At Housing Choices, we are committed to providing quality affordable housing services and an exceptional resident experience. We value your feedback – both compliments and complaints. When you tell us about your experiences with us it helps us to understand what you need from our services and how we can improve them.
Compliments. Complaints. Appeals.
Your feedback is important to us.
We believe people have a right to complain.
We commit to:
• responding to complaints and appeals in a timely and fair way, • having an accessible complaint handling and resolution process that is available to everyone, • take all reasonable steps to investigate and resolve complaints within 30 days.
Giving feedback.
When something is starting to go wrong, we encourage you to tell us so we can fix the issue as soon as possible.
You do not need to try this option before making a formal complaint. You do not lose your opportunity to make a formal complaint if you choose to speak to us informally first.
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We listen intently to people using our services, their advocates or representatives and welcome both compliments and complaints made on your behalf by those who are authorised to do so.
We provide a safe environment for all residents and people including;
• Young people and children • People with disabilities • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples • People from culturally diverse backgrounds; and • The advocates and representatives of all the above
Complaints about safety, abuse and neglect need to be managed by di erent systems. We will tell you which system and what to expect in these situations.
The next steps.
How can I lodge a compliment or complaint?
What if I’m not happy with the outcome?
You can lodge a compliment or complaint by phone, in person, by email, letter or our online feedback form about any part of our service, the way we do business, or the advice we’ve given you.
In some cases following a complaint, you may feel that a decision made by us is not right and may wish to lodge an appeal or seek help from an external agency (see page 8).
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What happens when I lodge a complaint?
There will be some situations where we can solve your problem within a few days, but sometimes things can be a bit more complicated.
However we always aim to sort things out within 30 days. We’ll stay in touch through the process where we can and do our best to explain what we’ve done, and why.
In most cases, we can fix things quickly by just talking about them first, but sometimes you might still want to make a complaint.
Our Complaints Process:
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Listen.
Acknowledge.
Review.
We will issue you a formal acknowledgement letter within 2 days of your complaint being received. This will outline the issues of your concern, the next steps of the process and the person responsible for resolving your complaint.
Once you come to us with a complaint, our sta will listen to your complaint and guide you through our process.
We will reach out to you in your preferred way within 5 days to discuss your complaint. We will review the issue and prepare some options to support resolution.
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I’m still not happy. How do I appeal?
If you’ve made a complaint and you’re still not happy with the decision we made, you can appeal it.
There is no time limit on when appeals are raised with us. We feel it is important that any issue with our service, conduct, sta and complaint handling be addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
Email or call and advise that you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, provide the complaint number and our Quality Assurance Manager will contact you
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Collaborate.
Act.
Communicate.
We will discuss options with you to resolve your complaint. We will seek your ideas on how to resolve your complaint and what you think is most important to the issue.
We will tell you what we will do and how long it will take. We are committed to resolving all complaints within 30 days of getting them.
We will keep you informed of the resolution progress and when actions are completed. You will receive copies of all letters when the resolution is complete.
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I’m an NDIS resident.
If you’re not happy with aspects of the housing we’ve provided you under the NDIS, you can provide feedback directly to the NDIA.
If you have a complaint regarding any form of discrimination, you may contact the state-based authority or the Australian Human Rights Commission.
NDIS Participants can make a complaint about Housing Choices or any aspect of their NDIS experience direct to the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission. The Complaints Information for Tenants Factsheet provides an easy read version of our complaints process.
P 1300 365 419 www.humanrights.gov.au
This can be made available upon request.
P 1800 035 544 www.ndiscommission.gov.au
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Your privacy and confidentiality.
We respect your request to have your identity remain confidential and your personal information will only be disclosed if:
• required by law; or • is appropriate in the circumstances, and you have provided your consent.
You can choose to make a complaint anonymously to us. We will let you know if being anonymous is making it di cult to resolve your complaint.
What happens if I want to withdraw a complaint?
You may withdraw your complaint at any time by advising Housing Choices or, by notifying any other authority you have involved in your complaint.
Housing Choices will acknowledge the withdrawal of your complaint in writing, note the reason for the withdrawal, and close the complaint. To ensure your safety to make a complaint and be heard, we may follow up to make sure no one is forcing you to withdraw your complaint.
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I need help withmy complaint or appeal.
VIC
TAS
SA
NSW
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1300 558 181 03 9416 2577 1300 792 387 1800 606 313 03 9613 6222 1300 018 228 03 9651 1402
Consumer A airs Victoria
www.consumer.vic.gov.au
Tenants Union Victoria
www.tuv.org.au
Victoria Legal Aid
www.legalaid.vic.gov.au
Justice Connect, Homeless Law
www.justiceconnect.org.au
Victorian Ombudsman
www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au
VCAT (Tribunal)
www.vcat.vic.gov.au
Victorian Housing Registrar
www.housingregistrar.vic.gov.au
1300 654 499 1300 652 641 1300 366 611 1800 001 170 03 6166 3628
Consumer A airs Tasmania
www.consumer.tas.gov.au
Tenants Union Tasmania
www.tutas.org.au
Legal Aid Commission Tasmania
www.legalaid.tas.gov.au
Ombudsman Tasmania
www.ombudsmantas.gov.au
NRSCH Housing Registrar
www.dhhs.tas.gov.au
1800 060 462 1800 723 767 1800 182 150 08 7424 7206
Tenant Info + Advisory Service
www.syc.net.au
SACAT (Tribunal)
www.sacat.sa.gov.au
Ombudsman SA
www.ombudsman.sa.gov.au
O ce of Housing Regulation
www.sa.gov.au
131 882
O ce of Consumer + Business
www.cbs.sa.gov.au
1300 366 424
Legal Services Commission
www.lsc.sa.gov.au
133 220
NSW Fair Trading
www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
02 8117 3700 1300 888 529 02 9286 1000 1300 006 228 1800 330 940
Tenants Union NSW
www.tenants.org.au
Legal Aid NSW
www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au
Ombudsman NSW
www.ombo.nsw.gov.au
NCAT (Tribunal)
www.ncat.nsw.gov.au
Community Housing Registrar
www.rch.nsw.gov.au
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Find us. All o ce hours 9:00am - 5:00pm
Adelaide
Port Augusta
192 Waymouth St Adelaide SA 5000
21/50 Augusta Tce Port Augusta SA 5700
Devonport 5 Steele St
Preston
137 High St
Devonport TAS 7310
Preston VIC 3072
Hobart
Shorewell Park 11A Wiseman St
Level 7, 39 Murray St Hobart TAS 7000
Shorewell Plaza TAS 7320
Melbourne
Surry Hills
Level 3, 350 Queen St Melbourne VIC 3000
Suite 309, 410 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills NSW 2010
If you need help filling it out, giving us feedback, or making a complaint or appeal, call us on 1300 312 447 and ask to chat to a Complaints Coordinator or email complaintsandappeals @ hcau.org.au
For information on how we collect, use and disclose your information, visit our website.
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