The complaints process at the University

The Complaint Management Policy (opens in a new window) explains how the University deals with complaints from staff, students and the public. It covers complaints about decisions made within the University, as well as the behaviour of staff, students, contractors or agents.

Complaints are managed using a fair, objective and confidential process that aims to achieve resolution in a timely manner, at the lowest possible level, and in accordance with laws, policies and procedures.

Links to legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines and other electronic documents are available under the Associated Documents tab(opens in a new window).

There are three complaint resolution avenues available:

Stage 1: Informal resolution - where the complainant takes their complaint up directly with the respondent and seeks to have their concerns acknowledged, addressed and/or resolved at the local level.

Stage 2: Internal review - where the complaint has been unable to be satisfactorily addressed and/or resolved at the local level and so is lodged and investigated at a higher level in the University.

Stage 3: External review - where the complaint has been unable to be satisfactorily addressed and/or resolved within the University and so is lodged and investigated by an external organisation.

* Note: a complainant is free to lodge their complaint with an external agency at any time, but most external agencies will ask what has been done to try and address the problem locally first.

More information about these three stages is below.

The CRU is staffed by experienced Case Managers who can receive, assess, manage and attempt to resolve complaints where no procedure exists, or where other processes, have been exhausted  and the matter remains unresolved.

The complaints managers will often collect information from the complainant and other relevant sources in order to ensure they are able to establish the full context of the complaint and form a view as to possible solutions. They are then able to identify which area of the university is best to review and decide the outcome of the matter. In order to assist with this process, complainants are expected to provide all relevant information to the CRU from the beginning and throughout the management of your complaint.

Outcomes of complaints will be decided based on the facts available at the time and will be made in line with established policy and process. Where the investigation of a complaint highlights a flaw in the University's processes, we may make recommendations to the relevant area for improvement.

The CRU can also provide guidance and information on the various avenues available for resolving a complaint at either stage 1 or stage 2 of the complaints processes listed above.

The CRU can collate feedback from staff, students and others about university processes and where they may not work effectively or efficiently and could be improved.

How long will it take?

We will also acknowledge receipt of your complaint within one business day of receiving it and we will begin our preliminary review within 10 working days.

A complaint will be assessed and triaged by the CRU according to the urgency of the matter and the existing case load of the CRU. The time it takes to resolve your complaint will vary depending on how complex and/or serious the matter is.

We are aware that in some cases, a complaint will be deemed urgent due to a deadline, such as Census date or graduation. In cases like these we will take all reasonable measures to mitigate against disadvantage.

You will receive written advice of the outcome of your complaint as soon as possible and not normally more than 20 working days after lodging it. The written advice will include the reason or reasons for the outcome.

Where change is required as an outcome of your complaint, action will be taken as promptly as possible.

Confidentiality and record keeping

The information you provide to us will be treated confidentially and will not be disclosed to a third party other than for the purpose of managing your complaint or to comply with law. We will aim to keep your information as confidential as possible however, in managing a complaint, we may need to seek information from other areas of the University. This may include seeking clarification on a policy or process or contacting the people or areas that are the subject of the complaint. We expect that you will maintain confidentiality also.

All complaints lodged with the CRU will be recorded in the University's record management system (TRIM) and a database used for recording, tracking, collating complaint information for the purpose of quality improvement in university systems.

What happens if I don't like the outcome of my complaint?

If your complaint is not upheld, we will provide you with information on any further right of appeal, including to external organisations such as the NSW Ombudsman.

The CRU does not:

• Make decisions about academic matters. These decisions are only able to be made by relevant academic staff or under academic processes. The awarding of marks and grades, applications for transfer credit (advanced standing) and eligibility for progression are not able to be reviewed by the CRU unless you believe that you have been unfairly treated and there is evidence of bias or wrongdoing.
• Find evidence to support your complaint. It is up to you to provide information that supports your complaint.
• Investigate complaints that are more than six months old, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
• Provide personal support, although we will link you to counsellors or other support staff if needed.
• Provide advocacy or mediation. However, we can refer you to these services if they are needed.

If you are unhappy with a decision that has been made or the way someone has behaved, you should talk directly with the person concerned wherever possible. If you are not comfortable doing that, you can contact their supervisor or ask a member of staff you trust for advice. If you're not sure about who to contact you can ask for advice from the CRU.

If you are reporting a sexual offence you do not have to approach or contact the alleged offender. Please consider reporting to the police. You can also report the matter directly to the University through the WSU sexual offences portal.

Information about sexual offences is available on our website or on the University's Respect.Now.Always webpage.

Step 1

It is a good idea to put your complaint in writing, stating the facts clearly in date order. Include any steps you have taken to try and resolve things. You must include any evidence or supporting documents, such as emails, letters or photographs to back up your complaint.

Statements like "my lecturer discriminated against me" or "I wasn't happy with the way the tutorial was run" are not sufficient grounds to make a complaint. You will need to be able to show what circumstances or events have led to your complaint or how you have been affected.

Keep a copy of all documents and emails for your own records and make note of phone calls that relate to resolving your concerns. In the event that you are not able to resolve your matter these things will help us in any review or investigation.

Step 2

Most issues concerning your university studies can be informally resolved by approaching your Subject Coordinator, Director of Academic Program, the School Administrative staff or Student Central. If you are not sure who you should contact, look at the Useful Links page for some guidance or you can contact the CRU.

Appeals

If you have been given a decision on a matter and want advice on avenues of appeal, you can access the University's Academic Appeals Procedures or contact us for more information.

Things to include when contacting someone about your complaint:

• your student identification number
• your full name
• your telephone number
• your current address (where correspondence should be sent to you)
• if your complaint is about a program or subject, state the name of program/subject
• the name of the campus where you are studying or working
• a brief overview of your complaint, including relevant facts
• details or evidence that backs up your complaint
• what outcome or remedy you are wanting

When contacting staff about your complaint, be aware of your own behaviour. Being calm and courteous will help staff to listen to your concerns. We expect you to treat staff with dignity and respect and we expect staff to treat you with dignity and respect. Both staff and students are required to comply with the Code of Conduct and/or Student Code of Conduct at all times during the complaint management process.

If you are a student, you must use your designated student email account for all correspondence with the University.

Support

If you feel distressed about your situation you can get support from Welfare or Counselling staff.

Step 3

You have tried to resolve your matter and have been through the university processes relating to your complaint or your complaint is about a serious matter that is unable to be addressed at the local level. If you still feel there is an issue you can approach the CRU to have your matter reviewed.

Please note that we do not have a role to play in managing your complaint while there is another University process available to you.

If you are unsure if we can help you or not, you can contact us by phone or email, or download and submit our complaint form (DOCX, 223.9 KB)(opens in a new window). The complaint form will help you to define what the problem is, and will tell us what you have already done to try and resolve it. It will also guide you in the types of information needed to support your complaint.

If you believe that your matter is of a serious or urgent nature, please contact the CRU (opens in a new window) directly for guidance.

You are able to take your complaint to an external agency at any time; however we would appreciate the opportunity to resolve the matter first.

Complainants are not required to use the University's internal complaints process first, however some external organisations will not accept a complaint until it has been through an internal process.

Complaints can be lodged with external organisations at any time, subject to the procedures of the particular organisation.

The complaint must be lodged with the appropriate external organisation, in accordance with that organisation's procedures and deadlines. Deadlines may differ with each organisation.

There are several external organisations that deal with complaints. If a complainant does not know which external organisation to contact they may seek advice from the CRU.

Once a complaint has been lodged with an external organisation the University will normally suspend any internal investigation until such time as the external organisation has completed its investigation and submitted all reports related to its findings.

Complainants should be aware that external organisations will normally notify the University when they receive a complaint and will ask the University to respond. When the University becomes aware that a complaint has been lodged with an external organisation it will record the complaint in the Complaints Management System.

Procedural fairness is about ensuring that all people involved in a complaint have a fair chance to tell their side of the story. This is why some circumstances, that, if true, would constitute a serious matter, we may be obliged to initiate an investigation, even if it is against the complainant's wishes.

General information about procedural fairness is contained in the Guidelines on Procedural Fairness and Good Decision-Making.

We strongly encourage you to use the complaint form to submit your complaint.

If you would like to give the University some feedback about any aspect of your experience please use the feedback form. Feedback will generally be forwarded to the relevant area for consideration.

• Complaint form (DOCX, 223.9 KB)(opens in a new window)
• Feedback form