We are committed to providing high-quality services and improving the way we work. If you are unhappy with how we interacted with you, you can share that with us.  

We’d like to know your thoughts on whether we: 

• acted professionally;
• communicated well with you; 
• progressed your complaint in a timely way and applied reasonable timeframes; and
• provided our services and resources in an accessible way. 

You should try and contact us as soon as you can after the event you are concerned about (preferably within two weeks). 

If your concerns are about an event more than three months ago, we will still consider if it identifies any improvement opportunities but might not take any further action. We will manage historic concerns on a case-by-case basis. 

The process 

We encourage you to attempt to resolve your concerns directly with the staff member that you were dealing with in the first instance. If that person can’t resolve your concerns, they will escalate the matter to someone more senior, usually their manager.  

You can also email us at feedback@lsbc.vic.gov.au. We will then identify the most appropriate person to reply to you – in most cases this will either be the staff member you were dealing with or their manager.  

You don’t have to put your concerns in writing, but it can help if you want us to consider any documents or materials. It also helps if you tell us how you think we can resolve your concerns. For example, you may want us to apologise because we did not return a phone call. Or you may just want to let us know about an issue but not be involved further. 

What we’ll do  

We will: 

• consider your concerns and any solutions you suggest;  
• reply to you as quickly as possible in writing, by phone or in person; 
• consider how we can use your feedback to improve our services; and 
• tell you about other options available to you if we can’t resolve your concerns.  

If we can, we will continue to advance any other work already in progress. For example, if we are working on resolving your dispute with your lawyer, we will try to keep your file active while also considering your complaint about us. 

We will treat you in a respectful and courteous manner, and we expect that you do the same. 

How feedback helps us improve  

We keep a record of complaints about us. That data is used to identify how we can improve our performance and service delivery. 

Please note: 

• If your complaint about us is about a privacy breach, please let us know as soon as possible as these types of complaints have specific requirements. 
• If you want to challenge a decision we have made about a complaint, you can ask us for an Internal Review. 
• If you want to challenge a decision we have made about a complaint and are also unhappy with our service, we will work with you to identify if an Internal Review is needed. 
• We do not share details of staff related outcomes externally. However, if we identify staff behaviour that does not meet our expectations, we will take appropriate and proportionate steps to address it. 
• We cannot provide financial compensation in response to negative feedback.  

Important:

In some cases, we may decide to stop looking into your complaint without reaching a conclusion. This can happen if:

• you withdraw your complaint about us; or 
• court matters relevant to your concerns are initiated; or 
• we find that there is not enough evidence to continue our assessment; or 
• we can’t access information we need to complete our assessment; or 
• we can’t engage effectively with you or a relevant party. Examples of conduct that may result in us taking this approach include engaging in disruptive or obstructive behaviour or inappropriate conduct towards our staff. 

External/ other services you can access 

Victorian Ombudsman 

If we can’t resolve your complaint about us, or you are not comfortable with raising your complaint with us directly, you may want to contact the Victorian Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can examine how we handled your complaint but cannot change our decision on your complaint. 

IBAC 

If you believe our staff, the Commissioner or the Board have engaged in serious misconduct, such as corruption, you will need to make a complaint to the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC). IBAC’s website has information about the most appropriate organisation to complain to depending on your issue. 

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission 

We are committed to treating people: 

• fairly and in a manner that promotes tolerance; 
• in a manner that respects their rights and freedoms under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. 

If you’ve experienced discrimination, victimisation, sexual harassment, racial or religious vilification and you cannot resolve the matter with us, you can make a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. 

OVIC 

We are committed to protecting the community’s information privacy. Our Privacy Policy sets the framework for information privacy and outlines the structures for managing information privacy within the VLSB+C, particularly the handling of personal information. You can also contact the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner if you can’t resolve your concerns with us.