Administrative action complaints

Council is committed to dealing fairly with administrative action complaints. The process is managed under Council’s Complaint Management Policy and Procedure and Council’s Housing Complaint Management Policy.

An “administrative action” complaint is a complaint about action taken or failed to be taken by Council (as defined in section 268 of the Local Government Act 2009). Council is committed to dealing fairly with every administrative action complaint. Council has a clear process in place for resolving administrative action complaints. The process is managed under Council’s Complaint Management Policy and Procedure, and Council’s Housing Complaint Management Policy. The Chief Executive Officer reports to Council annually regarding complaint management. This annual review identifies and analyses any complaint trends and significant issues, and any recommendations for improvement, to ensure Council deals with complaints in line with best practice. Council saw a spike in administrative action complaints in the 2021/22 financial year, but the number of complaints has dropped for the 2021/22 financial year: • 2018/19: 8 administrative action complaints received • 2019/20: 7 administrative action complaints received • 2021/22: 26 administrative action complaints received • 2021/22: 14 administrative action complaints received In addition to administrative action complaints, Council has also received complaints regarding employee performance, Council enterprises, privacy and human rights, Public Official complaints and Councillor conduct complaints. Overall, the number of annual complaints received by Council continues to increase. Complainants mainly used Council’s website to lodge complaints, and these are often anonymous. During the year, a separate web form was set up on Council’s website specifically for public official complaints. This allows complaints to be lodged directly to the Mayor. A Complaint Management Procedure Learning Module is currently under development and is due to be rolled out during the 2022/23 financial year, to train officers on the complaints process. An ongoing area for improvement is the response and handling time for complaints. The review of the Complaint Management Policy and Procedure in April 2021 did not result in a faster turnaround time for complaints. To streamline complaint management, the Complaint Management Procedure was updated again in March 2022 to delegate complaint decision-making to the Executive Director Corporate Services (with the exception of alleged corrupt conduct, complaints involving public interest disclosures, and complaints about the public official or the conduct or performance of Councillors). It is not yet clear whether this new arrangement will improve the turnaround time.

Administrative action complaints under section 187 of the Local Government Regulation 2012

The number of administrative action complaints made to the local government in 2021/22

The number of administrative action complaints resolved by the local government under the complaints management process in 2021/22.

The number of administrative action complaints made in previous years resolved by the local government in 2021/22.

The number of administrative action complaints not resolved by the local government under the complaints management process in 2021/22. Number

14

6

2

8 (plus 2 from previous years)

The number of administrative action complaints made in previous years that were not resolved by the local government in 2021/22.

Table 33 Record of administrative action complaints 2

Les Pitt Divisional Engineering Officer Erub, Division 14 “I feel blessed to have been working with Council for this amount of time, in a job that I love and appreciate, and where I can provide a service for my community .

Les has been with Council since 1982 (under the former Department of Aboriginal Island Affairs and Island Coordinating Council). Les’s role originally focussed on water storage and supply, which is an area where he holds significant historical knowledge. Les’s role has now expanded to include all infrastructure on Erub, from water storage, sewerage, airports, and roads, to vehicles, fuel bowsers, sporting facilities, and accommodation. His aim is to ensure that all services are up and running like clockwork.

Les’s experience also includes time as a Councillor and four years as an advisor to Council. He looks forward to working with Council and its investment in infrastructure in the Torres Strait in the years to come.