This policy sets out how SA Housing Trust manages and responds to complaints and feedback, including complaints about maintenance services and maintenance contractors, and complaints and feedback received about homelessness services and providers of Specialist Homelessness Services funded by the SA Housing Trust.

Anyone can make a complaint or provide feedback to the SA Housing Trust. All complaints and feedback are managed in a respectful, professional manner. Customers aren’t adversely affected because they have made a complaint or provided feedback.

SA Housing Trust manages people’s personal information in line with the Privacy Policy and the Information Sharing policy.

SA Housing Trust will monitor complaints and feedback regularly to identify trends and will review this policy and any associated procedures and tools on an annual basis to identify opportunities for improvement.

What is a complaint? What is feedback?

Complaint – an expression of dissatisfaction or concern made to or about SA Housing Trust, by or on behalf of an individual customer, group or member of the public, related to its services, a contracted service provider, staff, or the handling of a complaint where a response or resolution is required.

Feedback may take the form of a compliment or a suggestion.

  • Compliment – a positive expression, thankful or welcoming comments about staff and/or service provided by SA Housing Trust.
  • Suggestion – ideas or suggestions for change or improvements for SA Housing Trust.

This policy does not apply to:

How to make a complaint or provide feedback

Customers can make a complaint or provide feedback:

Complaints and feedback should be detailed, accurate and complete.

Responding to feedback and complaints

When a complaint or feedback is received, SA Housing Trust:

  • records it and appropriately responds in a timely manner
  • handles it in a fair and transparent way
  • uses the information to identify potential trends and support continuous service improvement
  • reports corruption, misconduct or maladministration by SA Housing Trust staff to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Office for Public Integrity.

SA Housing Trust encourages staff to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the complaints and feedback process.

Unreasonable complainants

SA Housing Trust may choose not to review or provide a response to unreasonable complaints.

A complaint may be considered unreasonable in any of the below situations:

  • the customer doesn’t clearly identify the issue despite repeated and reasonable attempts by the SA Housing Trust to do so
  • the customer makes recurring complaints about the same or similar issues, but the complaints process has been exhausted or no new meaningful information has been provided
  • the customer is unwilling to accept logical and reasonable explanations and final decisions
  • the complaint lacks substance, is based on unreasonable arguments or focuses on trivial matters and is out of proportion with its significance
  • the customer refuses to cooperate with the investigation process but still wishes for the issue to be resolved
  • the customer demands services or actions that are unreasonable or can’t be provided.

Related information

Controlling documents

This policy is based on and complies with:

Supporting procedures/ guidelines

  • Customer feedback and complaints management procedure

Related policies and other documents

Date this policy applies from
18 August 2021

Version number
2.0

The online version of the policy is the approved and current version. There is no guarantee any printed copies are current.