NSW public sector complaint handling in 2025 - self-assessment and survey results report
NSW public sector complaint handling in 2025 report
PDF - 3MB
NSW public sector complaint handling in 2025 report
PDF - 3MB
A NSW Ombudsman review of NSW public authorities has assessed the maturity and effectiveness of their complaint handling systems.
The review used a self-assessment survey and complaint handling staff survey to measure how closely organisations align with the 6 principles of effective complaint management. It identified three specific principles − information and accessibility, taking ownership, and transparency − as the primary areas where agencies can improve.
This report details the first review conducted under section 25A of the Ombudsman Act 1974, which provides for the Ombudsman to review the complaint handling systems of public authorities. The review is a high-level snapshot of the shape and maturity of complaint handling systems in NSW government agencies. This has been done through a self-assessment questionnaire, sent to NSW government principal departments, local councils, and universities in our jurisdiction (see Section 5.2). At the same time, we asked organisations to distribute a corresponding survey for completion by complaint handling staff.
We have used the Standards Australia Guidelines for Complaint Management in Organizations, and our Effective Complaint Management Guidelines as a benchmark for this review.
The report explores the results of our self-assessment review through the lens of the 6 principles for effective complaint management, a set of values we developed in collaboration with NSW government organisations.[1]
All observations in this report are based on the responses provided to the NSW Ombudsman through the organisation self-assessment and the complaint handling staff survey. We have not conducted further testing or validation on the accuracy of responses provided.
201 organisations participated in the self-assessment in June and July 2025.[2]
Most organisations report having policies and procedures as part of their complaint management system. We have identified some areas for improvement aligned with 3 of the effective complaint management principles:
Information and accessibility: There appear to be fewer ways organisations provide information about their complaint systems than there were in 2018. This is despite an increase in the number of people in Australia speaking a language other than English at home, or identifying as living with a disability. Providing multiple complaint channels and providing people with the help they need to complain is an essential part of an effective complaint handling system.
Taking ownership: A relatively low number of organisations report providing complaint handling training to staff. A skilled and supported workforce is essential for an effective complaint management system and should be a priority for those organisations currently not providing training.
Transparency: Although 85% of organisations report that they collect data on complaints, only 61% of organisations analyse the data and report it to their executive. If data is being collected but not analysed and reported on, organisations are missing out on the opportunity for data-driven service improvement.
While the self-assessment was conducted, we also asked organisations to distribute a complaint handling staff survey to those staff with complaint handling responsibilities within the organisation. 1,246 staff participated in the staff survey.
We asked staff what is working well in their organisation, what their organisation does that is innovative, and whether there are any challenges to good complaint management. Their responses suggested that:
Given the scope and nature of this self-assessment, we are not making recommendations to individual agencies. Instead, we encourage organisations to review their systems with the results of the survey and self-assessment in mind.
We will be using the results of the self-assessment and survey to develop our forward program of targeted, risk-based complaint handling system reviews.
We will also be contacting certain organisations involved in the review to discuss their self-assessment responses in more detail.
In August 2022, section 25A was added to the Ombudsman Act 1974 (Ombudsman Act), giving us the power to review the complaint handling systems of public authorities.[3] This report details the first review conducted under this new legislative function.
The review is a high-level snapshot of complaint handling systems in the NSW public sector. This has been done through a self-assessment questionnaire, sent to NSW government principal departments, with a request they distribute it to portfolio agencies in our jurisdiction (see Section 5.2). We also sent it to university vice chancellors and local council general managers. At the same time, we asked agencies to distribute a corresponding survey for voluntary completion by any staff involved in the complaint handling process.
We will use the information collected to inform future complaint handling system reviews as well as contacting some agencies directly to discuss their responses to the self-assessment.
Since the 1990s, the Ombudsman’s Office has periodically reviewed the complaint handling systems of various NSW government organisations. We performed this:
in reviews about community service providers, under section 14 of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 (CS CRAMA)
in reviews of public authorities under the Ombudsman Act, with their voluntary participation.
On 19 August 2022, the Ombudsman Act was amended, providing a clear legislative foundation for our office to review the complaint handling systems of NSW government organisations, examine public authorities’ handling of complaints, and to report and make recommendations to the relevant minister and the authority.
Further detail on the history of this function is included at Section 5.3.
The NSW Ombudsman has spent 50 years supporting the public sector to manage complaints and to improve complaint management systems.
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to or about an organisation, related to its products, services, staff or the handling of a complaint, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required.[4]
The 6 principles for effective complaint management were developed by the Ombudsman in collaboration with NSW Government organisations to ensure that they were practical and responsive to a range of organisational environments, as well as what complainants want.[5] They are relevant for NSW Government departments, local councils and community service providers.
Figure 1: 6 principles for effective complaint management
Section 2 of this report explores the results of our self-assessment review through the lens of these 6 principles.
Some key facts of this review are:
In June and July 2025, the NSW Ombudsman asked public authorities to take part in a self-assessment of their complaint handling systems under s25A of the Ombudsman Act.
The self-assessment was built to measure an organisation’s alignment with the 6 principles of effective complaint management. For that reason, we have structured this section of the report to examine the results through each principle.
We end the section exploring comments organisations made in their self-assessment responses regarding systemic issues and good complaint handling.
201 organisations responded to the self-assessment questionnaire of 48 questions.[7] Figure 2 shows a breakdown of the organisations that responded by organisation type.
When we started the self-assessment audit, we contacted the 12 Departments listed in Schedule 1 of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. We asked each to provide us with a list of the organisations that form part of their portfolio and a contact point within each. This means that some of the organisations are not what would traditionally be considered an “agency”, but they provided a separate response to those of the Departments they work within. These organisations are included in the “NSW government departments and authorities” category below.
Figure 2: Organisations that completed the self-assessment according to organisation type
Of these 201 organisations, 19 organisations (9%) reported not having a complaint handling policy – a mix of government departments and authorities and local councils. All of the universities and local health districts that responded said they have a complaint handling policy.
Part B of the NSW Ombudsman’s Effective Complaint Management Guidelines provides a step-by-step process for handling complaints.[8] It steps through the process from recognising what is a complaint to finalising complaints and keeping detailed records. Figure 3 places some of the results of the self-assessment review alongside some of these key steps.
Figure 3: Steps in a complaint process
The first principle, respectful treatment, means showing people that their competence, feelings, opinions and rights have value and will be taken seriously. Respect is primarily shown through giving attention, appropriate tone of voice, choice of words and body language.
[Our] team talks about behaviour that has led to complaints - ie staff advised on how to interact with customers or to take care while driving training for staff involved in negative interactions with customers.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
Public officials should respect the pluralism and cultural diversity of our society and avoid any conduct that is unlawful or unfairly discriminatory. It is important for staff to appreciate differences, welcome learning from others and work to build relationships on mutual respect.[9]
75% of organisations that submitted a self-assessment report told us they have a statement in their complaint handling policy that staff must treat people making complaints with courtesy and respect. 54% reported their policy contains a statement that complainants will not be adversely affected because of a complaint they make (or is made on their behalf).
Figure 4: Complaint handling policies that contain explicit statements about courtesy and respect, and detrimental action
Local health districts appear the most mature in embedding this principle, with all those that completed the assessment advising that their policy contained a statement about courtesy and respect. 71% of local health districts told us their policy also includes a statement that complainants will not be adversely affected because of a complaint they make.
In the complaint handling staff survey, staff were asked how much they agree with the statement ‘I believe all staff treat complainants with respect and courtesy’. 74% that answered this question either agreed or strongly agreed.
Figure 5: Staff that report they treat all complainants with courtesy and respect
There are limitations to using a self-assessment to measure how the principle of respectful treatment has been embedded in a system. That said, it appears there is an opportunity for the sector to increase its adoption of this principle, by ensuring their policies contain statements about:
The effect of having clear statements around these concepts is that complainants accessing the policy have immediate clarity on the level of courtesy and respect they can expect. This can build and restore trust and prevent unnecessary escalation of complaints.[10] It also sends a clear message to complaint handling staff that respectful treatment is a primary responsibility for all staff under the policy.
The Ombudsman has a particular interest in ensuring people are not adversely affected for making a complaint. This can also be referred to as retribution or detrimental action. For example, in our 2024 Review of the DCJ Complaint System in respect of its Aboriginal Child Protection functions[11] we observed that the fear of, and experience of, retribution or detrimental action following a complaint is a significant issue that must be addressed.[12]
Complainants are protected from retribution under the Ombudsman Act 1974. It is an offence to take detrimental action against a person who has made (or is suspected to have made) a complaint or disclosure of information to the Ombudsman about serious maladministration: s31R(1)
Accessibility is the extent to which a service or program is available to as many people as possible, when they need it. An accessible organisation encourages people to voice their concerns about their services and programs, reassuring them they will not be disadvantaged or face detrimental action for lodging a complaint. They will also proactively assist people who need help to lodge a complaint.
In response to student feedback, we've taken steps to move closer towards a central portal for the submission for all student complaints. In addition to general student matters, complaints from Higher Degree Research students in relation to supervision, as well as students requesting a review of grade or academic decision, can be submitted via the one system and is accessible via the complaints management internet page.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
The Standards Australia guidelines[13] and our Effective Complaint Management Guidelines[14] discuss the importance of public information in good complaint handling systems. A system should provide clear, publicly available information about how to complain, as well as what types of support are available to assist a complainant.
The self-assessment highlighted that most organisations use their website to provide complaint information to members of the public. 91% of organisations told us they provide information about their complaints system to the public on their website and 43% provide information within a complaint form. Beyond this, there appears to be limited consistency in the ways organisations provide public information about their complaints systems.
Figure 6: How organisations provide information about complaints
As shown in Figure 6 above, 5% of organisations in 2025 reported they are providing publicly available information in other languages. This has decreased from 37% reported during the Complaint Handling Improvement Program (CHIP) self-assessment in 2017.
To be comprehensively inclusive, an organisation should provide multiple and flexible methods for people to make a complaint.
The self-assessment showed most organisations have multiple methods to complain, with email being the method most available – 98% of organisations report complainants being able to lodge a complaint by email.
Figure 7: How organisations advised they accept complaints
Being flexible in the channels available to make a complaint includes providing assistance for someone to lodge a complaint when they need it. Below shows the different assistance organisations told us they provide complainants.
* Some ‘other’ responses included referral to advocacy services to assist, assistance to complete online complaint forms, anonymous advice provided on the process, engaging an Aboriginal liaison officer.
Overall, the most commonly reported way of providing information to complainants is through a webpage or in either an electronic or a paper complaint form.
Alternative methods to provide information on a complaint system appear to have decreased over time – with fewer organisations reporting using the National Relay Service, hard copy fact sheets or providing information in community languages than in 2017.[15] This is despite an increase in the number of people in Australia speaking a language other than English at home,[16] or identifying as living with a disability.[17]
Emerging technologies such as search engine translate functions could be a reason for a decline in use of some more traditional accessibility services, however unequal access to digital technologies is a continuing challenge in Australia,[18] and increasing the number of complaint channels (including available assistance) is an important part an effective complaint handling system.[19]
The NSW Ombudsman funded a research project by the University of Newcastle, exploring the role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in enhancing the complaints process for consumers who speak English as a second language. See the Utilising Generative AI for ESL Complaints Report published on our website.[20]
In 2017, the then NSW Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, along with the then Customer Service Commission, commenced rollout of an embedded website application called Feedback Assist widget.[21] The intent was to have an easily accessible, consistent way for customers to give feedback to the NSW public sector. At one point, it was mandatory for government websites to have Feedback Assist widget embedded; at its height, it was accessible from almost 200 NSW government websites.[22]
Feedback Assist became optional for agencies to maintain on their websites from 2022. The widget and background supporting case management system was discontinued in the middle of 2025.
We encourage agencies to ensure there are alternate, accessible options for people to raise complaints, and there is no adverse impact to information and accessibility through the retirement of the widget.
Communicating well helps build a positive relationship between your organisation and people who may have concerns about your services or programs. Providing complainants with timely updates and clear explanations can increase their engagement and reduce any frustrations with the complaint process. Communicating unambiguously and respectfully about what can reasonably be achieved helps avoid complainant dissatisfaction arising from unmet expectations.
We have tightened processes where there may have been a weakness eg. when acknowledging the complaint we may need to call the person in addition to just sending a letter as the person does not have email. We have also added items to the Risk Register, improved letter templates to ensure latest and correct information, reminded staff to save all correspondence in the records management system.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
Organisations appear to have significantly improved in acknowledging complaints since we last conducted a large-scale review of the sector:
There are also indications that updates to complainants may have improved:
Although we cannot be certain that staff training and direction to update complainants is always translated into action, this result points towards positive improvement.
78% of agencies that completed the assessment told us they instruct staff to use strategies to manage complainant expectations about the complaint process. Figure 8 below illustrates these specific strategies.
Figure 8: How organisations instruct staff to manage expectations
14 local health districts reported they instruct staff to use strategies to manage expectations. Of these local health districts, 93% responded they encourage staff to provide complainants with information about possible outcomes, give realistic timeframes and inform complainants of any delays.
98% of organisations indicated they have the option to use email to notify complainants about the outcome of their complaint, followed by the telephone (65%) and post (64%). Communicating outcomes in person (38%) or through an online complaint platform (6%) are less common options.
When asked what information they include when providing an outcome to a complainant:
Communication has always been a consistent issue raised in complaints to the Ombudsman.[25] Good communication is not just one of the principles to effective complaint handling, but a cornerstone of good public administration.[26]
Our CHIP implementation review in 2018 identified that the areas of communication organisations most needed to develop included:
The 2025 self-assessment results show that across all cohorts, organisations advise they are instructing staff to manage complainants’ expectations by providing realistic indicative timeframes (80%) and informing complainants about delays (75%). While these results are positive, there is room for improvement.
Two further areas for improvement in communication include encouraging more staff to inform complainants of the possible outcomes of their complaint, and providing detailed reasons for decision at the end of the complaint process (see Figure 8: How organisations instruct staff to manage expectations). Setting realistic expectations at the start of a complaint process and explaining why a decision has been reached can help people to accept an outcome and prevent unnecessary escalation.
We are pleased to see the large increase in complaint acknowledgement reported since our CHIP review in 2018. We encourage all organisations to continue to demonstrate good practice in this area.
People want a dedicated, easily contactable person or team to take ownership of their complaint. If they are transferred, put on hold or required to repeat details of their complaint, they may become frustrated or angry, and the complaint may escalate. Taking end-to-end ownership of the complaint provides consistency that helps build trust with the complainant. It can also provide increased job satisfaction for frontline staff.
Council has an Internal Ombudsman team, which combines an investigatory function with the capacity to identify system improvement opportunities within Council’s governance framework … The team uses insights from these matters to provide a proactive education service regarding continuous improvement in administrative processes, good governance and ethical decision-making across all Council services.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
60% of organisations reported through their self-assessment that they have a dedicated complaint handling unit or dedicated complaint handling staff. This was:
Taking ownership means staff with complaint handling responsibilities should be appropriately trained. 58% of organisations said they provide complaint handling training to staff.
Figure 9: Organisations that reference the 6 principles in complaint handling training
We had questions relating to training in both our 2017 staff survey and our 2025 staff survey.
NSW agencies have a wide range of statutory functions, different types of contact with the public, a breadth of services provided, and differing operational requirements. Having a dedicated complaint unit may not be realistic or appropriate for all organisations. That said, it is best practice for those complaints not resolved at the initial contact to be assigned to one person and their contact details provided to the complainant. The assigned case officer should be responsible for communicating with the complainant to provide updates, answer questions and explain the outcome of the complaint.[29]
It is positive to see that the organisations providing training to staff believe they are providing comprehensive training that covers the 6 principles. However, the relatively low number of agencies reporting that they provide complaint handling training to staff indicates a clear area for improvement. A skilled and supported workforce is essential for an effective complaint management system and should be a priority for those organisations currently not providing training.
Taking ownership in its broadest definition means an organisation committing adequate resources – human, physical and financial – to their complaint handling system to ensure it is consistent and effective. We talk more about resourcing in Section 3.
A person is more likely to be satisfied with your complaint management process if their matter is managed and finalised quickly. They will be more likely to view your organisation positively, as being responsive and respectful of their time.
For the purposes of this review, we looked at the following 3 components of timeliness:
In order to comprehensively embed the principle of timeliness, organisations need to establish reasonable timeframes for a complaint process, track whether those timeframes are being met, and report the outcome of that tracking to executive.
Of all organisations that completed the self-assessment, only 59% reported having a key performance indicator (KPI) for complaint timeframes. Universities were the only organisation type that all reported having KPI timeframes for complaints.
The self-assessment asked organisations whether they collected data on the number of complaints finalised within a KPI. 42% of organisations indicated they collected data on the number of complaints they finalised within their KPI timeframe.
More than half of the organisations that responded having a KPI for finalising a complaint do not collect data to measure performance.
61% of organisations told us they report some form of complaint data to their executive, but only 34% of organisations report to their executive on complaints finalised within KPIs.
More observations on data collection and reporting are included in Section 2.6.
Figure 10: Organisations that have, record, and report on complaint timeliness KPIs
It is important that senior management and executives receive reports about complaint trends and systemic issues. This allows for visibility over how well the system is working, and can lead to discussions around improvements. It can also help to foster an organisational culture that values complaints as a source of feedback on the organisation’s performance.[30]
The self-assessment results show organisations could better enhance services to the public by:
Several key observations are that:
Best practice would have a much higher percentage of organisations both recording and reporting on this KPI, as timeliness is a fundamental principle to effective complaint management.
Transparency is about being open and accountable. A transparent complaint management system and processes will increase trust in your organisation. Recording and analysing data will enhance your organisation’s ability to manage complaints in a consistent, systematic and responsive manner. It will also assist to identify recurring issues and trends and what is needed to improve your operations and service delivery.
Council frequently analyses complaint data to find trends and opportunities for improvement, utilising complaints to actively identify and address systemic issues. Our services, systems, and complaint handling procedures are reviewed and improved with the help of this data, which is communicated to senior management. Feedback is welcomed from employees, and any changes brought about by complaints are put into place and closely watched to make sure they work. By incorporating these insights into our operations, we hope to continuously enhance Council operations and community service delivery.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
85% of organisations told us they collect data on complaints they receive. This is compared to 89% of organisations involved in the 2017 CHIP implementation review recording information about complaints they receive.[31] All local health districts and universities that submitted a self-assessment said they collect data on complaints.
When asked what they collect data on, the organisational responses varied, as seen in Figure 11 below.
Figure 11: Complaint handling data collected by organisations
When asked if organisations analyse this collected data and report it to executive, 61% said they do. This includes 100% of universities. Only 50% of local government authorities advised they report data to their executive.
11% of the organisations that report on data told us the complaint data is provided to their audit and risk committee.
Recording and analysing complaints data enhances an organisation’s ability to manage complaints in a consistent, systematic and responsive manner. It also assists in identifying both emerging as well as recurring issues and trends and what is needed to improve operations and service delivery.[32]
Although 85% of organisations reported they collect data on complaints, only 61% of organisations analyse the data and report it to their executive.
Although a dedicated data analytics resource to analyse complaint handling may not be feasible for all NSW government organisations, if data is being collected but not analysed and reported on, organisations are missing out on the opportunity for data-driven service improvement.
Only 11% of organisations advise they report complaint data to their audit and risk committees. Awareness of complaint numbers and trends at all stages in governance systems, including independent audit committees, will help to foster an organisational culture that values the insights and learning opportunities from complaints.
As part of the self-assessment, we asked organisations whether they act on systemic issues that come to light because of customer complaints. Organisations shared with us how they act on systemic issues to bring service improvements to the community.
We asked organisations if they take action to address systemic issues highlighted by complaints.
71% advised that they act on systemic issues when highlighted by complaints. 90% of universities reported they act on systemic issues, which was the highest result from the different organisation types. The self-assessment results indicate that local governments appear least likely to act on systemic issues highlighted by complaints (63%).
We also asked organisations to tell us about some of the ways their organisation has acted on systemic issues highlighted by complaints. We analysed the free text responses to understand which principles for effective complaint management were being applied. This section discusses the prominent themes.
58 organisation responses about how they act on systemic issues related to the principle of taking ownership. Responses discussing improvements relating to ownership included:
Training, review of internal policy and processes, team discussions.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
Introduction of new corporate request management system with enhanced ability to track, manage, respond to and report on customer requests, including complaints, due for launch Q1 2024/25. In addition to the above: An updated Feedback and Complaints Management Policy and supporting Procedure have been developed in alignment with NSW Ombudsman recommendations.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
We are circulating a weekly report around complaints (since early 2025) which includes a breakdown by sub-category of all complaints. This provides better insight into the key reasons why customers complain so that we can respond effectively. Overdue Responses are the consistent main reason why customers complain. This awareness has resulted in improved action by leaders and their teams to close off tasks within target date and report on complaint handling.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
It is encouraging that some organisations indicated they are responding to systemic issues with training and discussions about complaints.
47 organisations made comments that related to the principle of communication when asked about responding to systemic issues. Local health districts seem particularly focussed on improving communication, with 43% of them mentioning communication when discussing how they act on systemic issues.
Process improvement has been implemented as a result of customer notification. Policy review and improvement based on consultation and customer notification. Increased resource allocation and focus on customer interactions (including timeliness, expectation management and updating).
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
We theme complaints and escalate concerns ie. outpatient waiting list text messages, wait list management, discharge planning and other frequent service issues getting more than one complainant feedback we investigate.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
Council will take action on systemic issues such as improvements on reporting, issues raised and actions within available resources and the overall benefit to the community. We have improved reporting/response times, improved communications to the community through social media.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
Since introducing a complaint outcome template for complaint managers—a structured scaffold designed to ensure detailed and transparent communication—we have observed a gradual decrease in requests for internal reviews. This trend indicates that complainants are increasingly satisfied with how their concerns are being handled and the clarity of the responses they receive.
–– response from organisation self-assessment 2025
These quotes from organisation responses suggest effective service improvements can flow from identifying systemic issues through complaints data. They also show that improvements do not have to be resource intensive – innovative templates for staff to use, increased use of social media to inform the community are several examples of enhancements that do not typically involve significant budget.
To complement the self-assessment, organisations were asked to distribute a complaint handling staff survey to those staff with complaint handling responsibilities in the organisation. 1,246 staff participated in the staff survey.
The staff survey, similar to the self-assessment, asked questions around the organisation’s alignment with the 6 principles of effective complaint management.
We also included more open-ended questions, so staff could give us detailed information about what is working well, what their organisation does that is innovative, and what are the challenges to good complaint management.
1,246 complaint handling staff responded to our voluntary complaint handling staff survey. Figure 12 shows the distribution of respondents by organisation type.
Figure 12: Respondents to complaint handling staff survey by organisation type
Staff of the Department of Education were the largest group, with 341 staff completing the survey.
Respondents fell into 5 categories of role within their organisation, with the largest number being staff members who have complaint handling as one part of a suite of role responsibilities.
Figure 13: Complaint handling staff survey respondents according to role category
Good communication is the largest reported strength in organisational complaint handling.
We asked complaint handling staff to tell us what they think their organisation does well in its complaint handling. We analysed the free text responses to this question to understand which principles for effective complaint management were being applied.
Table 1: Number of free text responses that related to each principle when staff answered, ‘What do you think your organisation does well in its complaint handling?’
Principle | Number of responses mentioning principle |
Communication | 202 (16%) |
Taking ownership | 144 (12%) |
Timeliness | 141 (11%) |
Respectful treatment | 121 (10%) |
Information and accessibility | 73 (6%) |
Transparency | 62 (5%) |
202 respondents mentioned communication as something their organisation did well. It was mentioned more than any other principle of effective complaint management. Of interest, many staff identified the need to communicate effectively internally as well as externally to handle complaints well.
[Agency] has a specialised complaint handling team who have strong written communication skills and a special interest in handling complaints. This means that complainants are more likely to receive thoughtful, individualised responses to their complaints.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Keep complainant informed, best practice is to provide verbal response followed up by plain English written response.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
We have a concrete set of instructions and support systems in place at the school that has made a difference in handling complaints. It is making the communication to parents easier and the staff are more informed of their rights and responsibilities under the complaints handling policy of the [Agency].
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
144 staff provided responses that related to the principle of taking ownership.
It is positive to see that staff view complaint ownership as a strength of their organisation; it is an important principle that helps build trust with complainants.[33]
In particular, staff appear to value centralised and knowledgeable complaints teams. Here are some of the responses relating to ownership through specialist or centralised complaint handling:
Strong governance team that leads complaint resolution and is particularly professional and focused on not only customer solutions but also opportunities for system improvement (and follows through).
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Council has clear and transparent approaches to complaint handling, with designated staff who are approachable and well-informed. Key staff responsible for managing complaints receive regular training to ensure best practice is followed. The Executive Team takes complaints very seriously and actively monitors trends and outcomes to drive continuous improvement across the organisation.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
New approach to centralized responses to complaints - results in a standardized approached void of emotional reaction. Allows for ownership of errors and efficient processing of complaints.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
As discussed in Section 2.6, the principle of transparency is about being open and accountable by recording, analysing, and reporting on complaints data. In the staff survey, transparency came up as a theme in 62 responses relating to what their organisation does well. This is well below some of the other principles.
Given that:
Transparency is likely to be an area we will focus on in the future when conducting individual system reviews and an area where organisations can improve.
Staff value tools to help them with their complaint handling responsibilities; innovation to them means things like good quality training, scripts to help with difficult conversations, and clear information about complaints on their websites.
When we asked staff to tell us about innovative strategies their organisation has for dealing with complaints, we anticipated a majority of responses would discuss emerging technologies.
While a small number of staff did mention generative artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated workflow and case management systems, far more discussed conventional tools they saw as innovative in their work. Below are some examples.
56 responses about innovative strategies described strategies relating to the theme of information and accessibility. Staff let us know about online portals and QR codes being used to help people make a complaint, and webpages and fact sheets that explain their processes to potential complainants.
Some common innovations mentioned by staff include:
Participation in the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit Sludge-a-thon or Sludge Audit[35] was another strategy that was mentioned.
In responding to our question regarding innovative strategies to improve complaint handling, many staff talked about taking ownership – through clear processes, training, and software solutions – that provide visibility over open complaints.
Wrap around support to Principals and Directors who are managing challenging behaviours and issues in complaints. Professional Learning opportunities for Principals and Directors in upskilling on such topics as: Facilitated Conversations[,] How to manage Anonymous Complaints[,] Managing a Complaint.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Implemented a Customer Request Management system. Managers of complaints are notified via our [Agency] system and the item doesn't go away until the complaint is resolved and closed. Feedback Policy is on a reoccurring review register.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Each complaint is assigned to a manager, ensuring continuity and a personalised experience throughout the process. This approach provides our customers with a direct point of contact, allowing them to feel heard and supported from start to finish.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
51 responses described strategies that relate to respectful treatment. These responses often discussed processes for complaint handlers to ensure that complainants are treated with respect and placing emphasis on customer experience.
… We have been trying to say 'sorry' more often which has led to less escalations where people are unhappy about the outcome.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
We do try to build a relationship and personalise the conversation with empathy and honesty.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Some obstacles to good complaint handling are enduring, and others emerging.
In the Ombudsman’s 2018 review of the implementation of the Complaint Handling Improvement Program (CHIP) commitments, we reported the 4 largest obstacles to complaint handling as identified by staff surveyed:
Our 2025 staff survey has shown that some of these obstacles have proved persistent, and there are also new obstacles emerging for the sector.
In our 2025 staff survey, unreasonable conduct by complainants has again been reported as a significant obstacle to effective complaint handling (being mentioned in 62 responses). Our office has done a great deal of work in this area and recognise this as an ongoing challenge for public officials in NSW.[37]
Resourcing, including staffing levels and staff training, have also proved a persistent obstacle to effective complaint handling.
Lack of resources ([eg] we have a very small team). At our current size, we're able to manage complaint handling well (mostly), but struggle to follow-up and make meaningful progress towards continuous improvement.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Consumer feedback staff are under-resourced that presents challenges when one or more team members wish to take leave. Time spent managing complaints far outweigh the FTEs allocated for consumer feedback staff.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
We are fortunate to have experienced and skilled staff members on the frontline, we need to consider building in more training for our newer staff members, perhaps, making complaint handling compliance training as part of their role.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
There needs to be ongoing training as new staff take on these roles and as the type of complaints change.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Our Effective Complaint Management Guidelines discuss the importance of providing staff adequate resources for effective complaint handling.[38] We recognise the diversity of functions throughout the sector means there is no one-size-fits-all approach to resourcing complaint handling. However, given this observation from the staff survey, we encourage organisations to evaluate their current resourcing to ensure they are appropriate.
Multiple staff told us through the survey that complaints made anonymously could sometimes be a barrier to effective complaint management. This is an emerging issue that has not been prominent in our previous system review work.
Staff expressed that the ability of complainants to make anonymous complaints can be a barrier in several ways:
[Anonymous complaints are] highly stressful to those on the receiving end and there are no actions that can be taken to resolve the complaint when we don’t know where it has come from.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
We recognise there is tension between the need to assist people to make anonymous complaints if this is their preference – this is often a response to a fear of detrimental action – and the need for an organisation to have sufficient information to act on a complaint appropriately.[39]
We will monitor this apparent emerging issue into the future.
Our Managing unreasonable conduct by a complainant manual (2021) has the following strategies to manage anonymous complainants who cannot be contacted or refuse to provide any identifying information when this is required to obtain more detail:
It is an important part of our democratic system that anyone can raise concerns with their local Member of Parliament or the responsible Minister. There were a number of responses from agencies and staff that highlighted the challenges responding when a Minister of Member of Parliament referred a complaint.
Some staff expressed concerns that complaints made via the responsible Minister or Member of Parliament can sometimes have an impact on a fair and equitable complaints process. One respondent to the staff survey explained the issue as follows:
Any time a customer raises a complaint through their local Minister, their issue is dealt with as a priority. Many times, these are not actual complaints but customers wanting their issue … processed as a priority. These complainants are dealt with before people who are patiently waiting their time. Using their local Minister this way has become a learned behaviour in the community where 'the squeaky door gets oiled'. Ministers offices should not allow their constituents to use them this way, and in the process placing additional pressure on already stretched Departments.
–– response from complaint handling staff survey 2025
Designing a clear complaint management policy and procedures can ensure consistency so complaints received through different channels are treated equitably.
Section 25A of the Ombudsman Act allows for the Ombudsman to report on issues and make recommendations relating to the complaint handling systems of public authorities.
Given the scope and nature of this self-assessment, we are not making recommendations to individual organisations. Instead, we encourage organisations to review their systems with the results of the survey and self-assessment in mind.
We will be using the results of the self-assessment and survey to develop our forward program of complaint handling system reviews – focusing on the opportunities for improvement identified through the results.
We will also be contacting certain organisations involved in the review to discuss their self-assessment responses in more detail. For example, we may contact organisations that indicated they do not have a complaint handling policy to further understand the reasoning behind this.
The NSW Ombudsman has also established the Complaint Handling Community of Practice (ComPrac), a new initiative designed to bring together professionals from across the public and private sectors who are passionate about improving complaint handling capabilities. We will use this forum to further share and discuss the results of this review.
Term | Definition |
6 principles to effective complaint management | The 6 principles referred to throughout were originally ‘commitments’ and were developed by the NSW Ombudsman in collaboration with NSW government organisations. They are designed to be practical and responsive to a range of organisational environments, as well as what complainants want. They are equally relevant for NSW Government departments, local councils and community services providers.[41] |
CHIP | Complaint Handling Improvement Program. This was a collaborative program between the NSW Ombudsman, the office of the Customer Service Commissioner, the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, and representatives from all ten of the departmental clusters. It ran from 2015 to approximately 2018. |
Complaint management system or Complaint handling system | The framework an organisation has to respond to complaints from members of the public. A complaint handling system includes all aspects of the policies, procedures, practices, staff, hardware and software used to manage complaints. Both terms (complaint management system and complaint handling system) are used in best practice literature and legislation. |
Organisation | A public authority or community service provider that the Ombudsman can review the complaint handling system of, under s25A of the Ombudsman Act 1974 or s14 of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993. |
Public authority | As defined in the Ombudsman Act 1974 |
Self-assessment | A primarily quantitative questionnaire the NSW Ombudsman developed for NSW public authorities to self-report on their complaint handling system. |
Staff survey | A primarily quantitative questionnaire the NSW Ombudsman developed for employees of NSW public authorities to provide insights on their perception of the complaint handling system their organisation has established. |
This review involved online questionnaires including a combination of closed and free text response questions.
The self-assessment comprised of questions relating to the 6 principles of commitments and the Standards Australia: Guidelines for complaint management in organisations 10002:2022. A copy of the self-assessment questions is included at Appendix A .
The staff survey was distributed to complaint handling staff and/or managers of staff by the participating organisations. The staff survey was run in conjunction with the self-assessment to determine how the complaint handling policies are implemented in practice. A copy of the staff survey questions is included in Appendix B .
The Ombudsman wrote to the heads of NSW principal departments in May 2025, introducing our new function under 25A of the Ombudsman Act, and requesting they nominate a senior executive contact to liaise with our team for this review. We similarly wrote to university vice chancellors and local council general managers. From there, we asked the nominated contacts to identify appropriate managers within their portfolio agencies for us to distribute the self-assessment and staff survey to.
We then invited those staff to information sessions where we discussed the purpose of the review and answered questions about the project and its purpose. The self-assessment and staff survey were open for 45 days between late June and early August 2025.
Both the self-assessment and the staff survey are self-disclosing methods of providing information. As the primary purpose of this review was to gain a broad understanding of complaint handling in the sector, we have not performed independent assurance activities to verify the responses. We are, in good faith, relying on organisations to have provided us accurate information about their own systems.
We excluded the following oversight and integrity agencies from this review:
We will work with these agencies on other methods to assess their complaint handling systems.
We sent a feedback survey to organisations that participated in the self-assessment, to understand whether the review process had been satisfactory, and surrounding stakeholder engagement activities had been valuable.
22 organisations (11%) responded to our feedback survey. 86% were either satisfied or very satisfied with our process.
Figure 14: Organisation overall satisfaction with self-assessment review process
55% of feedback survey participants told us that our self-assessment had prompted them to review their policy.
The feedback survey also generated some insightful free text feedback that will be considered in our project debrief for continuous improvement purposes.
Since the 1990s, the NSW Ombudsman’s Office has periodically reviewed the complaint handling systems of various NSW government organisations. One way we did this was to issue staff self-assessments and surveys about their organisation’s complaint handling practices and procedures. These methods can provide quick, high-level understanding of any issues organisations face, as well as a picture of what is working well. Prior to the introduction of section 25A into the Ombudsman Act, participation in complaint handling reviews was voluntary.
We surveyed departments and authorities and also local councils about their complaint handling systems in 2007. The resulting reports are publicly available: Complaint handling systems survey report 2007 Departments and authorities December 2007[42] and Complaint handling systems survey report 2007 Councils December 2007[43]
From 1999 –2009, we also undertook what is colloquially known as ‘mystery shopping’; making contact with public authorities posing as a customer to test their customer service standards, and then providing feedback of our experience.
Between 2015 - 2018, the NSW Ombudsman’s Office worked with the Department of Customer Service, along with other NSW government organisations, as part of the NSW Government Complaint Handling Improvement Program (CHIP).
In 2015 we conducted a series of self-assessments and surveys, asking organisations about their complaint handling practices. We used these responses to develop a whole-of-government framework based around 6 commitments to effective complaint handling. The commitments were designed to create a culture that values complaints and views them as opportunities to improve services, rather than seeing them as a negative reflection on organisations.
The 6 commitments (since reframed as the principles for effective complaint management) are:
In December 2016, the NSW Secretaries Board endorsed the principles, applying them across their departments.
To evaluate the principles’ effectiveness, between 2017-2018 the NSW Ombudsman’s Office reviewed the application of each of the 6 principles across the organisations who implemented them. We again surveyed organisations about their complaint handling procedures and compared the results against the 2015 CHIP survey.
The review demonstrated both positive progress in complaint handling practices, as well as areas for improvement. The results of the review were published in the Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review: A Special Report to Parliament under section 31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974[44] in August 2018.
An outcome of the CHIP review was a proposal to amend the Ombudsman Act to include a function to review the complaint handling systems of NSW public authorities.
On 19 August 2022, the Ombudsman Legislation Amendment Act 2022 amended the Ombudsman Act, providing a clear legislative foundation for our office to continue to monitor and evaluate the complaint handling systems of NSW government organisations, examine public authorities’ handling of complaints, and to report and make recommendations to the relevant Minister and the agency.[45]
The function is intended to allow the Ombudsman to assist agencies to improve complaint handling. It does not contain the same exclusions of public authorities or classes of conduct that limits the complaints jurisdiction of the Ombudsman under Schedule 1 of the Act. We can also use our coercive powers when conducting a review, however, we decided against using them in this case.
Footnotes
See Section 1.3 for a list of the 6 principles for effective complaint handling.
See Section 2 for an explanation of what organisations include.
Section 25A of the Ombudsman Act replicates a power the NSW Ombudsman already had under section 14 of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 in respect of community service providers. In late 2022, the NSW Ombudsman commenced a review into the Department of Communities and Justice Complaint System in respect of its Aboriginal Child Protection function. This report was tabled in Parliament on 6 November 2024.
Standards Australia, Australian Standard AS 10002: 2022, Guidelines for Complaint Management in Organizations (ISO 10002:2018, NEQ), (25 March 2022).
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review. (31 August 2018). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/complaint-handling-improvement-program-commitments-report>
Ibid.
The questionnaire had a number of dependency questions; 48 was the maximum number of questions asked, however many organisations would have answered less than this number. See Appendix A for full questionnaire.
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines. (November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/effective-complaint-management-guide>.
NSW Ombudsman, Good conduct and administrative practice guideline. (March 2017) p 38. <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/improving-public-administration/good-conduct-and-administrative-guidance>.
NSW Ombudsman, Information sheet: 6 Principles for effective complaint management – Principle 1: Respectful treatment. (November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/6-principles-for-effective-complaint-management-principle-1-respectful-treatment>.
NSW Ombudsman, Review of the DCJ Complaint System in respect of its Aboriginal Child Protection functions. (6 November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/review-of-the-dcj-complaint-system-in-respect-of-its-aboriginal-child-protection-functions>.
Ibid p 6.
Standards Australia (n 4).
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines (n 8) p 6.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review. (31 August 2018) pp 11-12. <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/complaint-handling-improvement-program-commitments-report>.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 (web page, accessed 30 January 2026). <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021>.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2022 (web page, accessed 30 January 2026). <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/2022>.
See Melbourne: ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, and Telstra, Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide, 2025 Australian Digital Inclusion Index. (2025). In particular, at p 11 ‘Around one in five Australians remain digitally excluded’. <https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ADII-Report-2025_V6-Remediated.pdf>.
Diverse feedback methods were also recently identified as important in the context of customer feedback in: Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Disability Inclusion Plan. (December 2025) p 31. <https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/documents/community-inclusion/disability-inclusion/nsw-disability-inclusion-plan/nsw-disability-inclusion-plan-2026%e2%80%932029.pdf>.
University of Newcastle, Utilising Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) - to assist complainants who speak English as a Second Language. (February 2025). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/research-report/utilising-generative-artificial-intelligence-genai-to-assist-complainants-who-speak-english-as-a-second-language>.
Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, Annual report 2017/2018. (2018) p 9. <https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/dcs_dfsi_annual_report2017-18.pdf>.
Ibid p 30.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15) p 14. <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/complaint-handling-improvement-program-commitments-report>
Ibid.
See NSW Ombudsman, Casebook July 2024: Investigations and complaint-handling case studies. (30 July 2024) p 27. <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/casebook-july-2024-investigations-and-complaint-handling-case-studies>; NSW Ombudsman, Casebook January 2025: Investigations and complaint-handling case studies. (30 January 2025) p 25. <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/casebook-january-2025-investigations-and-complaint-handling-case-studies>.
NSW Ombudsman, Good conduct and administrative practice guideline (n 9) p 59.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15).
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15) p 17. The agencies in scope for the CHIP implementation review included NSW government departments. It did not include local government authorities or universities, as the 2025 survey did.
NSW Ombudsman, Information sheet: 6 Principles for effective complaint management – Principle 4: Taking ownership. (November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/6-principles-for-effective-complaint-management-principle-4-taking-ownership>.
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines (n 8) p 33.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15) p 21.
NSW Ombudsman, Information sheet: 6 Principles for Effective Complaint Management – Principle 6: Transparency (November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/6-principles-for-effective-complaint-management-principle-6-transparency>.
NSW Ombudsman, Information sheet: 6 Principles for effective complaint management – Principle 4: Taking ownership. (November 2024). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/6-principles-for-effective-complaint-management-principle-4-taking-ownership>.
61% of agencies told us they analyse complaint data and report it to their executive. When asked who received the analysis report, 45% told us their senior executive, followed by 20% senior leaders, 14% Board or elected council, 11% audit and risk committee, and 8% reports received by chief executive officer/operations officer.
Department of Customer Service, Behavioural Insights Unit, Sludge Toolkit. (Web page, accessed 30 January 2026). <https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/behavioural-insights-unit/sludge-toolkit>.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15) p 6.
NSW Ombudsman, Managing unreasonable conduct by a complainant. (2021). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/guidance-for-organisations/resources/managing-unreasonable-conduct-by-a-complainant>.
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines (n 8) p 32.
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines (n 8).
NSW Ombudsman, Managing unreasonable conduct by a complainant (n 37) p 46.
NSW Ombudsman, Effective Complaint Management Guidelines (n 8) p 13.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling systems survey 2007 report – Departments and authorities. (December 2007). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/complaint-handling-systems-survey-reports>.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling systems survey 2007 report – Councils. (December 2007). <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/reports/report-to-parliament/complaint-handling-systems-survey-reports>.
NSW Ombudsman, Complaint handling improvement program – Commitments implementation review (n 15).
This replicated section 14 of CS CRAMA.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and pay our respects to all Elders past and present, and to the children of today who are the Elders of the future.
Artist: Jasmine Sarin, a proud Kamilaroi and Jerrinja woman.