Our principles for dealing with complaints about AHPRA

Our principles for dealing with complaints about AHPRA

Accessibility

Information about our complaints policy and how to make a complaint is available publically and is easy to find.
People are provided with a range of contact options to make a complaint.
People are assisted to make a complaint when assistance is needed.
We recognise that some people have particular needs or vulnerabilities and provide a complaint service that accommodates the requirements of all people.
We communicate with people in a way that suits the person.
We encourage people to give us their feedback about our decisions, policies, procedures and service.

We understand and acknowledge that the issue raised is important to the person making a complaint.
We talk to the person raising the concern
We demonstrate that we have understood the concerns raised.
We ask how people would like their concern to be resolved.
In our response we acknowledge and consider a person’s feelings as valid and important.

We have systems in place that identify how complaints are assessed, allocated and escalated when appropriate.
We adhere to all required complaints management time frames and when this isn’t possible we contact to people to let them know a revised time frame and provide an explanation for the delay.
Our staff are empowered to resolve complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We acknowledge that methods for dealing with complaints will differ depending on the circumstances and allow flexibility to resolve a complaint in a way that is appropriate in the circumstances.

We talk to people about what is and isn’t possible during the complaints management process and explain why.
In our acknowledgement we tell people what to expect and when, while Ahpra investigates their complaint.
We provide a full explanation to people of the reasons for our decision regarding their complaint.
During the complaints process we review what information we have previously provided to determine if there is any further information we could provide to a person to better help them understand our decision, processes or policies.
We are open about our processes and our management of a matter and seek to demonstrate how we act in the public interest when we respond to a complaint.
We have an open, constructive and responsive relationship with the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner.

Concerns raised to us are dealt with in a spirit of resolution rather than defensiveness.
We offer an explanation and an apology when a mistake is made.
We offer to people that their complaint can be dealt with by an independent officer.
Our staff are impartial in their management of all concerns raised about Ahpra and National Boards.
People are advised of their options to escalate their complaint if they remain concerned and assistance to do so if this is needed.
Our staff are offered an opportunity to respond to any allegation made about them personally and consistent with our policies and procedures.

We have well established procedures to identify and report issues about our service delivery, policies and procedures during the management of a complaint.
We regularly review data captured from the complaints process to identify thematic issues.
We ensure that any identified problems with our systems or service delivery are followed up and required changes are implemented.
We encourage learning from complaints to improve our services.

Our complaint management framework is appropriately resourced and staff are given training and support to effectively manage complaints.
We identify, measure and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to ensure that we are providing a quality service.
We report publically on our complaints handling performance in our annual report and other documents as appropriate.
We undertake a quality review of our Complaints Management Framework at least every 12 months so that we can evaluate our performance.
Our Complaints Management Framework is reviewed every two (2) years to ensure that it is still fit for purpose.