Complaints policy

Overview

WorkCover Queensland recognises the importance of complaints management as part of quality customer service. Complaints are inevitable, yet benefits can be gained from effective complaints management. We believe we are accountable for our actions and decisions, and our customers and providers have the right to complain about us and seek remedy for decisions that affect them.

This complaints management policy was developed in accordance with AS ISO10002–2006: Customer satisfaction—Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations and the Queensland Ombudsman’s Guide to Developing Effective Complaints Management Policies and Procedures.

The purpose of this document is to provide direction and support to WorkCover Queensland’s people, and to reassure customer and providers of the importance WorkCover Queensland places on customer feedback.

Our commitment

WorkCover Queensland is committed to resolving customer complaints quickly and fairly, and we empower our people to resolve issues as they arise. While WorkCover Queensland must operate within the workers’ compensation legislation, we support the right of our customers and providers to have their complaints heard and actioned appropriately. We believe that all customer feedback—both positive and negative—presents an opportunity for improvement.

Scope of this policy

The principles in this policy apply to all WorkCover Queensland people in their dealings with all customers and providers.

All written complaints, serious or unresolved telephone complaints, and complaints referred by external agencies must be recorded in the customer relations database and managed in accordance with WorkCover Queensland’s complaints management procedure.

Non-serious verbal complaints should be resolved at the frontline in accordance with the principles in this policy; they will not be recorded in the customer relations database.

Complaints management system

Our complaints management system is structured as follows:

Roles and responsibilities

Good customer service is the responsibility of every WorkCover Queensland person and our frontline people are empowered to resolve complaints quickly and efficiently.

WorkCover Queensland’s managers are responsible for investigating and resolving complaints, as well as being involved in frontline complaints resolution.

The complaints advisor is responsible for coordinating the internal complaint resolution process and is the contact for external stakeholders and complaint-making bodies. The complaints advisor is also responsible for:

• combining their knowledge of complaint resolution with the expertise of our empowered frontline people and managers to provide effective outcomes for complainants
• reviewing complaints and allocating them to an appropriate manager (depending on the seriousness and complexity of the complaint) for investigation and resolution
• reviewing and amending written responses for consistency, accuracy, and completeness
• seeking advice from senior management, where necessary to resolve a complaint
• providing timely, consistent, and fair responses for complainants in accordance with WorkCover Queensland’s complaints management procedure
• ensuring quality of data recorded in the customer relations database
• reporting to management on complaint outcomes and making recommendations to management, based on complaint data and trends.

Transparency and access

We are committed to making it easy for our customers to give us feedback by providing:

• simple information on our web site about how, where, and what information is required to make a complaint, and how the complaint will be managed
• easy access to our complaints policy
• assistance to those wishing to make a complaint, including an interpreting service through the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450

Responsiveness

WorkCover Queensland is committed to responding quickly and courteously to concerns raised by our customers. We have a centralised system for recording, monitoring, and responding to complaints to ensure they are actioned appropriately and within agreed timeframes.

The complaints management procedure sets out response timeframes for each type of complaint. In most cases, we will make verbal contact with the complainant within two business days of receiving a complaint and reply to a written complaint within 10 business days.

Objectivity, assessment, and action

WorkCover Queensland is committed to ensuring complaints are dealt with fairly and objectively. All complaints are treated confidentially, and complainants do not suffer any reprisal from WorkCover Queensland or its employees for making a complaint.

All complaints are assessed and recorded in our customer relations database under the relevant criteria. We objectively evaluate complaints and our actions to decide if our actions were fair and in accordance with legislation.

Our people are empowered to resolve complaints at the outset, however if the complainant is not satisfied with our response their complaint will be escalated to the complaints advisor. The complaints advisor will ensure an appropriate manager investigates the issue. Our managers have the authority to negotiate complaints to remedy. If necessary, complaints and/or complainants are referred to external agencies.

While anonymous feedback is welcome, in most cases we require identifying details to properly investigate and resolve a complaint.

Feedback

We are committed to providing timely and open feedback to complainants about their complaint:

• We will let complainants know the outcome of their complaint as soon as possible after a decision is made.
• WorkCover Queensland will always advise complainants about their internal and external review rights.
• Customer feedback we receive will be used to improve our processes and customer service offering.

Monitoring effectiveness

We routinely monitor the effectiveness of our complaints management system to ensure we meet our statutory, policy, and reporting requirements, as well as provide appropriate outcomes for our customers.

The Board and Executive Managers, with the assistance of internal audit, are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of WorkCover Queensland’s complaints management system. We also monitor complaint trends and outcomes with monthly reports to senior managers and quarterly reports to the Board of Directors.

Resources and training

WorkCover Queensland is customer focused, receptive to complaints, and welcomes customer feedback. We provide our people with the necessary resources and training to ensure the effectiveness of the WorkCover Queensland complaints management system. Our complaints management system is communicated to our people through the corporate induction program, and the policy and procedure are available on our intranet.

WorkCover Queensland has a dedicated complaints advisor who is appropriately trained to oversee the internal review process, review written responses for consistency, accuracy, and completeness, ensure quality of data recorded in the customer relations database, and report to management.

The customer relations database is used as a case management system to record and track complaints to ensure timely and accurate responses, as well as a reporting tool to analyse complaint trends and outcomes.

Remedies

When a complaint is justified, we will take into consideration the complainant’s suggested remedy and determine an appropriate remedy that is fair to both the complainant and WorkCover Queensland. Our remedies aim to restore the complainant to the position they would have been in had the complaint not been necessary. We always endeavour to be consistent and treat like cases alike. Wherever possible, we will try to resolve complaints at the outset rather than through formal or extensive investigation.