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Complaints and compliments

We value your feedback - it helps us improve our services

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How to make a complaint, compliment, general comment or suggestion

If you are not satisfied with our service, wish to provide a compliment, comment or suggestion please contact us. We take complaints seriously and aim to resolve them quickly and fairly.

You can provide feedback using any of the following methods:

 PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
Quality Officer
Latrobe Community Health Service
Reply Paid 960
MORWELL VIC 3840

If your complaint is about our Local Area Coordination or Early Childhood Approach services, then please contact Latrobe Community Health Service (LCHS) using the contact details above.

Please contact the NDIA if:

  • your complaint is about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) itself
  • your complaint is about a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

Our complaints process

  • We will acknowledge that we’ve received your complaint within 2 working days.
  • A senior staff member will contact you to learn more about your concerns.
  • Your complaint may need to be investigated. This may include talking to other people involved. We will need your consent to do this.
  • We will attempt to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.
  • We will inform you of the outcome of your complaint and the reasons for our decision/s.
  • We aim to resolve your issues within 30 working days.
  • We will let you know how you can seek an internal review or external review of our decision if you’re not happy with the outcome.
  • Following resolution of your complaint our Quality team may be in touch with you to assess your satisfaction with our complaint handling process. This will assist us in understanding how we can better receive and resolve feedback from our clients and the community.

You can expect:

  • your privacy to be protected
  • to be listened to with respect
  • LCHS to support consumer rights to submit feedback anonymously, but may be limited when investigating anonymous complaints.
  • to have someone represent you with your complaint if you wish and consent
  • to have your cultural and communication needs met
  • to be actively involved in the process and be asked how you would like to have your concern resolved
  • to be kept informed of the progress of your complaint
  • not to be charged to make a complaint. It is free.
  • to receive correspondence from us explaining the resolution of your complaint and our reasons for those decision/s
  • to be informed of how you can request a review of our decision/s.

Our feedback procedure adheres to all relevant state and commonwealth legislation and aligns with the Health Complaints Act 2016 complaint handling standards. A copy of these standards can be found here.

Do you need further assistance?

Please let us know if you need:

  • information in another language
  • an interpreter or translation service
  • the national relay service
  • other support to assist you in making a complaint.

Accessibility services

Translating and Interpreting
Call TIS on: 131 450 and ask to speak to LCHS on 1800 242 696

National Relay Service
Visit the National Relay Service website or phone 1800 555 727 then ask for 1800 242 696

Internal review options

If you are not happy with the outcome or handling of your complaint you can ask for an Executive Director to review your complaint by contacting us on 1800 242 696.

External review options

Not satisfied with our response or process? You can contact the relevant Commissioner or Ombudsman and ask them to review our response.

Health services

Health Complaints Commissioner
hcc.vic.gov.au
1300 582 113

Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
ahpra.gov.au
1300 419 495

Department of Health (DH) and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)

dhhs.vic.gov.au/making-complaint
1300 884 706

Mental Health Complaints Commissioner
mhcc.vic.gov.au
1800 246 054

Aged care

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
agedcarequality.gov.au
1800 951 822

NDIS services

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
ndiscommission.gov.au
1800 035 544

Our recent complaints and compliments data

 

Feedback acknowledged within two days

We aim to acknowledge your feedback within 2 days. This table shows how long we took to acknowledge your feedback.

 

Complaint resolved within 30 days

We aim to resolve your complaints within 30 days. This table shows how long we took to resolve those complaints.

 

Type of feedback

This table shows the number of feedback items we have received.

 

Complaints by theme

This table shows the themes of complaints we have received.

How we are improving our service

More light

Some clients expressed concerns about the short duration of the bathroom light timers.

We have now adjusted the bathroom timers to ensure that our clients have plenty of time in the bathroom without feeling rushed or left without light.

The beat of our drum

Some of our clients provided feedback that they found the beat of our hold music distressing and difficult to listen to.

We have now changed our hold music so that it is more soothing and calming for our clients who are placed on hold.

Dentist appointments – what to expect

Dentist appointments can make anyone nervous. Following feedback from our clients, we have created a video to outline what a typical dental appointment looks like.

To see the video click here

Engaging clients

After receiving feedback from program participants on our Social Support Group (SSG) our team leaders will now be holding planning sessions with group members to ensure that our activities align with their preferences and needs.

This collaborative approach aims to enhance engagement and satisfaction among all participants. By involving members in the planning process, our leaders can gain deeper insights into the group’s dynamics and tailor activities accordingly.

Taxi voucher delays

Feedback from our clients highlighted that delays in receiving allocated taxi cards have impacted their independence.

In response, LCHS has initiated a trial of new taxi cards in collaboration with clients. The aim is to reduce delays and ensure clients are able to maintain their own transport without interruption.

Join the Customer Voice Group

The Customer Voice Group is a diverse group of our clients and client family members. Together, they help shape the services we offer.

Using their own experiences, each group member:

  • provides advice on how we can improve our services
  • makes suggestions for new services
  • helps design and test improvements

There are lots of opportunities to take part. For example:

  • Sharing a story about your health care experience at a staff meeting.
  • Helping design the spaces where we provide services.
  • Walking through a waiting area, then suggesting improvements.
  • Taking part in focus groups.

Find out more