Policy Review - Draft Customer Complaints Policy

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Consultation has concluded

Customer requests are the main reason that customers contact us. A customer request is when a customer rings or writes or fills out a request online to ask us to do something - like fix a road or ask for us to address some maintenance.

Not to be confused with customer requests, complaints tell us about customer dissatisfaction with either

  • a decision, policy, procedure of Council,
  • the actions of an employee
  • the quality of the service provided.

We have reviewed our Customer Complaints Policy to make sure we are clearly communicating:

  • how we manage customer complaints and customer requests
  • the role of our Internal Ombudsman and the availability of internal review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint and to
  • the best way to lodge a complaint or a request for service (which is via our website).

This helps us to collect all relevant information in the first instance so that we minimise the time to achieve an outcome or let you know of our decision.

What are the key differences between the old and new draft policies?

  • The new policy has new sections which detail the policy Principles, Responsibilities and now includes a Flowchart which depicts what happens we we receive a complaint and how it is managed.
  • As recommended by the NSW Ombudsman, our current complaint policy currently outlines Tiers 1-3 of complaint management but now clearer guidance is given to the different types of complaints and how complaints should be made to ensure we capture information at the first contact which facilitates more efficient resolution.

The new policy also reflects recent changes such as the appointment of an Internal Ombudsman, and the introduction of an Internal Staff Speakup program to strengthen our culture.

A further report will be tabled at a future meeting of Council, detailing the submissions received from the public during the exhibition period

Have Your Say

Submissions can be made by

The draft Customer Complaints policy will be on exhibition from Wednesday 23 March - Friday 22 April and is available to view in the document library to the right (or below if viewing this page on a mobile device).

Customer requests are the main reason that customers contact us. A customer request is when a customer rings or writes or fills out a request online to ask us to do something - like fix a road or ask for us to address some maintenance.

Not to be confused with customer requests, complaints tell us about customer dissatisfaction with either

  • a decision, policy, procedure of Council,
  • the actions of an employee
  • the quality of the service provided.

We have reviewed our Customer Complaints Policy to make sure we are clearly communicating:

  • how we manage customer complaints and customer requests
  • the role of our Internal Ombudsman and the availability of internal review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint and to
  • the best way to lodge a complaint or a request for service (which is via our website).

This helps us to collect all relevant information in the first instance so that we minimise the time to achieve an outcome or let you know of our decision.

What are the key differences between the old and new draft policies?

  • The new policy has new sections which detail the policy Principles, Responsibilities and now includes a Flowchart which depicts what happens we we receive a complaint and how it is managed.
  • As recommended by the NSW Ombudsman, our current complaint policy currently outlines Tiers 1-3 of complaint management but now clearer guidance is given to the different types of complaints and how complaints should be made to ensure we capture information at the first contact which facilitates more efficient resolution.

The new policy also reflects recent changes such as the appointment of an Internal Ombudsman, and the introduction of an Internal Staff Speakup program to strengthen our culture.

A further report will be tabled at a future meeting of Council, detailing the submissions received from the public during the exhibition period

Have Your Say

Submissions can be made by

The draft Customer Complaints policy will be on exhibition from Wednesday 23 March - Friday 22 April and is available to view in the document library to the right (or below if viewing this page on a mobile device).