1. Governing Policy 2. Principles 3. Progression of complaint 4. Informal dialogue regarding a complaint 5. Formal complaint 6. Investigation and/or review of formal complaint 7. Notification and recording of outcome of complaint 8. Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines and Local Documents
1. Governing Policy
These procedures are governed by the Policy on Student Complaint Management.
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2. Principles
The responsible officer or committee handling a complaint will:
- determine the matter on the basis of evidence brought forward by the student, the respondent and/or the University, act fairly, and in accordance with the relevant policy and procedures;
- give all relevant parties a copy of, or an opportunity to inspect, all documentation relevant to the subject matter of the complaint;
- give the parties a reasonable opportunity to make a case or response in writing and/or to appear before that person or committee;
- give the parties at least five working days’ written notice of the date, time and place of any meeting or hearing regarding the complaint;
- permit a student, and any support person whom a student appoints under Section 7 of the policy, to be present at any meeting or hearing regarding the complaint, except during interviews with the respondent or witnesses and when members of a committee wish to confer privately among themselves or to consider their decision;
- conduct any meeting in closed session and treat the complaint in strict confidence, except as necessary for the discharge of that person’s or committee’s responsibilities or as otherwise required by law.
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3. Progression of complaint
3.1 A student must exhaust any lower level of complaint management before proceeding to the next higher level.
3.2 Any complaint directed to an officer at a level other than in accordance with these procedures will be re-directed to the officer at the appropriate level.
3.3 A student whose complaint relates to:
- an academic matter, including a matter arising in connection with a professional experience or community engagement placement; or
- a non-academic matter within the jurisdiction of, or related to, a School or Faculty;
may progress the complaint through the following levels:
- the relevant Head of School, or equivalent;
- Executive Dean;
- Provost
3.4 A student whose complaint relates to a matter within the jurisdiction of, or related to, any organisational unit other than a School or Faculty may progress the complaint through the following levels:
- to the manager responsible for the relevant organisational unit for example, the Manager of the relevant Section;
- to the Director of the relevant Directorate;
- to the relevant Deputy Vice-Chancellor or the Provost.
3.5 A student whose complaint relates to another student may seek support from staff of the relevant faculty, or of the Office of Student Success, and should address their complaint to the relevant Associate Vice-Chancellor or Campus Dean in the first instance. The complaint may be progressed to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students, Learning and Teaching) as appropriate.
3.6 In any case which includes specific complaints against the conduct of a member of staff that might be in contravention of the Code of Conduct for All Staff, the matter will be referred to Human Resources who will determine whether the complaint will be dealt with in accordance with this policy, or the relevant Human Resources policy.
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4. Informal dialogue regarding a complaint
A student who has any concern that comes within the scope of this policy is strongly encouraged to attempt to resolve that concern informally and as close to the source of the concern as possible.
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5. Formal complaint
5.1 A student who has been unable to resolve a complaint to their satisfaction through informal dialogue under Section 4 may submit a formal complaint to the responsible officers identified in Sections 3.3 to 3.5.
5.2 In lodging a formal complaint, a student is responsible for ensuring that the matter raised has substance and is genuine and the student must participate in the process in an appropriate manner.
5.3 A formal complaint must:
- be in writing;
- be dated and signed by the student;
- provide the student identity number and contact details;
- provide full details of the subject matter of the complaint and, in particular, specific details of the matter in relation to which the complaint is made; this will include matters such as the names of any other party/ies, the time, date, place, the subject matter of the complaint and details of witnesses, if relevant;
- provide sufficient information to enable any other party/ies to respond;
- indicate the steps taken to date, including advice sought and/or provided, and any action taken by the student subsequent to obtaining such advice;
- include any supporting information or evidence on which the student is basing their complaint; and
- indicate what the student considers to be a satisfactory solution of their complaint.
5.4 It is the responsibility of a student to state their grounds for complaint fully and to provide all relevant evidence from the first stage of any complaint. New grounds or new evidence must not be introduced at any later stage of the complaint process, unless:
- there has been a major change in circumstance following the lodging of the initial complaint; and
- the associated information or evidence has a significant bearing on the complaint and was not reasonably available at the time the complaint was first lodged.
Where such a major change in circumstance has arisen and the person/committee dealing with the complaint determines that it should be taken into consideration, the matter will normally be referred back to the level of the officer who undertook the initial review, for further consideration.
5.5 Failure of the student and/or the student’s support person to appear for discussion of any complaint, at the time notified to them, will not prevent the matter being considered by the person with whom the complaint has been lodged.
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6. Investigation and/or review of formal complaint
6.1 A complaint should be lodged within 20 working days of the occurrence of the subject matter of the complaint or of notification of the matter which is the subject of the complaint.
6.2 The responsible officer dealing with a complaint will initiate action within 10 working days of receipt of the complaint.
6.3 The responsible officer will respond to the student in writing within 10 working days and advise that the matter is being investigated. In the case of an international student this is also a requirement of the ESOS Act and National Code.
6.4 If the responsible officer considers that the grounds of a student’s complaint do not relate to matters set out in Section 2 of the policy, the responsible officer will notify the student accordingly.
6.5 If the responsible officer considers that the grounds of a student’s complaint do relate to matters set out in Section 2 of the policy, the responsible officer will conduct an investigation into and/or a review of the issues raised.
6.6 If the responsible officer had previously been involved in the decision to which the complaint relates, the complaint will be referred to another staff member nominated by that officer’s supervisor.
6.7 The responsible officer will normally:
- interview the student who has lodged the complaint;
- interview any relevant staff, students or other persons;
- seek advice from other relevant staff and/or students, and/or access advice and/or expertise from such other person(s) as the officer deems appropriate.
6.8 Following such investigation, the officer will advise the student of the outcome of the investigation, including any recommendation(s) for administrative action to be considered and/or taken by the University and the proposed resolution of the complaint.
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7. Notification and recording of outcome of complaint
7.1 The student will be notified, in writing, of the outcome of the investigation and/or the proposal for resolution of their complaint under this policy within 20 working days of the student’s lodgement of the complaint with the relevant officer. A further time period may be required in cases where that officer is required to investigate any counter-complaint lodged.
7.2 The student will be notified of:
- the process undertaken to consider the complaint;
- the outcome of any investigation, including any recommendation(s) for administrative action that the University will consider;
- the proposed resolution of the complaint; and
- the reason(s) for that proposal.
7.3 A copy or summary of the outcome of the investigation and/or any proposal for resolution of any complaint will be provided to all parties involved in the process and such other officer(s) of the University that may need to take action as a result of the decision.
7.4 A copy of the outcomes of any investigation of a formal complaint under Section 6 will be maintained on the confidential (electronic) University Register of Complaints, held in the Office of the Academic Registrar.
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8. Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines and Local Documents
Policy on Student Complaint Management
Policy on Review by the University Visitor of Appeals or Complaints by Students
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