Suggestions for improvement and compliments
Your views matter to us. You can talk, or write, to any staff member to provide suggestions for improvement, compliments or other useful feedback. The local manager will appreciate your active participation in the organisation and will get in touch to thank you for your input.
Complaints
If you are not happy with the service you receive from Flourish Australia, you can make a complaint to help us improve. We will manage any complaint as quickly as possible. Often, we can find a simple solution that everyone is happy with. It may take more time if there are complicated things to consider. If you want to remain anonymous when making a complaint you can, however this means that Flourish Australia cannot tell you what action has been taken regarding your complaint.
Confidentiality
All complaints are confidential. This means that only the people involved in the complaint will be included in the complaint process. Some senior managers of Flourish Australia, whose job it is to make sure that our services are satisfactory, will also be included. Sometimes an independent complaint investigator may be involved. If that is necessary we will ask for your consent first.
How do I make a complaint?
You can make a complaint by telling a staff member about your issue. You can also write a letter, email or fill in the contact us form online. You can also have a support person (friend, relative or advocate) to help you and be with you during any meetings about your complaint. You can ask for help from our Senior Independent Advocate as well. To make things easier you can also use our Feedback Form available in each office.
What happens when I complain?
The following sets out the steps that are usually involved - from when you first decide to make a complaint, through to the matter being resolved.
- Talk to your support worker or the local manager to explain your concern
- Tell the person you talk to how you think the issue can be fixed
- A manager will keep you updated about how the complaint investigation is going
- The manager will talk to everyone involved in the complaint to get their point of view
- After the manager has spoken to everyone involved, they will decide what needs to be done
- The manager will discuss with you the outcome of the complaint investigation
- The complaint and the outcome will be recorded in the Flourish Australia complaints register
The Flourish Australia Management Practice Review Committee (made up of senior managers) reviews all complaints to make sure they have been managed in the right way.
External investigator
Sometimes a trained person from outside Flourish Australia will be asked to investigate a complaint. If this happens you will be contacted and asked to give consent for your details and the complaint to be shared with the investigator. The way the complaint is managed will be the same as above.
What if I am not happy with the outcome?
- If your complaint was managed by a local manager, you can ask for a more senior manager to review your complaint.
- If you are still unhappy after a senior manager has reviewed your complaint, you can ask for the General Manager or CEO to review your complaint. You will always be told the outcome of the complaint investigation as soon as possible.
- If you remain unhappy about the outcome of your complaint after senior managers have investigated, you can take your complaint to an external organisation that deals with complaints such as:
- The NSW Ombudsman
- The National Disability Insurance Agency
If you want to make a complaint, please fill in the contact us form.