Making a complaint

A complaint is a way to let us know that you are unhappy with:

  • the quality of an action we have taken
  • a decision that we (or service provider engaged by us) have made
  • a delay or failure to take an action, make a decision or provide a service
  • a policy or decision we (or service provider engaged by us) have made.

How to make a complaint or offer feedback

We encourage you to provide as much information as possible (including your contact details) so that we can address your concern. We respect the need to manage and protect your privacy, and we do accept and respond to anonymous complaints if we have received enough information to do so. 

The following information is helpful to include in your complaint:

  • your name and contact details
  • identify the action, decision, service or policy you are complaining about, and why you are dissatisfied
  • relevant details, such as dates, times, location or reference numbers, and documents that support your complaint
  • the outcome you are seeking from making your complaint
  • whether you have any communication needs.  

Please send your complaint to us by:

Complaint resolution process

Complaint process

We aim to resolve complaints immediately via the following process - identifying a resolution and taking action.

Step 1.Complaint or feedback submitted

Contact us to let us know about your concerns.

Step 2.Resolution identified

Your complaint will be assigned to a relevant manager who will investigate and identify actions required to resolve the complaint. Those actions may be carried out by the manager themselves, or another officer may action.

Step 3.Action taken or scheduled

The relevant manager will advise you (via your preferred method of communication) that action to resolve the complaint has been taken or scheduled.

Step 4.Customer response

You are satisfied that your complaint is resolved.

If you are not satisfied with the action taken, you may request that the matter be further investigated (see the 'Investigation and review process' tab above).

Investigation and review process

If your complaint was not immediately resolved, it will progress through three steps until you are satisfied that it has been resolved.

Step 1.Investigation

If we are unable to resolve your complaint immediately, we will refer it to a manager or delegated Council officer for investigation.

We acknowledge a written complaint within five working days, or by phone within 48 hours. We aim to complete investigations within 30 days, and we will tell you once we know if the investigation will take longer. We will update you every 30 days about progress until the investigation is complete.

Step 2.Internal review

If you are not satisfied with our response or the way in which your complaint or feedback has been handled, you can ask for your complaint to be referred for an internal review.

An internal review is carried out by a panel of senior managers who will review the previous actions taken to ensure consistency and fairness.

You will be contacted by a senior manager with an update of the findings.

Step 3.External review

If you are still not satisfied with Council's final response, you can contact the Ombudsman’s Office to request an independent review:

  • Phone 9613 6222 or toll free 1800 806 314 (regional only)  
  • Email ombudvic@ombudsman.vic.gov.au
  • Text Telephone (TTY) 133 677 or 1300 555 727
  • Interpreter service via telephone 131 450 or on-site 1300 655 082
  • In writing to Ombudsman Victoria, Level 2, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Other external agencies who handle complaints are listed in Section 13 of our Complaints Handling Policy(PDF, 610KB) .