Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd is committed to providing a fair and inexpensive complaints and appeals process that includes access to an independent external body if necessary.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is generally negative feedback about services or staff which has not been resolved locally. A complaint may be received by Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd in any form and does not need to be formally documented by the complainant in order to be acted on. Complaints may be made by any person but are generally made by students and/or employers.

What is an appeal?

An appeal is an application by a student for reconsideration of an unfavourable decision or finding during training and/or assessment. An appeal must be made in writing and specify the particulars of the decision or finding in dispute. Appeals must be lodged within 28 days of the decision or finding is informed to the student.

Early resolution or complaints and appeals

In all cases, issues that arise during training and assessment that are the source of frustration or are in dispute should be resolved at the time they occur between the persons involved.

Relationship to continuous improvement

Frequently, the complaints and appeals handling process will expose weaknesses in the training and assessment system that can flow into the continuous improvement system as opportunities for improvement. This outcome of complaints and appeals handling is very positive and should be actively applied by all persons involved.

Complaints and appeals handling

Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd undertakes to apply the following principles to its complaints and appeals handling:

• A written record of all complaints and appeals is to be kept by Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd including all details of lodgement, response and resolution.
• A complainant or person lodging an appeal is to be provided an opportunity to formally present his or her case at a minimal or no cost.
• Each complainant or person lodging an appeal may be accompanied and/or assisted by a support person at any relevant meeting.
• The handling of a complaint or appeal is to commence within 10 working days of the lodgement of the complaint or appeal and all reasonable measures are taken to finalise the process as soon as practicable.
• The complainant or person lodging an appeal is to be provided with a written statement of the outcome, including details of the reasons for the outcome.
• The complainant or person lodging an appeal is to have the opportunity for a person or body that is independent of Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd to review his or her complaint or appeal following internal Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd complaint or appeals process. It is noted that a review of findings by an independent person or body will generally only relate to the appeals process and is less likely to be required in complaints handling.
• Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd shall maintain the enrolment of the complainant or person lodging an appeal during the complaint or appeals process.
• Decisions or outcomes of the complaint or appeals process that find in the favour of the student shall be implemented immediately.
• Complaints and appeals are to be handled in the strictest of confidence. No Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd representative is to disclose information to any person without the permission of the Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd Chief Executive Officer. A decision to release information to third parties can only be made after the complainant has given written permission for this to occur.
• Complaints and appeals are to be considered on the basis of procedural fairness and lead to opportunities for improvement as a Continuous Improvement Report.

Complaints and Appeals Procedures

Complaints Handling Procedure

Matters that cannot be resolved at the time they occur should be referred to the Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd Chief Executive Officer for review. The following procedure is to be followed when a complaint form is received:

• A Complaint is received by Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd in writing and is to be immediately recorded into Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd Complaints and Appeals Register.
• Complaints which are received in other forms such as phone or email are to be detailed and then recorded in the Complaints and Appeals Register.
• The Complaint is to be forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer who is to review the matter and make recommendation as to how to respond to the matter. The Chief Executive Officer may choose to consult with others within Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd or relevant agencies external to Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd in determining his or her recommendation.
• The Chief Executive Officer may choose to make inquiries about the matter or may task another person to research the matter against relevant policy.
• The Chief Executive Officer is to finalise his or her response to the complainant and provide the complainant a response within 10 working days from when the complaint is received at Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd.
• The response to the complainant must include information that demonstrates that the matter was thoroughly reviewed and what actions and outcomes have been identified as a result of the complaint.
• Opportunities for improvement that were identified as a result of the complaint are to be recorded.
• The Complaints and Appeals Register is to be kept up to date at all times to accurately reflect how the matter was responded to and the duration from the date the complaint was received to the date the complaint was resolved.

Appeals Procedure

Applications by students for reconsideration of an unfavourable decision or finding are to be treated with the highest importance. An appeal must be made in writing and specify the particulars of the decision or finding in dispute. Appeals must be lodged within 28 days of when the decision or finding is communicated to the student. The following procedure is to be followed when an application for appeal is received:

• A Complaint is received by Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd and is immediately recorded into the Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd Complaints and Appeals Register.
• The Complaint is to be forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer who is to review the matter and make recommendation as to how to respond to the matter. The Chief Executive Officer may choose to consult with others within Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd or relevant agencies external to Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd determining his or her recommendation.
• The Chief Executive Officer may choose to make inquiries about the matter or may task another person to research the matter against relevant policy. The Chief Executive Officer is to consider applications for appeal on the basis of procedural fairness. In most cases, this should include a careful examination of the system that the applicant is required to negotiate (such as the assessment system), the information they have been provided which has led to the disputed situation and the timeframes involved.
• The Chief Executive Officer is to finalise their response to the applicant and provide the applicant a response within 10 working days from when the appeal is received at Murray Mallee Training Company Ltd.
• The response to the applicant must include information that demonstrates that the appeal was thoroughly reviewed and what actions and outcomes have been identified as a result of the appeal.
• If the applicant is satisfied with the response, the appeal is to be closed in the Complaints and Appeals Register. If the applicant is not satisfied with the response, the applicant is to be referred to the MMTC Ltd’s independent conciliator – GPS (Great People Solutions). Contact details for GPS will be provided to each applicant at the commencement of the complaints investigation process.
• At the conclusion of the review, decisions or outcomes of the appeals process that find in the favour of the student or otherwise shall be implemented immediately.
• The Complaints and Appeals Register is to be kept up to date at all times to accurately reflect how the matter was responded to and the duration from the date the appeal was received to the date the appeal was resolved.