Items of interest for the Complaints, Accountability, Integrity Network
Indigenous audio-visual resources
A Little Yarn Goes a Long Way
This website provides a good example of the range of Indigenous resources that can be developed in English and in Indigenous languages. It includes animated videos, brochures, fact sheets and flip charts. Many of them are also available in audio through ReadSpeaker.
https://www.agedcarecomplaints.gov.au/resources/information-for-indigenous-australians/
Australian Aged Care Complaints Commissioner
Resources webpage
This webpage has a range of audio-visual resources with a focus on Indigenous materials.
http://www.adc.nt.gov.au/resources/resources.html
Anti-Discrimination Commission, NT
Financial hardship
Assisting and responding to customers in financial hardship: Principles and practices – Guide for telecommunications providers, 2nd Edition
This guide recognises the importance of access to essential telecommunication services for all Australians. It is designed to further promote an appropriate supplier response when an existing customer is experiencing financial hardship. It recognises that managing situations where a customer is in financial hardship effectively and appropriately is not only potentially good for the supplier's business, it is the right thing to do. It provides a good starting point for consideration of financial hardship issues for any supplier of essential services.
http://www.tio.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/169776/TIO_FinancialHardship-Guidelines-2nd-edition-28-April-2017.pdf
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Australia, April 2017
Complaint handling
Effective complaint handling guidelines, 3rd Edition
The NSW Ombudsman's Effective Complaint Handling Guidelines have been updated to include the latest developments in best practice complaint handling such as the new Aust/NZ Standard, the NSW Ombudsman Complaint Management Framework as well as publications from other jurisdictions such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The guidelines are organised around:
- Handling individual complaints
- Handling particular types of complaints (e.g. anonymous complaints, criminal conduct, ... )
- Dealing with people
http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/42228/Effective-complaint-handling-guidelines-Third-edition.pdf
Ombudsman NSW, February 2017
Whistleblowing
Strength of Organisational Whistleblowing Processes: Analysis from Australia. Further results of the Whistling While They Work 2 Project
"This report presents the first stage of a new measure of the strength of organisational processes for responding to staff wrongdoing concerns, based on responses to the Survey of Organisational Processes and Procedures conducted in 2016 by Whistling While They Work 2: Improving managerial responses to whistleblowing in public and private sector organisations. The results show that even when trying hard to encourage their staff to report integrity challenges, there is much that organisations can do, in all sectors and jurisdictions, to ensure whistleblowing processes are robust. In particular, under the current state of guidance and incentives, most sectors are finding it difficult to realise their own goals of having processes which provide strong staff support and protection. The results highlight that efforts towards strong processes for ensuring support and protection can and should be enhanced, across all sectors and in individual sectors."
http://www.whistlingwhiletheywork.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/WWTW2-Strength-of-whistleblowing-processes-report-Australia-Griffith-University-2May2017.pdf
A J Brown and S A Lawrence, Griffith University, Brisbane, May 2017
Financial management
Public Trustee – Unreasonable management of funds
The complainant alleged that the Public Trustee (the agency) failed to appropriately handle his financial affairs. From 30 June 2012 to 27 May 2016, the complainant accumulated a debt of $35,226.88 to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) as a result of the agency ceasing payments to the ATO, which was done by submitting a Code 21 as reason for non-payment of Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments. The Ombudsman found that the agency's decision to cease PAYG instalments was unreasonable, and that the decision to submit a Code 21 and the failure to lodge an Application for Release to the ATO, was wrong within the meaning of the Ombudsman Act 1972. To address these errors, the Ombudsman recommended that the agency develop and implement a guideline for ceasing payments to the ATO.
http://www.ombudsman.sa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Public-Trustee-Unreasonable-management-of-funds.pdf
Ombudsman South Australia, May 2017
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