1. Preamble
Any complaint made by a service user of Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) will be dealt with promptly and objectively.
Any person making a complaint has the right to have an advocate of his or her choice to assist him or her during the process of making a complaint.
2. Objective
It is the objective of this policy to:
a) deal with service user complaints in a timely and impartial manner;
b) provide service user guidelines for making a complaint;
c) provide guidelines for those persons investigating the complaint; and,
d) to ensure the principles of natural justice are applied to all parties to the complaint.
3. Grievance
A grievance is a situation where a person has ground for making a complaint about the organisation, or another person's behaviour who is associated with the organisation.
4. Complaints Process
4.1 First stage
In instances where the complaint is about another individual's behaviour, the person making the complaint should try and resolve the issue with the person with whom he or she has the complaint. This should occur within seven days of the incident.
The discussion should take place either in person or over the telephone in a private and quiet area. If necessary, both people can have a support person with them. The feelings of each person involved in the discussion should be respected.
4.2 Second stage
If a complainant has followed the process outlined in 4.1 and is still aggrieved, or has chosen not to follow the process, the following shall occur. The complaint should be put in writing or in another format accessible to the complainant and/or should be verbally communicated to the Executive Officer or President of BCA.
Depending on the nature of the complaint and/or the preference of the person making the complaint, the matter can either be dealt with by the Executive Officer or the President of BCA.
4.2.1 Each person who is involved in the complaint should be provided with an opportunity to speak with the Executive Officer or President. The person making the complaint may bring an advocate or support person to the meeting which can occur in person or over the telephone.
4.2.2 Once the complaint has been investigated, the Executive Officer or President should formulate findings and recommendations for resolving the issues.
4.2.3 Recommendations formulated should be communicated in an accessible format to the person who made the complaint and the person about whom the complaint was made. Feedback should be sought as to whether the person who made the complaint is satisfied with the result.
4.3 Third stage
If after undertaking the steps outlined in 4.2 the person who made the complaint is dissatisfied with the findings and recommendations of the Executive Director or the President, then he/she may appeal to the Board of Directors within one month of receiving the results of the investigation.
4.3.1 If the Board of Directors receives a notice of appeal, the person who has made the complaint will be invited to address the Board to express his/for issues of concern regarding the results of the investigation. Should a Board member or the Executive Officer be a party to the complaint, they will absent themselves from the Board's discussions.
4.3.2 After the meeting, the Board of Directors will write to the person in an accessible format either reaffirming the original decision or informing the person of any new recommendations.
4.4 Final stage
If after the preceding stages have been followed the person making the complaint remain dissatisfied, he/she must upon request be provided with the details of the bodies which fund BCA and relevant postal addresses.
5. Accessibility
This policy will be made available to any service user or BCA member in accessible format on request. It will also be made available via the BCA website.