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.

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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

      )

3.    If the matter is still unresolved, then address your grievance in

       writing to:

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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.

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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

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.