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      Complaints about our service

      Complaints about us policy

      We are committed to providing high quality complaint handling. However, if you are dissatisfied with our decision or our service you can complain to us.

      We value complaints as they help us improve our service delivery.

      We take all complaints about our decisions and services seriously.

      We are committed to handling complaints about us fairly and effectively.

      What is a complaint?

      A complaint about us can be about our decisions, or our service.

      We explain these two types of complaints below. If you are not sure which category your complaint fits into, we can decide whether your complaint is about our decisions or our service.

      How to complain

      We prefer you to use the Request review of our decision form to make a complaint about us. If you cannot use the form, please contact us so we can help you.

      We consider all complaints. Your complaint will be allocated to an officer who will consider it fairly and objectively. You will receive a response from either the original officer or another appropriate officer.

      Complaints about our decision

      If you disagree with a decision we made about your complaint, you can request an internal review.

      Your request for an internal review should:

      • be requested in writing within three months of being told of our final decision
      • describe the reasons why you believe we were wrong and include any relevant supporting information.

      We look at all review requests, however we do not grant every request for review. If we do not accept the review request, we will tell you and explain why.

      If we accept the review request, the review will be conducted by an officer with no prior involvement in your case. The officer will consider whether:

      • the original officer properly considered the issues you raised
      • their decision was the right one
      • they explained their reasons clearly and considered your response.

      The review officer may:

      • agree with the decision of the original investigation officer
      • change the decision of the original investigation officer
      • send the matter back to the original investigation officer or another officer for further investigation.

      When we complete the review, we will tell you the outcome. We aim to complete most reviews within 60 days.

      Complaints about our service

      If you are unhappy with our service, you can make a service delivery complaint.

      For us to consider your complaint, we need you to clearly explain what happened and when, who was involved and why you are unhappy.

      We will assess your complaint against our service standards and will then tell you the outcome. We aim to respond to service delivery complaints within 30 days.