Frequently asked questions
A staff member from the Commission will contact you either by phone or email to advise that your complaint has been received. At this time, our staff will talk to you about what to expect from our complaint process and you will have the opportunity to ask questions. If you haven’t heard from us within five working days of lodging your complaint, please call us to make sure we have received your complaint.
Yes. You can withdraw your complaint by notifying the Commissioner by phone, in person or in writing. Once a complaint has been withdrawn, the Commissioner cannot investigate the matter further.
You can check whether there are any restrictions on your practitioner’s practice by searching the national register that is maintained by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).
It depends on the situation. You must inform the Commission of your name and contact details when you lodge a complaint, however you can ask that your name and/or contact details not be provided to the person or organisation about which you are complaining. You will be asked to give reasons. This will assist the Commissioner to decide whether to proceed with your complaint.
The Commissioner’s decision on whether to proceed to assess your complaint will depend on a number of factors, including your reasons and whether it will be possible to assess your complaint fairly. The Commissioner needs to hear both sides of a dispute; from the person making the complaint and from the person or organisation about which the complaint is made (the service provider). If the service provider does not know who the complaint is from, they may be unable to provide an adequate response to the Commission. If it is not possible to assess a complaint, the Commissioner is likely to decide not to continue with it. If you have any concerns, please contact us to discuss further.
Generally speaking, you have two years to lodge a complaint from the time you become aware of the circumstances you are complaining about. For example, you may have seen a doctor three years ago with concerns about certain symptoms you were experiencing. Eighteen months ago, you became aware that the diagnosis or treatment you received three years ago was incorrect. The two year period in which you can complain begins at the time you became aware of this error.
Your personal situation might also have prevented you from lodging your complaint within the two year time frame. The Commissioner is able to exercise discretion in whether to accept a complaint, and will make his decision based on factors such as the reasons you provide for any delay, along with his ability to assess your complaint fairly.
Complaints can provide valuable feedback for service providers and sometimes lead to quality improvements for other service users. Outcomes from complaints might include:
- Explanation
- Apology
- Change in policy or procedure
- Access to counselling or other support
- Access to a service
- Training or education for the service provider
- Fee waiver or reimbursement
- Compensation
The Commission 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 your complaint, please discuss your concerns with us in the first instance.
You can also request that the Health and Community Services Complaints Review Committee review the way the Commission managed your complaint. The Review Committee will look at whether the procedures and processes for responding to the complaint were properly followed, and can make recommendations to the Commissioner to improve complaint handling processes. You may write to the Health and Community Services Review Committee care of the Commission or email the Committee at HCSCC.reviewcommittee@nt.gov.au.
The Commission accepts complaints about mental health care and treatment in the public and private sectors.
If you are receiving involuntary treatment from NT Mental Health Services and need advice and advocacy, you can contact the Community Visitor Program (CVP). You can also ask your nurse or caseworker to contact the CVP on your behalf.
Medical Records
Your records are the property of the health provider. Your right to access those records differs depending on whether your health provider is a public or private service provider.
The first step is to contact the service where you received treatment and ask for access to your records.
If the provider is NT Health, you may either contact the relevant area or unit directly, or make an application under Freedom of Information. This process is explained here. If you have not received a response within 30 days of submitting your request, or if your request has been refused, you may contact the Office of the Information Commissioner in the NT.
Private providers such as GPs and private hospitals are not subject to NT Government Freedom of Information legislation. If you are asking for your records because you are moving interstate, or changing GPs, your GP is obliged to provide a summary of your health information to your new provider. If your GP refuses to do so, you can contact us to work with you and your GP to resolve this issue. You can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for phone advice as to whether you can submit a complaint to them.
You can contact us if this happens to you, and we may be able to resolve your complaint. If your practitioner is no longer practising, or if attempts to resolve your complaint through our processes are unsuccessful, contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for advice as to what your next steps might be.
If your practitioner has died, you can contact their estate to request access to your medical records. The executor of the estate may be able to provide you with information on how to obtain your records. If you cannot find out who the executor of the estate is, the NT Public Trustee may be able to help you.