POLICY
The Hepatitis C Council of SA ( HCCSA ) aims to foster an environment conducive to the resolution of any complaints about the operations of the Council, brought to us by consumers, in a fair and equitable manner.
As stated in HCCSA’s Consumers Rights Policy, consumers are entitled to provide feedback or make complaints about HCCSA services and to have any concerns dealt with properly and promptly, without fear of reprisal or diminished service.
Consumers include services users, members and other stakeholders.
PROCEDURES
General Guidelines for HCCSA Complaints Procedures
HCCSA will:
• Protect the confidentiality and privacy of all parties to a complaint
• Keep clear and accurate records
• Keep all parties to a complaint informed of progress
All parties to a complaint may invite a support person to any meetings held to resolve the complaint. Any party’s intention to invite a support person to any meeting should be made known to all parties prior to the meeting. This can be done by contacting the meeting convenor, usually the HCCSA Executive Officer.
Informal process
Consumers are first encouraged to talk with the HCCSA Executive Officer in order to resolve a complaint informally.
Formal process
If an informal process has not resolved the complaint, a formal complaint can be made in writing to the Chairperson at HCCSA’s business address. Consumers should detail the circumstances of the complaint and what outcome they seek.
Unless the complaint directly concerns HCCSA’s Executive Officer, the Chairperson will refer the complaint to the Executive Officer for action.
Where a complaint directly involves the HCCSA’s Executive Officer, the complaint will be referred to the Executive of the HCCSA Board for action, who will follow a similar process to that outlined below.
The Executive Officer will acknowledge receipt of the complaint to the person making the complaint, setting out the course of action to be followed.
• This course of action will include liaison with all relevant parties named in the complaint.
• Where practicable, this will occur within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint, in order to facilitate a speedy resolution of the matter.
If the complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of all parties at this time, a meeting of all parties to the complaint, the Executive Officer and at least one member of the Executive of the HCCSA Board will be held, as soon as can be arranged and generally within two weeks.
If the complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of all parties at this time, the complaint will be referred to the Executive of the HCCSA Board for a final decision of the Council.
If the final decision of the HCCSA Executive of the Board is not satisfactory to the person making the complaint, he / she is entitled to make a complaint to:
Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
PO Box 199
Rundle Mall
Adelaide SA 5000
Ph: 08 8226 8652
www.hcscc.sa.gov.au