Guideline for complaints management under the Education and Care Services Act 2013
Purpose
The purpose of this guideline is to help central and regional office Department of Education, Training and Employment (the department) officers manage complaints arisingunder the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (ECS Act). This guideline falls under the ECS Act procedure,Complaints management and compliance under the Education and Care Services Act 2013.
Background
A parent, an educator, staff member or other member of the public who is concerned about the quality or compliance of an education and care service may make a complaint to the department.
Complaints made to the department may relate to approved Queensland education and care services or to stand alone care services not complying with the ECS Act.
The proper handling of complaints can lead to improvements within the education and care service sector and increased public satisfaction.
Summary
This guideline details the steps to be taken when managing complaints made to the department. The steps are:
Step 1:Receive information
Step 2: Investigate
Step 3: Act
Further information can be found in:
Complaints section of the department’s website
Queensland Ombudsman’s Good Decision-Making Guide
Queensland Ombudsman’s Tips and Traps for Regulators
Templates
Templates for use by departmental officers which relate to complaints management are available in TRIM at 60/11/353 (DETE employees only).
Process
1)Receiving information
Complaints may be received in a variety of ways:
- In person at Regional Offices
- By telephone to regional officers or officers within Regulation Assessment and Service Quality
- By a completed online complaint form
- By executive correspondence
- By email to
- By correspondence to: Executive Director, Regulation, Assessment and Service Quality
Office for Early Childhood Education and Care
Department of Education, Training and Employment
PO Box 15033
City East QLD 4002
Complaints may be made anonymously; however, complainants must be informed that the fact that they wish to remain anonymous will limit the investigation process, and they will not be advised of the conclusion of a complaint investigation unless their contact details are provided.
Upon receiving a complaint, departmental officers must take reasonable steps to ensure that the complaint is properly understood, which includes seeking clarification or additional information from the complainant, if required.
When receiving and managing a complaint, the authorised officer will:
i)Obtain a description of the complaint, including a summary of the relevant facts and relevant supporting information.
The details of the complaint should be recorded in writing in a file note (applicable to verbal complaint only or if obtaining further information in relation to a written complaint) or directly in an investigation report.
ii)Determine whether the complaint has been raised with the approved provider and if so, what action was taken by the approved provider in response to the complaint.
iii)Ask the complainant what remedy they are seeking, and manage the complainant’s expectation.
iv)Assess the complaint to determine how the complaint relates to the department’s functions, powers and responsibilities and identify whether the complaint is a:
query or request for information which is not subject to this Guideline
complaint which falls outside the scope of the department’s responsibilities, functions and powers under the ECS Act
complaint about the action/s of a service or individual which falls within the scope of the department’s responsibilities, functions and powers under the ECS Act
combination of the above
v)Inform the complainant about those aspects of their complaint that can and cannot be investigated, and why (i.e. explain what issues fall outside the responsibilities, functions and powers of the department under the ECS Act). Where possible, refer the complainant to another agency that may be better placed to manage the complaint (e.g. a complaint regarding the payment of fees will be referred to the Office of Fair Trading or disputes involving staff employment or staff wages will be referred to the Fair Work Ombudsman)
vi)Manage privacy implications by:
Informing the complainant of the department’s Privacy Notice
Seeking permission from the complainant for their identity to be communicated to the service or another agency
Informing the complainant, when seeking their consent, that there is a risk that the complaint cannot be properly investigated if their identity is not revealed
Advising the complainant of the possibility that the complainant’s identity may become naturally apparent to the service during the investigation, and that the department cannot make any guarantee that a complainant’s identity will remain confidential.
vii)Explain the limitation of communicating specific outcomes of investigations to complainants due to confidentially provisions under the legislation and information privacy requirements.
viii)Advise the complainant of the expected date for a response and explain what the department will do next.
ix)Provide the complainant with the name of a contact person and contact number should the complainant wish to follow up on the progress of the complaint.
2)Investigate
If the complaint falls within the responsibilities, functions and jurisdiction of the department under the ECS Act authorised officers must:
a)Investigate the complaint using the powers available to authorised officers to gather evidence in order to:
i)substantiate or not substantiate the information received in the complaint; and
ii)makefindings of fact to support a department response.
When planning and conducting an investigation, the authorised officer should have regard to the Investigation Handbook (DETE employees only)
b)Keep a record of:
i)the evidence obtained in the investigation; and
ii)the details of the investigation.
This may be achieved by completing an investigation report. An investigation report should contain the details of the complaint, the details of the investigation conducted, the outcomes of the investigation and attach all documentary and photographic evidence.
c)Assess the evidence in order to determine if there has been:
i)A breach of a provision of the ECS Act and/or
ii)A child’s safety, health or wellbeing has been or is being compromised while the child was or is being provided with education and care at the service.
NOTE:
It may be appropriate or necessary to seek legal advice at any time throughout the complaints management process, particularly in relation to the interpretation of the provisions of the ECS Act. Anauthorised officer may wish to consult with the Legal and Administrative Law Branch (LALB) to seek guidance around interpretation of relevant provisions and/or to discuss the evidence, the investigation process and/or the findings reached.
Examples of where it may be appropriate to seek legal advice include:
- Where the elements of the provision are based on a standard of conduct (for example, where the provision requires an assessment of the reasonableness of actions)
- Where an element of the provision requires the assessment of the legal standing of some entity or document (for example, whether an entity is an individual or a body corporate, whether a certificate of insurance meets the prescribed requirement as a matter of law)
Legal advice should be obtained from LALB through the Monitoring and Compliance Team, Regulation Assessment and Service Quality (RASQ). The Monitoring and Compliance team is available to assist regional staff with the preparation of instructions for legal advice by contacting them at .
Legal advice may be obtained from LALB by contacting them at .
3)Act
Authorised officers must:
a)If the investigation does not substantiate non-compliance with the ECS Act, inform the person or provider under investigation that there is no department response because non-compliance was not substantiated and make a record accordingly.
b)If the investigation does substantiate non-compliance with the ECS Act,determine the appropriate department response having regard to:
(i)the Enforcement Policy
(ii)any advice from the Monitoring and Compliance Team, RASQ if sought
(Consider seeking advice from the Monitoring and Compliance Team, RASQ if the matter involves high risk non-compliance, repeated non-compliance or non-compliance that has major or significant consequences)
c)Record the department response in, or attached to, the investigation report and inform:
i)The persons affected by the department response of the decision to the extent permitted by sections 216—219 of the ECS Act, including any avenues for review {link to procedure for Reviews under the Education and Care Services Act 2013
ii)The Monitoring and Compliance Team, RASQ of any publishable department response or any department response listed in section 91 and section 200 of the ECS Act.
d)Record all actions and decisions.
e)Inform the complainant in writing:
i)That the investigation into the complaint has been finalised
ii)Of the specific outcome of the investigation to the extent permitted by the confidentiality provisions in the ECS Act. If the outcome cannot be disclosed, inform the complainant that appropriate action has been taken to ensure compliance with the ECS Act.
iii)What actions were taken during the investigation, for example:, an unannounced visit to the service; a review of the compliance and complaint history of the service; a review of policies at the service and/or discussions with the approved provider, supervisor at the serviceand/or educators at the service.
iv)That the complainant may contact the officer if they have any further enquiries.
Notes:
- Prior to informing the complainant under this step, consider whether the department response to the complaint received may be subject to review by the service. If so, then consider waiting until the review period has expired or the review has been decided. If this is likely to cause a lengthy delay, inform the complainant of the reason for delay in response.
- If the complainant is dissatisfied with the handling of the complaint or the regulatory response, inform the complainant that they may:
- in the first instance, contact the officer involved in the matter and their supervisor/manager to make all reasonable attempts to resolve the matter informally. The person may request a written response providing reasons for the decision.
- make a complaint about the investigation to RASQ. The person will be given a written response providing reasons for the decision.
- If the complainant is not satisfied with the internal review of their complaint by RASQ, they may refer the matter to the Queensland Ombudsman.
f)Inform the subject of the investigation that the complaint has been finalised.
This Guideline is non-binding information that assists users to follow a procedure.
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