Providing Feedback
We actively seek and encourage feedback from our stakeholders - feedback is an invaluable tool to help us bettter our service and offerings. Please use this form to provide any feedback, be it positive, negative or somewhere in between!
Making a Complaint
We believe employees, parents (including carers or legal guardians), and children should feel enabled, empowered and supported to safely raise any concerns or complaints about any perceived risks to a child’s safety or signs of abuse.
Investigating Complaints
Shopfront is committed to investigating Complaints in an appropriate manner by:
• promptly acknowledging receipt of Complaints
• assessing and prioritising Complaints in accordance with the urgency and/or seriousness of the issues raised
• properly investigating Complaints
• reporting Complaints to authorities where appropriate such as to the police or ASIC and, where authorities investigate, conducting its investigation in consultation with that authority
• addressing each Complaint in a fair, objective and unbiased manner
• adopting a flexible approach to Complaint handling
• resolving Complaints in a timely manner
• managing expectations by informing complainants of the Complaint handling procedure including expected time frames, the progress of the Complaint and reasons for any delay, the complainant's likely involvement in the process where appropriate, the possible or likely outcome
• providing advice about alternative avenues of redress if Shopfront is unable to deal with any part of the Complaint
• where a Complaint is made about Shopfront's Workers, Directors or practices and an external organisation is involved (such as a Complaint involving a contractor to Shopfront), working with that organisation where possible, to ensure proper communication with the complainant and/or their representative subject to privacy and confidentiality considerations
• where similar Complaints are made by multiple parties establishing a representative of the group with whom to communicate, where possible
• fully documenting the receipt, investigation and response to any Complaint.
Responding to Complaints
Shopfront is committed to responding to Complaints by:
• reporting the outcome of the Complaint to authorities where appropriate
• identifying any root causes of the Complaint, any systematic issues or failures, organisational risks and changes necessary to Shopfront's practices, policies or procedures
• taking disciplinary action against Workers where appropriate
• where Shopfront considers that a Complaint is not genuine or where a complainant has acted unreasonably, taking appropriate action
• providing complainants or their representatives with information regarding the outcome of a Complaint.
Harm to Children
In the case of Complaints involving Harm to Children or Young People Shopfront will:
• ensure that the Child or Young Person has access to a support person throughout the Complaint investigation process
• keep records for 40 years
• where a mandatory report has been made under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), conduct its investigation in consultation with the relevant authority.
Confidentiality and whistle-blower protection
Whilst Complaints can be made anonymously Shopfront encourages complainants to disclose their identify in order to assist it to properly investigate the Complaint and to minimise the possibility of baseless Complaints being made.
Where a complainant discloses their identity Shopfront will take steps to ensure that the complainant's details are treated confidentially as far as possible (such as by redaction of names, storing all information securely) unless the complainant consents, the disclosure is required or authorised by law, is necessary for Shopfront to obtain legal advice in connection with the Complaint or is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to a person's health or safety.
Unauthorised disclosure of the identify of a complainant (or of information that is likely to lead to the identification of the complainant) may be reported to authorities or lead to disciplinary action, including dismissal.
Where a Complaint is made on honest and reasonable grounds, even where the Complaint is not found to be true, Shopfront will not tolerate any detriment inflicted on the complainant such as harassment, termination, discrimination or threats and will take appropriate disciplinary action against its Workers for such conduct.