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Contact Details
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Find the number of a specific division or office to contact them directly or call Service Tasmania on 1300 135 513.
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What is a Complaint?
There are many definitions of a complaint but in essence it is someone giving feedback or letting providers know that their service is not ‘hitting the mark’.
In Disability and Community Services, we recognise that feedback, in the form of compliments or complaints is important. Feedback from people who access funded disability and community services contributes towards improving service delivery.
A complaint can be about a wide range of issues, and can be made in writing or verbally to the service provider. From the perspective of the person with disability it is important that the definition of a complaint is not too narrow. Too often, what has been considered to be of concern to people with disability has not been informed by their own views and experiences. The resolution of complaints should be consistent with the principle presented by the disability rights movement ‘nothing about us, without us’, which is fundamental to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Given the importance of taking a rights based approach to the provision of disability services, it is also important that sound working relationships are developed between service providers and the people using their services.
Mark’s story
Mark, with the assistance of his advocate, made a complaint to the service provider running the group home in which he lived. The issue was that he owned a cat that was previously allowed to remain in the lounge room at night and sleep in his room with him. The service provider had introduced new rules forbidding the cat from being indoors during meal preparation and from sleeping in the room with Mark. Mark felt that the service provider perceived the complaint as trivial, and that they did not take into consideration the effects these rules would have on the residents of the house, particularly Mark.
Mark was willing to accept one of the rules regarding the cat being outside during meal preparation but felt there was no reason why the cat should not be allowed to remain in the lounge room and at night sleep in his room with him. The cat was a great source of pleasure to Mark and the other residents. The service provider came to understand the impact of these new rules on the residents. Following a meeting with Mark, his advocate and his service provider, agreement was reached that the cat could remain in the house at all times, except during meal preparation.
Thought
It is no longer sufficient to determine whether or not the complaint is justified from the organisation’s point of view: it is almost certainly justified in the view of the person making the complaint.
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