Aged care services should suit your needs and meet the Aged Care Quality Standards. The Standards ensure that everyone using aged care is treated with dignity and respect.
Making a complaint can improve the quality of care and help other people with the same problem. You can make a confidential or anonymous complaint if you wish.
Raising concerns is safe and easy. Service providers can't punish anyone in their care for making a complaint. Raise your concern or complaint with your service provider first if you can. This is often the easiest and quickest way to resolve things.
If you need help with your complaint, anyone can make a complaint to us, including:
- people who use aged care
- family, friends, representatives and carers of people who use aged care
- aged care staff and volunteers
- health and medical professionals.
If you're raising a concern or making a complaint on behalf of someone else, make sure they or their representative knows this. They have a right to know about your concerns and be involved.
Try speaking with your provider
You should raise your concern or complaint with your service provider first if you can. This is often the easiest and quickest way to resolve things.
Try writing down your concerns
Writing it all down allows you to present all the information logically.
This makes it easier for us or the provider to understand what’s happened.
It also gives you a written record of your concerns.
Focus on facts
Feeling distressed, angry or frustrated about things that affect loved ones is understandable. However, a complaint that details the facts and events will help us and the provider to assess it.
Include important information
Try to include as many details as you can, such as names, dates and locations
Be clear about what you want
Think about what you'd like to see happen because of the complaint. It should be reasonable and in the best interests of the person receiving care.
For example, you may want:
- an apology
- an explanation of what happened
- a plan from the provider to prevent it from happening again.
Ask for help
Making a complaint can be confronting, especially if you have an ongoing relationship with your provider.
If you’re concerned, ask a friend or family member to help you write your complaint.
Contact an advocacy service
An advocate can:
- help you make decisions that affect your quality of life
- explain your rights and responsibilities
- discuss options for taking action
- support you when you raise a concern with us or a provider
- help you at any stage of the process.
The Older Persons Advocacy Network offers a free, confidential service. You can call them on 1800 700 600.
You have three options when making a complaint.
Open complaint
If you submit an open complaint:
- We'll know your identity and contact details.
- The service provider will know your identity.
- We'll keep you informed about the progress of your complaint. You'll also be able to provide us with more information.
- You'll have review rights.
Confidential complaint
If you submit a confidential complaint:
- We'll know your identity and contact details.
- We will endeavour not to disclose your identity to the provider when we discuss your complaint with them.
- We'll keep you informed about the progress of your complaint. You'll also be able to provide us with more information.
- You'll have review rights.
Anonymous complaint
If you submit an anonymous complaint:
- We won't know your identity.
- The service provider won't know your identity.
- We won't keep you informed about the progress of your complaint. You won't be able to provide us with more information.
- You won't have review rights.
If you need an interpreter or have a hearing or speech impairment, there are services that can help you to contact us.
