
grievance
procedure
Any person or group involved with Pomona & District Community House Inc. has the right to give feedback or make a complaint without fear of retribution. Pomona & District Community House Inc. welcomes feedback as one way to improve the organisation.
Grievance procedures are designed to:
• Safeguard the interests of consumers, volunteers and staff.
• Comply with the principles of human rights and responsibilities.
• Comply with the principle of Common Law and Duty of Care.
Rights
• The right to complain about the quality of the service and access to
the service.
• The right to have complaints investigated objectively, fairly and
without retribution.
• Either party to the grievance is entitled to bring a support person.
Methods of Complaint
• Verbal – face to face or by phone.
• Written – formal letter, email, through social media or website.
• Through a third party such as a government department.
Anonymous Complaints
Some people may wish to remain anonymous in making their complaint. This will be respected and not affect the seriousness of investigating the complaint. However in order to for the matter to be fully responded to it will be necessary at some point for conversations to happen between the complainant and either a member of PCH or a third party.
Responding to Complaints
All complaints will be treated confidentially and every effort will be made to resolve them in a timely fashion (acknowledging the receipt of the complaint within 48 hours of receiving it) using the following grievance procedures.
Grievance Procedures
1. Talk it over with the worker with whom you have the grievance. This
may help to clarify things before you take it further.
2. If you are unsatisfied with the situation, or feel you cannot take the
matter up with the worker concerned, then discuss it with the one of
the Coordinators (Heather or Kathryn p. 5485 2427 or email
admin@pomonacommuniyhouse.com)
3. If the matter is still unresolved, then address your grievance in
writing to:
The President
Pomona & District Community House Inc. Management Committee
1 Memorial Avenue, Pomona QLD 4568.
Please note: Client complaints with individual hirers are not the concern of the Management Committee and should be addressed privately.
Once reported
1. Once a grievance is reported, the Management Committee will
arrange mediation between the parties involved, in the presence of a
third person (an independent mediator).
2. The result of the mediation will be reported to the Management
Committee.
3. If the issue has not been resolved then a decision on further action to
be taken will be made by the Committee.
4. If the investigation shows the service provided has contributed to the
grievance, then appropriate steps will be taken to initiate the change
required to prevent a recurrence of the grievance.
5. The parties involved will be informed of the outcome of any
investigation of their grievance.
Important: In-house confidentiality must be maintained.
If the management committee does not address the grievance satisfactorily, then independent, non-legal mediation can occur through the Dispute Resolution Branch of the Department of Justice and Attorney General provided willingness exists to resolve the matter from both parties.
Dispute Resolution Branch
Floor 1, Brisbane Magistrates Court
363 George Street, Brisbane
GPO Box 4001
Toll free outside Brisbane: 1800 017 288
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/legal-mediation-and-justice-of-the-peace/setting-disputes-out-of-court/
Alternatively you can contact:
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
Contract Management Team
Maroochydore, North Coast Region
Ph: 5252 7291
Responding to Complaints that are made through a Third Party
As outlined above, all complaints will be treated confidentially and every effort will be made to resolve them in a timely fashion. Third party complaints may have additional complexity as the third party agency may determine the process through which the complaint will be responded to.
On receipt of a third party complaint, Pomona & District Community House Inc. will nominate a staff member to act as the point of contact for the management of the complaint.
Withdrawing a Grievance/Complaint
The complainant may withdraw the grievance/complaint at any time through written notification.
If during any stage of the grievance process it appears that there is evidence that a criminal or legal offence may have occurred the matter will be referred to the Queensland Police.