Level 2 complaints - Ombudsman, Ministerial, MP, Media and executive correspondence (CLK)(MED) 104-02040030

The MP/Senator contact officers:

• have a local relationship with the electorate offices of MPs and Senators
• are the first point of contact about queries and complaints about Services Australia business from:
• local MP/Senators and/or
• their office staff
• resolve the enquiry. They will escalate to Level 2 if it meets one or more of the 8 customer complaint escalation reasons

This process allows the agency:

• to be proactive with customer requests and complaints directed through MPs/Senators and their staff
• builds relationships at a local level with MPs/Senators

Level 2 will manage any escalated issues until resolution. They will refer the complaint back to the MP Contact Officer. The MP Contact Officer will:

• contact the MP/Senator's office to tell them of the outcome
• contact their Zone Executive (Region Manager or National Manager) if an issue is not a complaint but needs escalation

Department Liaison Officer's (DLO's):

• work in the office of the Minister for Government Services in Parliament House, Canberra
• organise contact between the Minister's office and the agency
• have implied authority to follow up when customers contact the Minister's Office to lodge a complaint
• escalated customer complaints to Level 2 by phone or email

A CaMCLO:

• is a nominated officer in the Multicultural and Tailored Services Branch (MaTS)
• coordinated and responds to interactions between the Minister's office and Services Australia

A CaMCLO or Level 2 officer will manage and record complaints received from the Minister's Office.

A correspondence brief results from direct contact with:

• the CEO
• Agency Senior Executive or
• Secretary of another Government area by many sources, including:
• customers
• organisations or individuals representing welfare recipients and the community
• the general public

The correspondence is allocated for management via the PDMS to relevant business teams by the Ministerial Services team.

The CEO and Executive expect the agency to address any issues raised in the correspondence before preparing a formal response.

Level 2:

• record and manage complaints
• draft any required responses and correspondence briefs using the templates provided in the request from the Ministerial Correspondence team

Complaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about actions taken by Services Australia:

• the Ombudsman may decide the agency should manage the complaint as per usual management processes
• email the complaint transfer to the agency through a positional mailbox

The agency must address any issues raised by the complainant and manage these as per the agency's complaint management processes.

Level 2:

• may decide to refer the Ombudsman complaint transfer to a specific business team for management or
• keep the customer complaint for start-to-finish management

When the Commonwealth Ombudsman's office start investigating a complaint, they give notice to the agency. This is under sections 7A, 8, 8(3) of the Ombudsman Act 1976. On receipt of the notice, the Ombudsman Relationship Management Section (ORMS):

• refer the investigation to the most appropriate business area to manage
• prepare a response

Level 2:

• record and manage the complaint issues
• prepare a written response explaining the outcome of the investigation. They use the response template provided by ORMS to address the issues raised by the Ombudsman

When the Commonwealth Ombudsman's office finalises an investigation and has identified potential administrative failures they give notice to the agency. This is under section 12(4) of the Ombudsman Act 1976.

Level 2 will record and manage the complaint from start to finish.

Media case

The Communication Division get enquiries about high profile and sensitive issues through:

• journalists
• media outlets
• social media channels
• talk back radio
• Hank complaint and feedback (Agency Spokesperson)

The Communications Division may ask for more details and follow up of a media case. The Communications Division will decide the appropriate business area and request details and a response.

Level 2 staff may be need to:

• record and investigate a complaint
• prepare a response providing relevant details
• contact the customer

Social Media and Hank

Hank Jongen:

• is Services Australia's General Manager of Communications and
• the agency's spokesperson informing Australians about government support services and payments
• appears on talkback radio, TV, the Ask Hank mailbox and/or Hank's social media page

Level 2 record and manage customer complaints and feedback sent to Hank. Customers can post feedback on the agency's social media pages. The social media team connects with customers online. They may at times refer complaints to Level 2 for recording and management.