Level 1 complaints - Child Support 277-09020020

Complaints can be received:

• via the Feedback and Complaints line
• as part of intray allocation, go to Step 2

Complaint received about Centrelink or Medicare

If a customer calls, and they want to lodge a complaint about Centrelink or Medicare:

• cold transfer the call to the appropriate service delivery brand via the Feedback and Complaints line
• procedure ends here

General enquiry received on the Services Australia Feedback and Complaints line

General enquiries are contacts from customers and their intention is not to make a complaint, compliment or suggestion.

• Confirm with the customer they have a general enquiry and not a complaint
• Explain the Feedback and Complaints line is for lodging complaints and feedback
• Manage the enquiry by giving general information. For example:
• correct contact information for future enquiries
• self-service options
• Record the call in the customer Communication screen as a Complaint/Not a Complaint
• Document the reason it is a general enquiry and not a complaint, compliment or suggestion
• Procedure ends here

Complaint received on the general enquiry line

If a customer calls the Child Support general enquiry line and the call is a customer complaint:

• record the call as a Level 1 complaint and manage within 10 business days
• escalate the call to a Level 2 Complaints Officer if one of the 8 escalation reasons are met
• If it is unclear if the customer is lodging a complaint, ask if they want their issue recorded as a complaint. A complaint has 2 characteristics that make it different from a general enquiry:
• It is an expression of dissatisfaction in relation to a product or service
• A response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected by the customer
• Go to Step 2

If the customer is calling about an existing Level 2 complaint

• Tell the customer their call will be transferred to a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team
• Do not transfer the customer to an individual Service Officer’s voice mail. If the Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team is unavailable, use Service Australia Workspace to transfer the customer to Level 2 Complaints
• Procedure ends here

• If the complaint is in writing or submitted online, contact the customer to clarify the issues raised
• Ask the customer for specific information relevant to their complaint, including dates, names and information they received
• Apologise to the customer if appropriate, for any errors made or their perception of a negative experience
• Ask if they have a desired remedy or outcome. This helps in managing the customer’s expectations and determine available options

Acknowledge all complaints and give an overview of the complaints process. Explain the agency will investigate their issues in line with the Complaints and Feedback Policy.

When customers lodge a complaint, they may use language which does not align with language used internally by the agency. For example, a customer says they wish to lodge a formal complaint. Manage this complete as a Level 1 complaint if it does not meet any of the 8 Complaint Escalation Reasons. Everyone in the agency is authorised to receive and finalise complaints.

Lock customer or allocate to owning officer

Level 1 complaints are common activity under the Customer Management Approach (CMA).

If the customer is not locked to a Service Officer

Service Officer who receives the complaint:

• locks the customer in line with CMA, and
• manages the customer complaint to finalisation

If the customer is locked to another Service Officer

Service Officer who receives the complaint:

• has ownership of the complaint
• manages the complaint to finalisation
• does not lock the customer

If the customer is locked to a Specialist area

Service Officer who receives the complaint explains to the customer:

• they are managed in another business area
• due to the particular specialisation, that area is best placed to manage their issues

Cold transfer the call using the following Services Australia Workspace options:

• CS_Complaint1NC
• CS_Complaint1MainStream
• CS_Complaint1OBJ
• CS_Complaint1ICS
• CS_Complaint1PS
• CS_Complaint1DCM
• CS_Complaint1CARE
• CS_Complaint1 IntMainStream
• CS_Complaint1 IntNC
• CS_Compaints1 EW

Use available resources including:

• System records
• Child Support Guide
• Operational Blueprint documents:
• Operational Messaging
• Cuba Help
• Peer support
• Specialist business areas
• Technical Support
• Network News Updates

When:

• support from a Team Leader or SSO is needed, go to Step 4
• determining if this is a complaint or an objection, go to Step 5
• the complaint is about:
• staff behaviour, go to Step 6
• the officer the customer is locked to or about the officer managing the call, go to Step 6
• all other issues, go to Step 7

A Level 1 complaint can be finalised with or without help from a Team Leader or Service Support Officer (SSO).

The role of a Team Leaders in managing Level 1 complaint is to:

• manage and finalise complaints about the behaviour of an individual staff member
• give advice and help to Service Officers to manage complaints. This may include taking over a call when a customer requests to speak to a manager or someone else
• listen to call recording of Child Support calls to:
• manage behaviour complaints, and
• assist Service Officers to manage complaints about previous advice given to the customer
• monitor Level 1 complaints, managed within their team to make sure they are finalised within 10 business days

Customer is on the phone and service officer needs help

If a Team Leader or site leadership backup is not available to take the call, see Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) – Child Support > Level 2 Complaints > Team leader or site back up is not available.

If a customer disagrees with a decision and requests a review of the decision, explain the decision.

If the customer still wants to proceed with a review of the decision, discuss if:

• an objection is a suitable option (objection options include an appeal via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal), or
• there are administrative options that will resolve the customer’s issue

If an objection is an appropriate option, advise them:

• of objection rights, and
• if the need to make the objection in writing

See Referrals to General, Care and Part 6A Objections in Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) - Child Support

When a customer is dissatisfied with the service provided around a decision, they can lodge a complaint. Ask questions to find out if they are concerned with the service provided during the decision-making process.

Service issues may include:

• the explanation
• behaviour of staff
• the process or the length of time taken to make a decision

When the customer is dissatisfied with a decision and believe the agency has made a mistake explain:

• complaints cannot change the decision, and
• they may need to consider objecting

A behavioural complaint is a complaint about the way in which an individual staff member interacted with a customer. It is not about a technical decision or process.

When a customer makes a behavioural complaint:

• ask the customer for specific details. For example, ‘What did the Service Officer say and how that led to the complaint?’
• create a Level 1 complaint. This automatically create a Level 1 complaint intray
• use the Complaints handling macro to document the complaint in Cuba. Include:
• sufficient information to enable the investigation of the behavioural complaint, and
• minimal information about the Service Officer. First name, user ID, team and site only
• consider a well-placed and appropriate apology for the customer’s experience
• explain:
• Services Australia take complaints about staff seriously. The agency intends to provide a high quality service in line with the agency’s service commitments to every customer
• the staff member’s manager will review and discuss the complaint with their staff member
• the agency does not provide customers with details of feedback provided to staff
• they will not get a call back or a response because behavioural complaints are managed internally
• thank the customer for taking the time to provide feedback
• focus on what can be done to resolve other aspects of their complaint. For example, a decision, delay or process also included in the complaint

At the end of the call, the Service Officer confirms the above.

Is the customer satisfied?

• Yes, the Service Officer who took the complaint:
• routes the Level 1 complaint intray to the Team Leader who manages the staff member the complaint is about, and
• emails the Team Leader to notify of the complaint
  Note: check Team Leader availability via Microsoft Teams
• documents Team Leader and team details on the intray
  The procedure ends here for the Service Officer who took the behavioural complaint
• No and wants a call back from the Team Leader:
• Document these details for the Team Leader to action
• Tell the customer they will receive a call back from the owning Team Leader within 10 business days

Owning Team Leader will:

• review the complaint/call recording
• pass on feedback where appropriate
• give an outcome to the customer if requested
• finalise the Level 1 complaint in Cuba

Customer has raised multiple complaint issues including behaviour:

Service Officer will:

• route the Level 1 complaint intray to the Team Leader who manages the staff member the complaint is about
• create a Complaint follow up intray, so the relevant Service Officer can follow up the other complaint issues
• investigate every other issue and record the outcome in the complaint notepad. This may include contacting the customer to give an outcome

The Level 1 complaint intray is in the Cuba position of the Team Leader managing the behaviour complaint. It is the Team Leaders responsibility to:

• record the remedy and outcome of the behaviour complaint
• follow up with the Service Officer about other complaint issues
• finalise the complaint in Cuba

Do not document any feedback that occurs from a complaint in the complaint record.

Transferring the behavioural complaint call directly to a Team Leader

If the customer wants to complain about the staff member taking the call or an officer in their team it may be appropriate to offer an apology for their experience as this could satisfy the customer and not require to the call to be escalated. If the call is escalated:

• record a Level 1 complaint
• refer the customer to the relevant Team Leader

If the Team Leader and/or site leadership backup is unavailable to take the call, see Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) – Child Support > Level 2 Complaints > Team leader or site back up is not available.

Tell the customer their call is being transferred to a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team.

The Level 2 Officer will:

• finalise the Level 1 complaint as ‘escalated’ and link it to the Level 2 complaint
• contact the Team Leader to notify them of the behaviour complaint

The Team Leader actions the behaviour complaint by:

• reviewing the customer issues
• listening to relevant call recordings (mandatory)
• providing any required feedback to their staff
• documenting in the Level 2 complaint:
• Date Reviewed - date the call recording was reviewed
• Person completing - team leader first name/team/site
• Feedback provided - yes/no
• Outcome Summary - either upheld or not upheld and any comments (being mindful of staff privacy

Once all issues have a remedy and outcome the Level 2 Complaints Officer will:

• Contact the customer to give an outcome
• Finalise the complaint

Complaints about Team Leaders

If a complaints is about a Team Leader:

• advise the customer their call is being transferred to a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team
• transfer the call to the Level 2 Child Support Escalated Complaints and Feedback Team through the rolodex function in Services Australia Workspace

Assess the complaint to determine the action to take. Select the appropriate link(s) from the list below:

• Escalation to Level 2 complaint, see Step 4 in Table 4
• Complaints needing liaison with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), escalate to Level 2 via escalation reason 5. See Step 4 in Table 4
• Sensitive complaints, including from customers experiencing vulnerability
• Customer aggression
• Immediate threat of media escalation
• Market and social research
• Privacy incidents
• Personalised services customers
• Complaints about staff behaviour
• Complaints from non-customers
• Transgender, intersex and non-binary complaints
• Complaints from children
• Complaints about legislation or policy

See Customer aggression - Prevention and management for strategies if a customer is displaying aggressive behaviour, and:

• there is difficulty in determining the issues, or
• how they are best managed

Sensitive complaints:

• are urgent or high profile issues where the agency's actions may have or could harm a customer experiencing vulnerability
• include issues which could adversely affect the reputation of the agency.

If a complaint is sensitive, as above, assess whether to escalate the complaint to Level 2 under reason 3 - the complaint is fundamentally sensitive

Child Support staff must identify customers who may benefit from management by Personalised Services. Discuss with a Team Leader to determine suitability for the referral.

When managing a Level 1 complaint a customer may indicate they intend to speak with the media. This in itself is not an escalation reason. Discuss the reasons the customer wants to go to the media. Try to resolve their dissatisfaction.

Has the customer contacted the media?

• Yes, escalate to a Level 2 complaint under reason 6 - Evidence of media involvement
• No, and confirms they will not be contacting the media.
  Keep the Level 1 complaint and notify relevant manager.
  The manager will assess the matter. If the Media Branch is notified the manager must include the following information:
• Customer name and CSRN
• What issue is the customer threatening to escalate to the media?
• Record who/where the customer is threatening to escalate
• Are there any recent case events or interactions with the agency relevant to the escalation?
• Any sensitivities?

A customer may indicate they intend to complain about contact about Market and Social Research undertaken by the agency.

• Escalate the complaint to Level 2 by:
• warm transferring the customer to the Complaints team via Services Australia Workspace
• Reason 3 Complaints Escalation Reasons
• Record a Level 1 complaint in Cuba using the following:
• Category: Service Channel
• Issue: Survey

A privacy incident does not meet an escalation to Level 2.

If any part of the complaint is about an alleged privacy incident:

• see the Privacy intranet page, and
• immediately refer the matter to the Privacy Team

Service Officer receives a complaint from a PS customer

All customers managed in PS:

• have a case manager called Personalised Services Service Officer (PSSO),
• and need intensive customer management, so it is extremely important to transfer the customer to PS

Advise the customer they can lodge a complaint with PS:

• Cold transfer the customer to PS, using the Services Australia Workspace
• Select - Complaint1PS

If the customer is agitated or distressed transfer the call as a warm transfer.

If the call is from a customer who has the Restricted Services indicator in Cuba - 'Restricted Service - Trf ALL calls to x404020’:

• do not engage the customer
• transfer the call immediately to this extension, and
• email the PSSO to notify of the customer’s contact

Do not conduct identity checks or give the customer an explanation before transferring them.

For questions or support in managing this transfer speak to Team Leader.

PSSO receives a complaint from a PS customer

A PSSO who receives a Level 1 complaint will take ownership of the complaint and manage to finalisation.

If the complaint is about an issue which arose before being managed in PS:

• the PSSO will liaise with other business areas as appropriate, and
• respond to the customer as per the PS approach of single point of contact

Escalate Child Support complaints from individuals who are not customers as Level 2 complaints to Escalated Complaints. Tell the customer their call is being transferred to a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team.

A non-customer is a person:

• with no child support case
• who may have been misidentified as a Child Support customer, and
• who has been affected by the actions of Child Support, such as mistakenly receiving Child Support correspondence

A non-customer is not:

• a new customer calling to register a new case
• a person calling to advise of the death of a child support customer
• a customer representative
• an employer of a Child Support customer

If a caller advises they do not have a child support case, search Cuba to confirm this. This is because the caller:

• may be unaware they have a child support case
• may mistakenly consider themselves to be a non-customer when they in fact are. For example their case is private collect, or the case has ended

When assisting transgender, intersex and non-binary customers, be conscious of the agency's Service Commitments.

In part, it states 'We will listen and work with you to understand your individual and cultural needs'. For example, while a customer may be regarded under the Social Security Act as the gender they were at birth, staff need to address the customer by their preferred name or title.

If the complaint meets an escalation reason refer to Level 2 by warm transferring the customer.

The Parent Support Team (PST) manage cases involving parents and carers under the age of 18. PST are responsible for managing all other aspects, from case registration until the parent or carer turns 18.

Complaints from persons under the age of 18 are considered sensitive in nature, and must be managed accordingly.

If a child is in immediate danger or risk of harm, immediately seek Team Leader support. A delegate must call 000

• All other staff must contact a member of the leadership team immediately

Escalation to Level 2

If PST are managing a Level 1 complaint from a child, and it meets an escalation reason they can transfer the complaint to Level 2 as follows:

• tell the customer they will receive a call within 24 hours from a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team
• record a Level 1 complaint
• document details of the complaint issue, escalation reason and the complaint is from a child
• route the Step 1 complaint intray immediately to:
• Office: Client and Community Branch
• Steam/Team: CR SC02 COM MEL TM1
• Position: A - Ref to Level 2

Urgent or high profile escalation

Urgent, high profile issues or incidents are referred to the Escalation Coordination team. The escalation process is mandatory. See Risk identification and management of threats to the safety or welfare of a child.

If the complaint is about child support legislation or policy, tell the customer they can contact the Department of Social Services to give feedback.

Only discuss current legislation policy with the customer.

Note: Services Australia cannot comment on pending or potential matters such as legislative changes or Parliamentary Inquiry recommendations.

Determine if the customer complaint requires immediate action or escalation such as:

• a security incident where the customer is talking about harm to themselves or others and after clarifying the statement, they advise they:
• are still thinking about, or
• will suicide or harm themselves or other
• the customer has contacted the media or a media organisation has made the complaint
• an issue that will have a major impact on one or more customers. For example a significant privacy incident which needs resolving urgently
• the outcomes of the complaint may influence another pending decision. For example Change of Assessment (COA) or Objection
• a data integrity issue which is/will have a significant impact on customers

Advise the Team Leader of the priority action being taken.

After identifying and prioritising the complaint issue(s):

• make a commitment to investigate the issues
• tell the customer their complaint is being investigated as a Level 1 complaint
• keep the customer updated on the progress of their complaint. Make contact at least every 5 business days
• give the customer an expected timeframe for resolution

Record and document the Level 1 complaint, see:

• Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba and,
• Complaints handling Cuba process help

A Step 1 Complaint intray will automatically generate.

An employer or third party may complain about their interaction with Child Support or its officers.

Record complaints made by an employer on the organisation’s Cuba record. If the employer is an authorised representative acting on behalf of the parent, manage as a normal level 1 complaint. See Step 2.

• Record Step 1 complaints from organisations in the Communications window
• Select STEP 1 COMPLNT as the Reason

Complaints from employers or third parties may also meet the criteria of the Complaints escalation reasons.

Note: Employer Services do not undertake regular and/or direct contact with payers or payees. They are exempt under the Customer Management Approach.

If an employer or third party is complaining as a representative, or as a parent on their own case refer the call to the owning business line. See Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) - Child Support.

If a customer gives a compliment about a Service Officer, the service provided by Child Support or a product: see Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba.

• Document the compliment in the Communications window:
• Type: Select appropriate phone or written option
• Reason: Provide Information
• With: Select appropriate option
• Category: Communication – compliment CSO
• Record the compliment in the Staff Feedback Tool. Include the name of the staff member’s manager and your SSM in the manager field

Wherever possible investigate the issues raised while the customer is on the phone. Consider all the issues and any other relevant concerns identified. This includes issues not identified by the customer but could impact on or contribute to the level of their dissatisfaction. Use available resources to assist in the investigation including:

• System records
• Child Support Guide
• Operational Blueprint documents
• Operational Messaging
• Cuba Helps
• Technical Support
• Specialist Business area
• Network News Update

If a resolution is achieved during the call, finalise the complaint in real time. See Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba.

Explain to the customer their complaint has been finalised.

If the matter cannot be finalised during the initial contact:

• confirm the customer’s issues, and
• explain the agency has10 business days to investigate the issues

If the customer says they do not want a call back, ask if they want a written response after resolving the complaint. Document the action required to give an outcome.

The Services Officer who received the complaint is responsible for all actions to finalise the complaint where it cannot be resolved in real time. Use the Complaints handling macro to record an investigation plan in Cuba. See Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba.

Contact the customer at least every 5 days to give a progress update, unless it is documented the customer does not want an update. To make sure the customer is contacted as agreed, use a client call back intray.

While managing the complaint, explain to the customers:

• the expected time frame to finalise their matter, and
• subsequent escalation options should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome

Examples

If the Service Officer is waiting on:

• technical advice, tell the customer the anticipated time frame for this
• a CIF to be actioned to finalise a complaint:
• tell the customer their matter has been escalated to the appropriate area to investigate, however it may take some time
• close the complaint
• consider creating a client call back intray to monitor the progress of the CIF and keep the customer informed or ask the customer to call back for updates

Documentation

Use the complaint notepad to document everything complaint related, including:

• the investigation findings
• call reviews, and
• contact with the customer

Summarise the complaint and inform the customer of the outcome. Discuss:

• the investigation
• how the conclusions were reached, and
• any available administrative options

If the customer's complaint was about customer service delivery, tell the customer the feedback will be provided for the purposes of Business improvement.

Where an error is identified or the service commitments not met, consider offering an apology.

If the customer remains dissatisfied go to Step 4.

If 3 phone contact attempts are unsuccessful, or the customer has requested a written response:

• send a unique letter, to explain the outcome of the investigation and invite them to call if they need more information. An SO6 need to approve the letter
• see Letters for Child Support customers

Refer the customer to any support services that may be appropriate. See Social worker and other service referrals for child support customers.

• Complete the Complaints Handling macro > Finalisation summary:
• Reference the legislation and/or documentation used to make the decision
• Create a note in the Complaints window with the subject 'Finalisation summary'
• Copy the completed macro into the notepad

See Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba

Record the outcome of each issue in Cuba as:

• upheld
• not upheld
• withdrawn, or
• escalated

See Recording Child Support complaints and compliments in Cuba - Recording complaint outcomes.

Use the overall status ‘partially upheld’ when the complaint includes Categories and Issues finalised with the combinations of:

• upheld
• not upheld, and
• withdrawn

A customer may elect to withdraw a complaint at any time during the process. Withdrawal means the customer asked the Service Officer not to proceed with the complaint investigation.

The Source of Issue is the team where the complaint originated from. That is the team of the person the complaint is about, not:

• where the customer is currently allocated, or
• the team that received the complaint

If the customer is not satisfied with the complaint investigation and information provided, warm transfer them to the Escalated Complaints Team via Services Australia Workspace.

During the warm transfer give the Complaints officer:

• a summary of the customers complaint(s)
• the Level 1 outcome provided
• the outcome the customer is hoping to achieve, and
• any other concerns that may impact on resolution

Record the discussion with the customer in the Level 1 complaint notepad.

Do not finalise the Level 1 complaint.

Call unable to be warm transferred

If there are call wait times when transferring the customer:

• consider offering a call back, and
• refer the Level 1 intray for Level 2 complaint management

If unable to warm transfer the customer:

• advise the customer they will receive a call back in 2 business days from a Service Officer in the Escalated Complaints Team
• document details of complaint issue and why the customer was not warm transferred
• route the Level 1 complaint intray immediately to:
• Region: National Office
• Office: Client and Community Branch
• Stream/Team: CR SC02 COM MELB TM1
• Position: A - Ref to Level 2

Note: complaints are best resolved via the phone. Only make an intray referrals if the customer cannot talk to the Escalated Complaints Team at that time.

Unlock the customer after advising them of the outcome either verbally or in writing.

Do not finalise the complaint without providing an outcome.

Before unlocking the customer, complete Minimum collection activity.

Feedback must be provided for all upheld and partially upheld complaints within 14 days of finalising the complaint.

Complete the Staff Feedback Tool to give feedback to the relevant Team Leader about their Service Officer’s management of the customer/case.

Child Support is committed to making sure customers receive the best service possible. Complaints can help business areas within Child Support to improve the services provided. The complaint may point to a systemic or administrative problem within a business area.

Systemic issues:

• are those that affect customer service delivery for multiple Child Support customers
• relate to:
• internal or external policies procedures or legislation that affects Child Support service outcomes, or
• work practices or tools that do not support positive service outcomes

Potential systemic issue

• Discuss any potential systemic issue identified from the complaint with the Team Leader
• Send an email to Multicultural and Tailored Services Branch Systemic Issues with the subject line 'Systemic Issue Notification' to advise of the system issue
• Give a summary of the identified issue and customer details in the email
• Email business improvement ideas to Child Support Smart Centres Innovate team
• Consider using the feedback button in the Operational Blueprint page if feedback relates to a particular process