures e-NewsThis regular e-newsletter is sent to PID practitioners and others who are interested in receiving information about public interest disclosures. It includes articles about legislative changes, training opportunities, newly released guidelines and other matters relevant to this audience.

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NSW Ombudsman Level 24, 580 George Street Sydney NSW 2000

General enquiries: (02) 9286 1000 Toll free (outside Sydney Metro Area, NSW only): 1800 451 524 Tel. typewriter (TTY): (02) 9264 8050 Facsimile: (02) 9283 2911

Email: nswombo@ombo.nsw.gov.au

www.ombo.nsw.gov.au Feedback is welcome. ISBN 978-1-921884-99-3 06/2013

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