Communicating your concerns

Touching Base Inc Feedback and Complaints Policy 2023

What this Policy covers

Touching Base’s Feedback and Complaints Policy (this Policy) sets out the process by which:

• Services Users can make Complaints about Our Services; and 
• Touching Base will respond to Complaints made by Service Users about Our Services.

This policy does not cover the process for managing internal disputes between members, or between members and Touching Base. For information about how internal disputes will be handled, please see Touching Base’s Constitution.  

Definitions

• Complaint means anything Service Users believe to be unfair or which makes them feel dissatisfied with Our Services and which is lodged in accordance with this Policy. 
• Complainant means the Service User making a complaint.
• Our Services means training, resources, information and referral services offered or provided by our volunteers or staff.
• Service Users means anyone accessing Our Services
• Support Person means a family member or friend, guardian, advocate, a carer or outside advocate for support.

The terms “we”, “us”, “our” and “ours” means Touching Base Incorporated (ABN 18 213 997 639).

Communicating Your Concerns

Our Committee is looking to continually review and improve this Policy.

We are committed to providing high quality services to people with disability, sex workers and other community stakeholders. We encourage Service Users to comment, congratulate us on our services or to lodge a complaint if we have failed to provide a satisfactory service.

We aim to reflect our organisational principles and values in this Policy in the following ways:

• We strive to provide Our Services in a manner which enhances the independence, confidence and dignity of Service Users.
• It is our policy that Service Users have a right to be heard in relation to Our Services, and to be supported in making a Complaint about Our Service.
• We will also accept informal suggestions regarding the improvement of Our Services.
• We will objectively view all Complaints as a valuable indicator of the need for possible improvement in the provision of Our Services.
• We ensure that our policies, practices and procedures reflect and protect the rights of people with disability and sex workers in order to ensure no one is discriminated against, abused or harassed, and that complaints are able to be made without fear of victimization.
• We will ensure that everyone has a fair and timely resolution of Complaints in accordance with the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness.

Right to make a complaint:

• Service Users have the right to raise Complaints that they have with any aspect of Our Services. 
• Service Users have the right to have Complaints resolved equitably and fairly, in a way that preserves the dignity of those involved and in accordance with the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. 
• Anyone filing a Complaint has a right to have a Support Person to support them through the complaints process.
• We will ensure Service Users and their Support Persons understand their right to make a Complaint.
• We will continue to provide Our Services where appropriate, throughout the resolution of a Complaint.

Steps to Follow when Lodging a Complaint:

1. The Complainant can contact us in writing, via e-mail or by phone using our contact details set out below. 
2. If the Complainant wishes to make the Complaint in person, they will need to contact us, using our contact details below, to organise a suitable time.
3. The Complainant will be informed of the complaints process (as set out in this Policy) and the date of the next available Committee meeting, where the Complaint will be tabled for discussion.
4. If a Complainant requires assistance with communication or they require an interpreter, we encourage them to seek the support of an interpreter or advocacy services. A search option for Australian disability advocates is provided in Appendix A along with a list of Disability Advocacy Services in NSW & ACT.
5. If making a verbal complaint, the Complainant may wish to invite a Support Person to be present in person or included in the phone call.
6. Touching Base Inc. will acknowledge the Complaint in writing within 5 working days and document the Complaint, including:

• • Date received
  • Name of the Complainant or the pseudonym used 
  • Name of Support Person, if appropriate
  • Nature / Issue of Complaint and outcome sought

7. We recognises that individuals have the right to confidentiality and privacy and we respect that right. You have the right to contact us anonymously or by using a pseudonym unless there is a legal requirement that prevents this. You should be aware that there may be instances where we cannot respond to you or properly investigate a complaint if you do not provide contact details or sufficient information.

8. To resolve the Complaint we will, if deemed appropriate, make contact with those directly involved to discuss and clarify the situation.

9. We will seek to resolve the Complaint to everybody’s satisfaction and document accordingly.

10. We will inform the Complainant and those directly involved of any action/s to be taken to resolve the Complaint.

11. If the Complainant is still not satisfied with the outcome, Touching Base Inc. will refer them to an external body to assist in the resolution of the complaint.

12 If the Complainant has a disability believes we have not properly investigated or acted upon a Complaint they, or their Support Person, can lodge a complaint directly to:

• • Your State/Territory regulator (for example, if you are based in NSW you can lodge a complaint with NSW Fair Trading); 
  • The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; or
  • The Australian Human Rights Commission, or your State/Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission (for example, if you are based in NSW, you can make a complaint with Anti-Discrimination NSW).

13. De-identified feedback may be used for future planning and development of Our Services. 

Notes for Complainant         

• At any stage of the process you have the right to involve a Support Person. 
• All complaints however lodged will be documented and the outcomes of the Complaints will be monitored by the Committee of Management to: 
  • ensure that this Policy is being followed; 
  • ensure that the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are followed; and 
  • inform and promote improvements to Our Services.

• Complaints will remain confidential.

Contact details for lodging a complaint 

Phone

Referral List – Mobile 0499 05 44 00
General Enquiries – Mobile 0424 591 409

Postal Address

PO Box 523 NEWTOWN NSW 2042 Australia

Email

president@touchingbase.org

APPENDIX A:

Advocacy services: National and in NSW & ACT: TBaseFeedbackComplaintsPolicy2023_AppendixA_AdvocacyServices

Download the Touching Base Inc Feedback and Complaints Policy 2023:
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