Refer to council's Customer Feedback and Complaints Policy for general complaints. Use the form below to provide feedback to us.
The council is committed to providing excellence in customer service. As part of this commitment, council seeks to know what its customers require, understand how it can improve its services to meet the needs of its community, and respond positively to concerns and criticisms. Refer to Council's Customer Feedback and Complaints Policy.
Council will ensure the following steps are followed when responding to requests for service, complaints, or feedback to ensure that they are managed in a timely, effective and fair manner:
1. Acknowledge complaints promptly
2. Assess the complaint (simple problems may not need to be
investigated)
3. Plan investigation, where it is warranted
4. Investigate the complaint
5. Clear decision to the complainant (unless anonymous – see below)
6. Follow up on any customer service concerns
7. Identify internal process improvements required to be changed (to be notified to the complainant where appropriate).
There are many variables that can affect the response time for a complaint e.g. the complexity of the issue, availability of evidence, and staff resources for considering the complaint (not intended as an exhaustive list).
Council will commit to acknowledging receipt of a complaint within 5 clear working days of receipt. Emphasis will be on resolving complaints where possible
as soon as possible. Council will endeavour to assess and respond to complaints within 10 working days of the matter being escalated. Where responding is anticipated to be outside of the intended 10 working days, the council will advise the complainant with updates to keep the complainant regularly informed of progress.
If you are in doubt about how your complaint is being handled, please contact one of our friendly Customer Service Officers located at the Council Office or call (08) 8229 9999.
Internal Review of a Council Decision
Refer to council's Internal Review of Council Decisions (s270) Policy. The Internal Review of Council Decisions Policy will apply to all applications for review of decisions of council, its employees, or other persons acting on behalf of council, except where other statutory processes are available.
Any person who is affected by the decisions made by council, its employees, or other persons acting on behalf of council, may lodge an application for an internal review of that decision. Applications are to be made in writing and include:
- a statement clearly indicating that the applicant wishes to have a decision reviewed under Section 270 of the Local Government Act 1999
- detail of the decision to be reviewed
- a statement outlining the reasons for requesting a review; and
- any other relevant information.
Applications should be made within 6 months of the most recent Council decision on a matter, however this timeframe may be extended by the Chief Executive Officer (or nominee) on a case by case basis depending on the review merit.
The application should be addressed to (hand-delivered, posted, or emailed to mail@holdfast.sa.gov.au):
Chief Executive Officer
City of Holdfast Bay
PO Box 19
BRIGHTON S5048A
Staff are able to facilitate assistance for applicants where necessary to help prepare the letter/email, including the use of an interpreter, providing assistance for people with a disability, or referring applicants to an advocate.
An application for review of a Council decision will be formally acknowledged by the Contact Officer within 5 clear working days of receipt of the application, including advice to applicants about an estimated timeframe for dealing with the application.
In most cases, applications for review will be considered within 28 days, or in a timely manner for complex reviews (where appropriate enquiries, assessment of the evidence, drafting of a response and decision‐making may take several months to complete).
Applicants will be kept informed by the Contact Officer about the progress of the review either by email, telephone or letter and advised in writing of the outcome of the review process.
ICAC Complaints
Suspected corruption, misconduct, or maladministration in public administration can be reported to the Office for Public Integrity. The preferred mechanism for making complaints is via an Online website form. Alternatively, you can contact the agency as per the details below.
Phone: (08) 8207 1777 or 1300 782 489 (for country callers)
Post: GPO Box 11066,
ADELAIDE SA 5001
Street address: Level 1, 55 Currie Street, Adelaide, SA 5000.
Website: http://www.icac.sa.gov.au