Complaints and Appeals

Policy: Complaints and Appeals

This policy is the responsibility of Regional Training Contractors of South Australia. From here-on within this policy, we, us, or our, means Regional Training Contractors of South Australia (ABN: 72 667 868 941), also trading as RTCSA.

Policy Purpose:

Regional Training Contractors of South Australia are committed to providing quality-based training and assessment services in an environment where grievances can be freely raised to be resolved with transparency and fairness. In so saying, we have implemented procedures to acknowledge, record, respond to and monitor any complaints or appeals lodged. This policy documents these processes and provides clarification on how to lodge a complaint, or appeal against a decision made by Regional Training Contractors of South Australia; and how this complaint or appeal will be handled.

Definitions:

Advocate:
Individual who accompanies an appellant or complainant for support throughout the complaint or appeal process.
Appeal:
An appeal is a request, or process, to review a formal decision that has been made by Regional Training Contractors of South Australia.
Appellant:
Person who lodged the appeal.
Complaint:
A complaint is the expression of dissatisfaction, or concern, with services or training provided by Regional Training Contractors of South Australia.
Complainant:
Person who lodged the complaint.

Policy Statement and Principles

Regional Training Contractors of South Australia recognise that when complaints are handled correctly they can be an important mechanism in the continual improvement of services.

We wish to assure our clients and staff that should they raise a grievance about our training or services, their complaint will be handled as fairly and as transparently as possible.

Our Complaints and Appeals Policy is available online and can also be obtained by emailing our administration department at: courses@rtcsa.training or by phoning our Regional Manager: 0417 725 339. Any assistance that may be required to lodge a complaint or appeal will be freely given.

Our policy and procedures are based on the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. We believe that everyone has the right to be heard; the right to an unbiased decision-maker; and the right to have the decision based on evidence.

Based on the above principles Regional Training Contractors of South Australia will:

  1. Ensure the complainant, (or appellant), is aware of Regional Training Contractors of South Australia’s policy and procedures on complaint management.
  2. Aid with the lodgement of a complaint or appeal, when assistance is sought.
  3. Ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the person investigating the complaint and the complaint itself.
  4. Give any individuals affected by the complaint the opportunity to present their side to the story.
  5. Allow for all parties to be represented by, or accompanied by, a third person (or advocate, at their own expense), throughout the process.
  6. Ensure that the complaint remains confidential and that no action is taken, or decisions made until all information has been presented and considered.
  7. Keep decisions free from bias or assumption.
  8. Take necessary steps to prevent victimisation from occurring against any individual involved in the complaint or appeal process.
  9. Document the complaint and its outcome for future reference.
  10. Provide advice on independent external appeal options, especially where we have been unable to resolve the complaint or appeal through our own processes.

Procedure:

Informal Complaint:

Where possible, we encourage any complaint to be managed informally through discussion and mediation with the concerned parties. Where the complaint has resulted from a training incident we encourage the complainant to discuss the matter with the trainer at the end of the session.

Should the complaint remain unresolved, or should the complainant be dissatisfied with the outcome, they may wish to make a formal complaint. A formal complaint can only be lodged after attempts to resolve the complaint informally have been made.

Formal Complaints:

Lodging a formal complaint involves completing our ‘Complaints and Appeals form’ and forwarding this through to our Regional Manager at manager@rtcsa.training or by post: PO Box 120, Moorook SA 5332.

A link to the Formal Complaints Form can be found at the bottom of this page, but can also be obtained by emailing your request to our administration department at courses@rtcsa.training or by phoning 0417 725 339.

Support to lodge a complaint or appeal is available for anyone requiring assistance.

Once a formal complaint has been received the following processes begin:

  1. Our Regional Manager will, as soon as practicable, but no later than 7 days from receipt of the complaint, acknowledge the complainant in writing and advise of the predicted processing time of up to 28 calendar days. Should the review time be expected to take longer than 60 calendar days the complainant will be informed why and kept up to date on its progress.
  2. The Regional Manager will place the information from the form into the ‘Complaints and Appeals’ register. This is a secure file with restricted access. It is reviewed regularly, so that should any pattern become obvious then corrective actions, determined on an individual basis, can be applied.
  3. The Director – Compliance, will be advised of the complaint and provided with all relevant documentation; (where there may be a conflict of interest our partnering RTO will be contacted to assist with the complaint process).
  4. Any individuals affected by the complaint will be informed and given the opportunity to present their side of the story. They may choose to be represented or accompanied by a third person as a means of support.
  5. The Director – Compliance, and the Regional Manager will decide on a proposed resolution, and relevant parties will be notified in writing within 28 calendar days from the date the complaint was received.
  6. The Director – Compliance together with the Regional Manager, will ensure that RTCSA completes any corrective actions that may be required.
  7. The outcome will be placed on the ‘Complaints and Appeals’ register and monitored.

Complaints and appeals may also be lodged with our RTO partner, APS Training Group. However, it is recommended that in the first instance, the complaint is registered with Regional Training Contractors of South Australia.

Where there is a conflict of interest, or where Regional Training Contractors of South Australia are unable to provide an acceptable solution, the matter will be addressed to APS Training Group (APS) RTO 31588.

Formal Appeal:

If the complainant/appellant is not satisfied with the outcome they received from the formal complaint, or should a client wish to appeal against an assessment decision, then the appeals process can be activated by completing and submitting the second page of the Complaints and Appeals form.

A summary of the grounds that the appeal is based upon and the reason why the appellant feels that the initial decision made was unfair, must be provided within 14 days from the time they received the outcome for their initial complaint.

Once the appeal has been received the following process will take place:

  1. The Director – Compliance will acknowledge in writing that the appeal has been received and will be reviewed and processed within 14 calendar days.
  2. The Director will advise the RTO, and the Regional Manager of the appeal being raised.
  3. All relevant information will be gathered.
  4. The Director – Compliance and RTO partner’s representative will review the documentation of the initial complaint and make a decision based on the grounds of the appeal;
  5. The Director – Compliance will notify the appellant of the outcome of their appeal, including the reasons for the decision. They will also be advised of their right to appeal the matter further through an external dispute resolution process should the resolution not be in the appellant’s favour.
  6. Together, the Director – Compliance and the Regional Manager, will ensure that RTCSA completes any corrective action that may be required.
  7. The ‘Complaints and Appeals’ register will be updated.

External Appeals:

Our clients and staff are encouraged to resolve complaints and appeals through the mechanisms that we have in place. However, should the appellant be dissatisfied regarding the determination provided by Regional Training Contractors of South Australia, they may wish to activate the services of an independent complaint reviewer. The South Australian Skills Commission can provide such a service. Their contact details are:

South Australian Skills Commission, Level 3, 11 Waymouth Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000

Phone: 1800 006 488

Website: https://skillscommission.sa.gov.au/

NOTE: Whilst Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) accepts complaints about training providers, it is NOT able to act as an independent third party for reviewing complaints. When registering a complaint with ASQA they will also ask for evidence that an attempt to resolve the matter has been undertaken with the training provider and also an independent complaint resolution service. Their website states:

You should only submit a complaint to ASQA if:

  • you have made a complaint directly to a training provider, and 
  • you have received a response that does not resolve your issue, and
  • you have requested an independent review of your complaint and your issue is still not resolved.

ASQA can be contacted by:

Policy Locations:

Regional Training Contractors of South Australia’s Complaint and Appeal Policy can be accessed by:

Our partnering registered training organisation has its own Complaint and Appeal Policy and this can be accessed via the following methods: 

APS Training Group:

V2 Reviewed October 2022

 

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS FORM.