Customer complaints process
Our Commitment
Council is committed to effective complaints handling and delivering customer focused services. Your comments provide us with valuable feedback to enable continued improvement to the services we deliver to the community.
How do I make a complaint?
If you are dissatisfied with an action taken, a decision made or service provided by Council (or a delay or failure in taking action, making a decision or providing a service), you can make a complaint to Council.
You should first raise your complaint with the department that provides the service you are complaining about.
If you are unsure who you should contact, phone 1300 322 322 and you will be put through to the appropriate person.
Please clearly outline your complaint and the outcome you are seeking and ensure that you provide all relevant facts including dates, times and contact names.
Please also provide an email address, mailing address and a mobile phone number.
How will my complaint be investigated?
Your complaint will be directed to the business unit best able to deal with the issue. An officer in the relevant business unit will receive your complaint and resolve it, if possible. If the outcome you are seeking cannot be achieved, the officer will advise you of the reasons why.
A response will be provided within 28 days.
What if the complaint has not been resolved and I wish to escalate it?
If a complaint has not been resolved at the first point of contact, it can be escalated in accordance with the complaints process:
- Department Manager
If you are not satisfied with the Officer’s response, you can request for the complaint to be referred to the Department Manager. The Manager will consider the complaint, review the matters raised, and provide a response within 28 days.
- Director
If you are not satisfied with the Manager’s response, you can request for the complaint to be referred to the relevant Director. The Director will consider the complaint, review the matters raised, and provide a response within 28 days.
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
If you are not satisfied with the Director’s response, you can ask for your complaint to be referred to the CEO. The CEO, as the head of the Council’s administration, is the final internal Council contact for any complaint. The CEO will consider your complaint and may either review the matters raised and provide a response, or may decide that the complaint raises issues which require investigation by Council's Internal Ombudsman. If the CEO refers your complaint to Council’s Internal Ombudsman, you will be advised of the expected time frame for completion of the investigation.
- Independent Internal Review Officer
The Independent Internal Review Officer will conduct an investigation and report the findings of the investigation, with a recommendation, back to the CEO. The CEO will then decide what action to take in response to the findings and recommendation and the final outcome will be communicated to you.
Further actions
A letter from the Chief Executive Officer is the final step in Council’s complaints process.
If you are not satisfied with the final outcome of your complaint, you have the right to take it to an external agency such as the Victorian Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman will usually require that you have already raised the complaint with the Council.
For more information please call the Ombudsman’s office on 9613 6222 or visit the Victorian Ombudsman’s website www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au
Unreasonable Customer Conduct Protocol
Frankston City Council is committed to being accessible and responsive to all members of our community. While Council has also developed Feedback Handling Protocols, which outline how Council manages feedback, sometimes the conduct of our customers is unreasonable; impacting on our ability to provide a consistent service to all or threatening the health and safety of Officers.
The Unreasonable Customer Conduct Protocol enables better management of unreasonable customer conduct and inappropriate behaviours while ensuring appropriate action is taken to support Officers.
This protocol includes inappropriate behaviour during a telephone call, in person, in writing, online and via social media.
Repeated or Excessive Inappropriate Behaviour
Repeated or excessive inappropriate behaviour will generally be managed by limiting or adapting the way that we interact with and / or deliver services to customers by restricting:
- Restricting who the customer can contact within Council
- Restricting where and how the customer can make contact with Council
Procedure for changing access to services:
1. After an incident is reported - a letter will be sent to the customer outlining expectations
2. If unreasonable conduct continues - a warning letter will be sent to the customer
3. Further unreasonable conduct will result in changes to how services are delivered and formal notification to the customer
4. Changes to service delivery will remain for a specified time frame
5. Once the time frame has expired - a review will be conducted and the customer notified of the outcome/return to normal delivery
Threats to Officers / Critical incidents
Threats to an Officer’s safety or wellbeing must be immediately reported to the relevant Manager and the Manager Human Resources. All threats to an Officer’s safety or wellbeing will be treated seriously and will be reported to the Police.
For more information please read the protocol below: