Frequently asked questions
If the Commission has contacted you to inform you that a complaint has been received and to ask you to respond to it, you might find it helpful to speak to:
- The Consumer Feedback Coordinator or your manager if you are employed by Department of Health
- Your Practice Manager
- your professional indemnity insurer
- a lawyer or legal representative
- your professional association
- another support person
Many people find dealing with a complaint about them stressful. If this is the case for you, and you need support, a list of support services is provided here.
We will provide you with a copy of the complaint if it is to be managed by the Commission or referred back so that you can provide a direct response to the complainant. If you are a registered provider and the complaint has been referred to the Board, we will write to you with an outline of the complaint, and it will be up to Ahpra to provide you with a copy of the complaint.
In most cases a response in writing will be required, either directly to the complainant or to the Commission. If you are a registered provider you may choose either to provide an individual response or contribute to a response provided by your employer. Generally, if you are an unregistered provider who is employed by an organisation, you will be asked to contribute to a response from your employer rather than provide an individual response.
In the first instance, Commission staff may contact your Practice Manager or the Consumer Feedback Coordinator if you are employed by Department of Health. If you are a registered provider we will write to you, and may also contact you by phone. Any provider is always welcome to contact Commission staff to discuss a complaint.
If a complaint is being managed by the Commission formally and you are a registered practitioner, we will write to you setting out the issues in the complaint. You will be asked to respond to each issue. You may also be asked a series of questions. This is done to make sure that your response contains all the information needed. Read the issues and questions carefully, and make sure your response addresses them. You may choose to either provide an individual response or approve a response which is provided by your employer.
Yes. The person lodging a complaint with the Commission is asked to sign a release of information, and you will receive a copy of this release. The Commissioner also has the power under its legislation to require that you produce information, including medical records, if a matter is in investigation. If you have concerns, contact us.
Yes, unless you specifically ask that your response is not provided to the person who made the complaint and the Commissioner agrees that it is reasonable to withhold this information.
When you prepare your response, keep in mind that it is likely to be provided to the complainant. In the Commission’s experience, resolution is more likely if your response acknowledges the complainant’s concerns and provides a clear explanation for the issues that have been raised.
What are the possible outcomes when the Commission assesses a complaint?
- Refer the complaint to conciliation. Involvement is voluntary, and a complaint will be referred to conciliation only if both parties agree.
- Refer the complaint to investigation. Complaints are most commonly referred to investigation if the issues raised in the complaint are systemic and raise significant concerns as to public health, safety, or public interest; or raise serious concerns about practice or procedure.
- If the provider is a health practitioner registered with a National Board, the Commissioner is required to notify the National Board as soon as practicable after the complaint is received and consult with the National Board regarding its management. This may result in referral of the complaint to the National Board.
- Take no further action.
Our legislation requires us to assess a complaint within 60 calendar days. Sometimes we take longer. There are many reasons for this, including that some complaints are very complex and may involve multiple service providers and multiple incidents. There may be delays contacting parties or service providers may need extra time to prepare their response. Our staff will keep you updated and let you know if there are likely to be delays. If you have concerns about the time the assessment is taking, please contact us.
Yes. Section 68(1) of the Health and Community Services Complaints Act 1998 states that the National Board must be notified of any complaint involving a registered health practitioner. Section 68(2) requires the Commissioner to consult with the National Board on how the complaint is to be managed.
A decision at consultation that the complaint will be managed by the Commission is in effect a decision by the National Board to take no further action. If, however, any concerns are raised while we are assessing the complaint, it is possible to consult again and refer the matter to the Board.
Your registration is not automatically affected when a complaint is made about you or it is referred to Ahpra. If you have concerns about a complaint being managed by the Commission, contact us to discuss. If a complaint or notification about you is being managed by Ahpra, you can contact Ahpra.
The National Law requires registered practitioners to notify the National Board of certain concerns about another registered practitioner. Mandatory notification guidelines are available on the Ahpra website here.
If you are a health practitioner registered with a National Board, it is likely that the investigation of any complaint about you would be carried out by Ahpra rather than the Commission.
If the complaint is about an organisation, or a practitioner who is not a registered health practitioner, the Commissioner may decide to investigate the complaint if significant questions of public interest are raised when it is being assessed. The Commissioner will advise you of any such decision in writing.
The Commissioner may ask you to provide information about the issues that are being investigated. You may be required to attend to provide evidence in person, and the Commissioner can also require you to produce documents such as case notes, records of interactions with the complainant and/or any relevant policy documents.
A draft report of the investigation will be provided to you. If any adverse comment is contained in the report, you will have an opportunity to respond to it and your response will be noted in the final report. After an investigation is complete and depending on its outcome, the Commissioner may make recommendations as to actions you or your organisation can take to improve your service. Commission staff will work with you to ensure these recommendations are reasonable, and that you are able to implement them.
The HCSCC welcomes feedback from all parties involved in the complaints process to ensure we provide a quality service. If you are unhappy with the Commission’s handling of the complaint, please contact us to let us know and to discuss further. You also have the right to request that the Health and Community Services Review Committee review the conduct of the complaint (it does not have the power to change a decision by the Commissioner).
You can request this review by writing to the committee care-of the HCSCC or directly by email at HCSCCreviewcommittee@nt.gov.au.