Complaints and compliments

We value your feedback - it helps us improve our services

On this page you can find:

Your feedback might be a suggestion to improve our services, or a compliment or complaint about a staff member, a team or service.

Providing feedback is confidential and will not affect your care or the services provided to you. LCHS supports consumer rights to provide feedback anonymously.

Your feedback will be treated with respect and will be handled in a timely and courteous manner. We aim to resolve complaints within 30 days.

How to provide feedback

You can provide feedback in a number of ways:

Form icon

Complete our feedback form

You can do this online or download a copy of the form here

Email icon

Email your feedback to feedback@lchs.com.au

Phone icon

Call us on 1800 242 696 or speak with a team member in person

Letter post

Send us a letter, free of charge, to:
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 us using the above contact details.

Please contact the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) if your complaint is about the NDIA, or a decision made by the NDIA.

Our complaints process

Submit your complaint

Use one of the above methods to submit your complaint.

Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days of receiving it.

Contact

A senior staff member, like a program manager or team leader, will contact you to discuss your concerns and how you would like the complaint resolved. They will also ask you how you would like to be contacted about the complaint and how frequently.

Investigation

A thorough, fair and confidential investigation into your complaint will take place.

Finalisation

You will receive a letter summarising your complaint, how the complaint was investigated and what outcome has been reached. It will provide reasons for any decisions made. The letter will also provide information on further internal and external review options.

If you have feedback on the management of your complaint or our complaint handling process, please contact us on 1800 242 696 or complete our complaint handling survey.

How to get help to submit your feedback

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

If you are deaf or find it hard to hear or speak to people on the phone, you can:

We can receive and respond to complaints in most languages. If you need language interpretation services, you can:

Complaints review options

 

Internal review options

You can ask for an Executive Director to review your complaint. Click here to view our executive team.

Contact us via feedback@lchs.com.au or 1800 242 696 to request an internal review.

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.

Their services are free, confidential and impartial.

Health services

Health Complaints Commission (HCC)
Complaints about health services and handling of health information.
hcc.vic.gov.au
1300 582 113

Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission
Complaints about publicly-funded mental health services.
mhwc.vic.gov.au
1800 246 054

Department of Health (DH) and Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)
Complaints about DH and DFFH related service providers.
health.vic.gov.au and dffh.vic.gov.au
DFFH: 1300 884 706

Department of Health and Aged Care
Complaints about staff or services provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
health.gov.au
1800 829 403

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
Complaints about registered health practitioners and health students.
ahpra.gov.au
1300 419 495

Aged care services

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC)
Complaints about aged care providers.
agedcarequality.gov.au
1800 951 822

Older Person Advocacy Network (OPAN)
Advocacy support for complaints about government-funded aged care services.
opan.org.au
1800 700 600

Disability services

National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
Complaints about NDIA staff or decisions.
ndis.gov.au
1800 800 110

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission)
Complaints about NDIS-funded services and safety standards.
ndiscommission.gov.au
1800 035 544

Disability Services Commissioner
Complaints about disability service providers, including government-funded services.
odsc.vic.gov.au
1800 677 342

Victorian Disability Worker Commission
Complaints about disability workers.
vdwc.vic.gov.au
1800 497 132

Victims of crime services

Victims of Crime Commissioner – Victoria
Complaints about treatment or outcomes from victim or witnesses of crime investigations.
victimsofcrimecommissioner.vic.gov.au
1800 010 017

Victims Services – NSW
Complaints about treatment or outcomes from victim or witnesses of crime investigations.
victimsservices.justice.nsw.gov.au
1800 633 063

Human rights and employment services

Australian and Human Rights Commission
Complaints about discrimination and breaches of human rights.
humanrights.gov.au
1300 369 711

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission – Victoria
Complaints about racism, sexual harassment, discrimination and breaches of human rights.
humanrights.vic.gov.au
1300 292 153

Anti-Discrimination NSW
Complaints about discrimination or sexual harassment in NSW.
antidiscrimination.nsw.gov.au
1800 670 812

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.

Find out more

Feedback date and outcomes

 

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.

Watch the video 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.