Hearing about your experience with Knox City Council is important to us and we encourage you to contact us if you are dissatisfied with our services, actions, decisions or policies. We are committed to taking action to resolve complaints as quickly as possible and learning from complaints to improve our services. Our Complaints Policy details our approach to handling complaints.
What is a complaint
A complaint is when you tell us you are dissatisfied with:
- the quality of an action, decision made or service provided by a member of Council staff or a Council contractor
- the delay by a member of Council staff or a Council contractor in taking an action, making a decision or providing a service, or
- a policy or decision made by a Council or a member of Council staff or a Council contractor.
What is not considered a complaint
Our Complaints Policy applies to all complaints from members of the public, except the following, which are managed through other processes:
- Requests for service or maintenance to an asset for which Council has responsibility, or reports of a fault with, or damage to, an asset for which Council has responsibility, within the relevant service standard.
- Dissatisfaction when providing feedback through a community consultation.
- Requests to review or appeal an infringement or statutory decision.
- Complaints involving an allegation of fraud or corrupt conduct. This is covered under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
- Claims against Council for personal injury or property damage or other loss or damage.
- Complaints lodged by Council staff, volunteers or contractors which allege a breach of the Staff Code of Conduct or other internal policy.
For assistance with these requests, please contact us so we can advise you on the relevant process.
How to make a complaint or give us feedback
You can make complaint by:
- Using our online form
- Calling us on 9298 8000
- Sending an email to knoxcc@knox.vic.gov.au
- Direct messaging Knox City Council on Facebook
- Visiting us in person at 511 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South VIC 3152
- Posting your complaint to us at 511 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South VIC 3152
You can also contact us through:
- National Relay Service
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact the National Relay Service (NRS) and ask them to call Knox City Council on 03 9298 8000. - Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS)
Contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450 or via tisnational.gov.au and ask them to call Knox City Council on 03 9298 8000.
Helpful information to include in your complaint
It is helpful for us if your complaint includes:
- Your name and contact details. You can make an anonymous complaint, but this may limit our ability to investigate and resolve concerns.
- Details about the action, decision, service or policy you are dissatisfied with and why.
- Relevant information such as dates, times, location or reference numbers.
- Any relevant documents that support your complaint (if applicable).
- The outcome you are seeking.
- Whether you have any communication needs so we can support you through the complaint process.
How we will handle your complaint
Where possible, we will attempt to resolve your complaint at the time you first contact us.
If that isn’t possible, we will escalate your complaint to the appropriate Council member of staff.
If a substantive response to your complaint is not possible (or likely) within 10 business days, we will write to you with an estimate of when we expect to contact you with a resolution.
We will inform you of the outcome of your complaint in writing, unless agreed otherwise, and will explain our reasons. We will endeavour to provide this within 28 days of receiving your complaint. If we are unable to provide a response within this timeframe, we will contact you and provide a revised timeframe.
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint
If you are dissatisfied with how we handled your complaint or the resolution provided, you can request an internal review. To request an internal review, contact us and tell us the reason(s) why you feel the handling of the complaint or the resolution provided was unsatisfactory and/or unreasonable.
We will refer your request for an internal review to the relevant area Manager or Director. If the relevant area Manager or Director was involved in the original decision, action or investigation, we will refer your request to another independent senior Council member of staff.
The responsible Manager or Director will conduct an independent internal review and will consider whether the complaint should have been dealt with differently. This can lead to the original decision being upheld or overturned.
We will inform you of the outcome of the internal review in writing and will explain our reasons. We aim to complete internal reviews within 28 days of receiving your request. If we are unable to provide a response within this timeframe, we will contact you and provide a revised timeframe.
If you are still dissatisfied with how we handled your complaint or the resolution provided, you can contact a relevant oversight body, and request an external review. There are several oversight bodies that can deal with different types of complaints about us, such as the Victorian Ombudsman. For a list of relevant oversight bodies, please refer to our Complaints Policy.
Privacy
We will handle all records in accordance with the Privacy & Data Protection Act 2013 and Council’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy and Guidelines. When you make a complaint, we will handle and investigate it in confidence, to the extent possible. All complaints lodged with Council are subject to the Freedom of information Act, 1982 and therefore confidentiality cannot be guaranteed under the provisions of that legislation.
Need help?
Contact us and we will get back to you.
Or call our Customer Service team on 9298 8000.
