Community engagement

How can we help community organisations and advocacy groups deal with complaints?

People reach out to community organisations and advocacy groups for help when they have a problem. When advising a client about a complaint concerning state government departments and agencies (including state schools and TAFE), local councils and publicly funded universities the following actions may help.

Advise your clients to make a complaint to the organisation involved:

Give the organisation a chance to resolve the issue. Government organisations are required to have a complaints management system (CMS) in place and be accountable for their decisions and actions. The CMS should be easily accessible on their website.

Learn more about complaining to the organisation involved.

Once your client has exhausted the organisation’s complaint management process, and is still dissatisfied with the action or decision:

Find out what is in the
Queensland Ombudsman's jurisdiction (those matters it can deal with) before making a complaint.

You can print the Who do I complain to? (PDF 145.5KB) poster to display in your community centre.

Child safety resources - helping children and young people to make a complaint

Resources are available from the National Office for Child Safety to help children and young people speak up and make a complaint. There is also information for adults in community groups and organisations to help children and young people through the complaint process.

Queensland's complaints landscape (QCL) presentations

This presentation was developed to build greater knowledge in the community about complaints management systems and the services of the Queensland Ombudsman. It covers what you should expect in a complaints process, how to approach making a complaint, how to progress a complaint and when and how to contact us.

For more information, please contact us on (07) 3035 4120 or training@ombudsman.qld.gov.au.


 

Video resource for councillor induction: Complaints, human rights and PIDs - what every councillor needs to know

This detailed overview for councillor inductions in Queensland looks at:

  • the role of the Queensland Ombudsman
  • the local government complaints framework
  • human rights in decision-making
  • public interest disclosures

The video also identifies further useful resources for councillors and council officers.


 

Printed material

If you wish to request printed brochures or posters about the Queensland Ombudsman’s role and services for display at your office, please contact us on (07) 3035 4120 or training@ombudsman.qld.gov.au. You can also download and print our brochures and posters via the links below:

Brochures 


A3 posters


A4 posters

ReachDeck is an application that gives reading and translation support to help you to access our website. This brochure has details on how to access ReachDeck in 14 languages.

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Last updated: Friday, 24 March 2023 1:51:00 PM