Customer feedback (feedback) is important to Ipswich City Council (Council, we, our, us) and we are committed to recognising the importance and value of listening and responding to feedback. If you have a suggestion, an enquiry, a complaint or compliment about the services, decisions or actions of Council, we would like to hear about it.
At Council we strive for customer service excellence. We know that good administration practices involve the regular review of our services, programs, policies, procedures, and the lessons learnt from feedback can feed into that process. The data collected from your valuable feedback helps us to understand how we can improve our service delivery to better meet the needs of our customers.
To continue to achieve customer service excellence, we will:
- Acknowledge the importance and value of feedback
- Provide an accessible avenue for people to submit feedback
- Ensure all feedback is managed fairly, promptly, sensitively and efficiently, and
- We will endeavour to provide a suitable remedy to a complainant.
We will utilise feedback data to:
- Develop and maintain good relations with our customers
- Evaluate and improve services, programs, policies and procedures
- Inform decision making about future service and program delivery
- Evaluate and improve the management of our employees and the programs, policies and procedures they work within
What can feedback be about?
Feedback can be about:
- The services we provide
- Decisions or actions of Council (or the lack thereof)
- Our policies and processes
How can I provide feedback?
Anyone can provide feedback, whether it is in person, in writing, online or by phone.
Your valued feedback contributes to our continuous improvement towards the delivery of customer service excellence. Please take the time to provide your feedback through the avenues outlined below.
For suggestions, enquiries, complaints or compliments:
- Phone Council on (07) 3810 6666 and ask to be put through to the Complaints Management Unit (CMU)
- Write to Council online cmu@ipswich.qld.gov.au
- Via the online - Feedback form
- Feedback Form (PDF, 79.1 KB) (printable)
- Postal service - PO Box 191 Ipswich QLD 4305, or
- Visit us in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich
What is a request for service?
Council provides a diverse number of services and programs to our customers and receives complaints on a daily basis. Customer complaints when they are first brought to our attention, in the majority of cases the complaint will be managed as a request for service, as the customer will be complaining about an issue such as:
- Footpath maintenance
- Missed waste bin
- A pot hole
- A barking dog
- Overgrown parks or allotments
- Road maintenance
- Or another issue requiring Council services
A request for service is where you want Council to take action that will be handled in accordance with internal procedures and processes by the relevant operational staff and, will be completed within agreed timeframes. For a request for service, please phone Council on 07 3810 6666 alternatively you can lodge your service request here MyIpswich (registration or log-in required).
What happens when Council receives my feedback?
Your feedback is directed through to our complaints management unit (CMU) and will be managed by a customer liaison officer (CLO) in that unit.
When a suggestion or enquiry is received and can't be addressed by our helpful contact centre operators, your feedback will be receipted, acknowledged and responded to by the CMU. When a compliment is received, your feedback will be acknowledged and processed by the CMU, who then forward it through to a business area delegate to inform the recipient/s.
During the triage process if it is identified that your feedback does not fall under the complaint types managed by the CMU as outlined in Council's Complaints Management Framework (PDF, 636.0 KB), the matter will be directed on your behalf to the relevant business area for their consideration to be managed under the applicable internal process. If that occurs, the CMU will provide you advice on who will be your new contact point in Council.
When a formal complaint is received your feedback will be acknowledged, a CLO will conduct an investigation with the relevant business area, and then respond directly to you in writing. The CLO may contact you to discuss your feedback or to ask for further information. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction you can lodge a request for an internal review of that investigation. If your request for a review is accepted, you will receive an acknowledgement. Another CLO will look into the matter with fresh eyes and communicate the findings of this review in a written response. If your complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction, you can lodge a request for a third and final internal review by the Complaints Management team leader, who, if the request is accepted, will review the matter will fresh eyes and provide you a written response.
To note
Decisions on Insurance Claims are not subject to the same internal review process as matters managed by the CMU.
Further action
If not satisfied with that outcome, you have the right to take your complaint to an external agency, such as the Queensland Ombudsman or Judicial Review. You can of course at any time, also refer your concerns to the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman's Office for their review.
How long will it take to get a response to my feedback?
Council is committed to responding to your feedback and does its best to resolve complaint matters within 10-45 days. This time frame depends on the nature and complexity of your complaint.
In what instances will Council not respond to feedback?
Council reserves the right to not acknowledge or respond to:
- Feedback sent for the sole purpose of harassment
- Complainants who revisit the same issue without offering any new information for consideration.
Anonymous feedback will be considered and recorded in our feedback management system. However, with no means of contacting the sender, an acknowledgement or response will not be provided.
Complaints Management Framework
Council has a complaints management framework to ensure we deal with all complaints in a fair and transparent manner. If you require further information about the complaint management process, download:
Can I lodge a complaint on behalf of someone else?
Yes, however, if you lodge a complaint on behalf of an affected person, we will respond directly to the person affected, not to you as the person acting. If you provide a letter of authority confirming that you are acting on behalf of the affected person, we will respond to you instead.
Complaints outside Council jurisdiction
Any complaints regarding the below issues are not dealt with by Council and should be referred to the relevant body for resolution:
- Light emissions from freeways and highways, including on-ramps and off-ramps should be referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads
- Environmentally-relevant activities regulated by the Department of Environment and Science (DES) (e.g. chemical manufacturing)
- Environmentally-relevant activities regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (e.g. poultry farming)
- State or local government premises or activities should be referred to the Department of Environment and Science (DES)
- Neighbourhood disputes should be referred to Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)
What happens to my personal information when I provide feedback?
Council collects non-personal information about you unless you voluntarily choose to participate in an activity through this website that involves the collection of personal information, such as:
- sending electronic mail to this website,
- participating in a survey on this website,
- submitting a form on this website,
- undertaking a payment or other transaction through this website using our Online Self Service tools, or suggesting a link from this website to an external website.
If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use this website.
Council will not disclose your personal information to any other person or organisation unless one of the following reasons applies:
- You have given us consent to do so
- Council is required by law or authorised to do so under a law
- There are grounds to believe disclosure will prevent a threat to life or health
- That person or organisation is providing a service to Council and is required to maintain the same or similar privacy legislation principles
- Council is of the opinion that it is unable to assist with your request and that another government agency or authority is more capable of assisting or has the appropriate jurisdiction to assist with your request.
You are able to access information held by council about you under the Right to Information Act 2009 or the Information Privacy Act 2009.
If you have questions or concerns regarding council’s treatment of your information please contact the CMU on 07 3810 6666 or email cmu@ipswich.qld.gov.au
Please note that some records (e.g. land records etc.) are open to public inspection* under current legislation.
*In some instance there may be applicable fees and charges.
Are there any costs associated with lodging feedback?
No, there is no fee or charge.
When is the Customer Feedback Information reviewed?
The Customer Feedback Information is reviewed on a regular basis to guarantee its relevance and effectiveness, to ensure customer feedback is correctly recorded, prioritised and responded to within agreed timeframes.
A statement on Council’s Complaint Management is included in our Annual Report as per legislation.
Our Internal Audit Branch will periodically audit the Customer Feedback Information, processes and procedures to ensure continued efficacy.