Complaints & Feedback Policy

1. Purpose

Guidance to Independence (GTI) is committed to making it easy, safe, and free of consequence for participants, families, carers, advocates, and staff to raise concerns or make a complaint about our services. We recognise that people with disability can face real barriers to complaining — including fear of losing support, past negative experiences, or difficulty communicating what happened — and this policy exists to remove those barriers wherever we can.

Making a complaint will never result in your services being reduced, changed, or withdrawn.

2. Who This Applies To

• Current and past GTI participants
• Family members, carers, guardians, and nominees
• Advocates (independent, at no cost to the participant)
• GTI staff and contractors
• Any other person connected to the support or service provided by GTI

3. How to Make a Complaint

Complaints or feedback can be made by:

• Phone, in writing, email, or in person
• Directly by the participant, or on their behalf by an advocate or representative
• Anonymously, if preferred

You can use the GTI Complaint / Feedback Form, available on our website, or simply speak to any of the contacts below. If you need support to make a complaint — such as an interpreter, Easy English, or someone to help you communicate — GTI will arrange this.

4. Who Handles Your Complaint — Escalation Pathway

GTI has a clear, four-step escalation pathway. You do not have to start at Step 1 — if you're not comfortable speaking to your support worker, or the complaint is about them, go straight to the Director or CEO.

5. Our Response Timeframes

• We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint promptly, and provide you with a written or verbal acknowledgement.
• Wherever possible, we aim to resolve your concern immediately, at first contact.
• For complaints requiring investigation, we aim to provide you with an outcome within 10 working days.
• If your complaint is complex and cannot be resolved within this time, we will keep you informed of progress, and will work toward full resolution within 21 business days at the latest.
• You will be told the reason for any decision made, and your options if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

6. What You Can Expect From Us

• Procedural fairness for everyone involved in the complaint
• Your complaint kept confidential — only disclosed if required by law or otherwise appropriate to resolve the matter
• No adverse effect on your services or supports as a result of making a complaint
• Staff trained to respond to complaints politely, promptly, consistently, and constructively
• Support to communicate your complaint, including translated materials, Easy English, braille, audio recording, or other supports as needed
• A documented record of your agreement with any resolution reached

7. If You Are Not Satisfied With the Outcome

If you're not happy with how your complaint was handled or resolved, you have the right to escalate to the next step in the pathway above, and ultimately to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission at any point — you do not need to exhaust GTI's internal process first.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Phone: 1800 035 544

Address: PO Box 210, Penrith NSW 2750

Website: ndiscommission.gov.au

A complaint to the Commission can be made orally, in writing, anonymously, and can be withdrawn at any time. The Commissioner may take no action, help resolve the matter directly with GTI, or undertake a formal resolution process.

8. Documentation and Record-Keeping

• Every complaint is recorded in GTI's Complaints and Incidents Register by the staff member who first receives it
• A Complaint Action Form is completed, outlining the action taken and recommended next steps
• Outcome letters are provided to the participant — with a copy retained in the participant's file — whether the outcome is in the participant's favour or not
• All complaint records are retained for 7 years from the date the record is made, in line with NDIS record-keeping requirements
• Complaints that meet the threshold of a reportable incident are also managed under GTI's Incident Management and Reportable Incident System Policy and reported to the NDIS Commission where required

9. Monitoring and Continuous Improvement

GTI's Operations & Compliance Officer, Sarvesh Upadhyay, is responsible for maintaining the Complaints Register and analysing complaints data regularly to identify recurring or systemic issues, staff training needs, and gaps in our internal processes or controls. Findings are used to update GTI's policies, procedures, and staff training, and are reported to the NDIS Commission if requested.

10. Roles and Responsibilities

• Support Workers (Gita Thapa, Santosh Pulami): first point of contact; resolve concerns informally where possible; escalate anything they can't resolve
• Director (Shruti Adhikari): first formal escalation point; handles complaints about support workers; oversees day-to-day resolution
• CEO (Subrath Regmi): final internal escalation point; independently investigates unresolved complaints
• Operations & Compliance Officer (Sarvesh Upadhyay): maintains the Complaints Register, monitors trends, ensures NDIS reporting obligations are met

All staff engaged by GTI are trained in, and required to comply with, this Complaints and Feedback Policy.

11. Related Documents

• Complaint / Feedback Form
• Anonymous Complaint and Feedback Form
• Complaints Action Form
• Complaints and Incidents Register
• Incident Management and Reportable Incident System Policy and Procedure
• Participant Rights & Code of Conduct
• Service Agreement

12. Legislative References

• NDIS Act 2013 (Cth)
• NDIS (Complaints Management and Resolution) Rules 2018
• NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators 2021
• NDIS (Procedural Fairness) Guidelines 2018
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)

13. Contact Us

Guidance to Independence

General enquiries: info@guidancetoindependence.com.au · 0421 007 153

Website: www.guidancetoindependence.com.au