We are committed to helping local governments improve their administrative practices and decision-making processes through our initiatives.
Build better complaints management processes
Learn how to make a good decision
Local Perspective Newsletter
Frontline Perspective Newsletter
Local Government Casebook
Build better complaints management processes
In May 2005, The Local Government Act 1993 was amended to require that each council adopt a Councillor Code of Conduct (CCC) and establish a general complaints process (GCP) by 1 March 2006.
The Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation, through Local Government Services released Local Government Bulletin 15/05 as part of this. It contains guidelines to assist councils to implement the GCP legislation and responds to questions and comments that were put to the Department.
15/05 General Complaints Process for Councils (375 KB)
Complaints Management Guidelines (1.2MB)
Our Complaints Management Resources also provide guidance for councils as they work to develop complaints management systems so that complaints are effectively managed.
The resources will assist councils to evaluate their current complaint management practices, identify areas for improvement and guide the development of complaints policy and procedures.
Related links
Complaints Management Program
Complaints Management Training
Learn how to make a good decision
It is just as important to prevent complaints as to effectively deal with them. Our Good Decisions Training (GDT) aims to do just that. GDT is for public sector decision-makers who may not have had any training in decision-making or who would find a refresher useful.
The full-day workshop teaches officers how to make decisions that are fair, reasonable, consistent and less likely to be the subject of complaint. This training will help councils reduce the cost of complaint handling and enable them to provide a higher level of service to the community.
For further information, see Good Decisions Training.
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Local Perspective Newsletter
The Queensland Ombudsman publishes Local Perspective which focuses on local government issues three times a year. The newsletter explains our role in helping councils improve their administrative practice and covers news about our projects, activities, complaint trends and advice.
Local Perspective newsletter - previous editions
Frontline Perspective Newsletter
Launched in May 2007, Frontline Perspective is an interactive HTML newsletter that provides public sector officers with practical advice and tips to improve their decision-making and complaints handling skills. It is designed for customer service officers and officers who handle complaints.
Frontline Perspective newsletter – previous editions
We also encourage councils to make our newsletters available on their intranets for their staff.
Find out more
The Queensland Ombudsman's Local Government Casebook, published in July, is designed to help councils make better decisions for the community.
The casebook is part of the Ombudsman's ongoing committment to improve public administration in Councils.
The collection of cases from Ombudsman investigations across Queensland contain key recommendations, lessons and advice to help councils make better decisions and guide their administrative practices.
Local Government Casebook - Assisting councils to make better decisions (Part 1) (PDF format 4.8MB*)
Local Government Casebook - Assisting councils to make better decisions (Part 2) (PDF format 4.9MB*)
* Due to the large file size this publication has been divided into two parts
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