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Complaint Form

* Required
•To find out how we will use the information you provide to us, read our Privacy Statement (Commonwealth, Overseas Students, VET Student Loans, Private Health Insurance and Postal Industry Ombudsman). For more information about privacy read our Privacy Policy.
•Do not use this form to make a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. Visit our Public Interest Disclosure webpage for more information.
•Information in this form is sent to us via the business.gov.au form service and is encrypted. Only include Unclassified information in this form. Please phone us if the information in your complaint requires additional security or special handling.
•Visit the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework website to find out more about Australian Government information security management and classification.
•Since 1 December 2016, the Ombudsman’s functions will be expanded to provide an independent mechanism to report serious abuse in Defence. The Ombudsman is external to Defence. For more information and to report abuse in Defence click here.
•If you have already lodged a complaint or enquiry with us and wish to provide additional information or request an update, please call us on 1300 362 072 and speak to a member of our Public Contact Team. Please do not submit an additional complaint using this form.
•This form must be completed in a single session.
•VET Student Loans and VET FEE-HELP complaints: People wanting to make a complaint in relation to the VET FEE-HELP scheme or VET Student Loans program should first consider the information here before lodging a complaint with our office.
Before you startPlease read our factsheet what to do before making a complaint as this form must be completed in a single session.It will also help if you read: •Centrelink complaints•VET Student Loans and VET FEE-HELP complaints•Complaints about a postal operator•National Disability Insurance Agency complaints•Private health insurance complaints•My Health Record complaints
Using this formPlease complete all fields in this form to lodge your complaint with our Office.Don’t complete this form if you are:1.reporting abuse in Defence2.making a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. Visit Public Interest Disclosure for more information
Please phone us instead on 1300 362 072.If you have already lodged a complaint or enquiry with us, we will contact you to discuss your complaint and keep you informed of its status.
Privacy and SecurityTo find out how we will use the information you provide to us, please read our Privacy Policy. We also have Privacy Statements for Overseas Students, VET Student Loans, Private Health Insurance and Postal Industry Ombudsman.Information in this form is encrypted and sent to us via the business.gov.au website. Only include unclassified information in this form. Please phone us if the information in your complaint requires additional security or special handling.Visit the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework website to find out more about Australian Government information security management and classification.
What is your complaint about? *
We can investigate the administrative actions of Australian Government Agencies, Registered Postal Operators, the Australian Federal Police, Registered Private Education Providers in relation to International Students, private health insurance arrangements, and the Australian Defence Force in relation to past or present service. We cannot investigate the actions and decisions of government ministers or politicians, private individuals, state, territory or local governments, or issues relating to banks, credit cards and loans, energy and water, financial advisers, insurance, mobile phone and internet providers. If your complaint is about more than one organisation, enter the main organisation here and provide details of others in the description of your complaint.
Is your complaint about an organisation that is a private registered education provider and does your complaint relate to an overseas student? *
Important information about private health insurance complaints
We can deal with complaints from health fund members, health funds, private hospitals or medical practitioners. Complaints must be about a health insurance arrangement. Complaints about the quality of service or treatment provided by a health professional or a hospital should be directed to a health care complaints body.
Name of the your complaint is about *
Select the postal operator your complaint is about *
We can only investigate complaints about Australia Post, and other postal or courier operators that are registered as a Private Postal Operator (PPO) under the Ombudsman Act 1976. Please visit our web site to review a list of registered Private Postal Operators.
Important information about Taxation complaints
The Inspector-General of Taxation handles complaints about tax administration by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). Contact the Inspector-General of Taxation at http://www.igt.gov.au/ or 1300 448 829. Please see Taxation Complaints for more information. We can investigate complaints about Public Interest Disclosures (PID) made to the ATO or TPB. If you wish to make a PID about the ATO or TPB or complain about the handling of a PID by the ATO or TPB, do not use this form. Visit our PID webpage for more information.
Does your complaint relate to a Freedom of Information request you have lodged with the Australian Taxation Office or the Tax Practitioners Board? *
We cannot investigate your complaint
We cannot investigate a as these matters are outside our powers.
We can investigate complaints by intending and current overseas students in Australia who have a problem with a private registered education provider who is registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). We cannot investigate complaints about other types of education providers, including government or public education providers.
Use the menu below to search for another complaint-handling agency that may be able to assist with your complaint.
Contact the Financial Ombudsman Service - http://www.fos.org.au - 1300 780 808
Contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman - http://www.tio.com.au - 1800 062 058
Contact the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW - http://www.ewon.com.au - 1800 246 545
Contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria - http://www.ewov.com.au - 1800 500 509
Contact the Energy & Water Ombudsman Queensland - http://www.ewoq.com.au - 1800 662 837
Contact the Energy & Water Ombudsman SA - http://www.ewosa.com.au - 1800 665 565
Contact the Energy & Water Ombudsman Western Australia - http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/energyandwater/index.html - 1800 754 004
Contact the Energy Ombudsman Tasmania - http://www.energyombudsman.tas.gov.au - 1800 001 170
Contact the Ombudsman NT - http://www.ombudsman.nt.gov.au - 1800 806 380
Contact the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal - http://www.acat.act.gov.au - 02 6207 1740
Contact the NSW Ombudsman - http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/ - 1800 451 524 (Toll free outside Sydney metro only) or 02 9286 1000
Contact the Victorian Ombudsman - http://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/ - 1800 806 314 (Regional) or 03 9613 6222
Contact the Queensland Ombudsman - http://www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au/ - 1800 068 908 or 07 3005 7000
Contact the Ombudsman South Australia - http://www.ombudsman.sa.gov.au/ - 1800 182 150 (Toll free outside metro SA only) or 08 8226 8699
Contact the Office of the Training Advocate - http://www.trainingadvocate.sa.gov.au/ - 1800 006 488
Contact the Ombudsman Western Australia - http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/ - 1800 117 000 (Toll free for country and interstate callers) or 08 9220 7555
Contact the Ombudsman Tasmania - http://www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au/ - 1800 001 170 (toll free in Tasmania)
Contact the Ombudsman NT - http://www.ombudsman.nt.gov.au/ - 08 8999 1818 or 1800 806 380 (Toll free from land lines only)
Contact the ACT Ombudsman - http://www.ombudsman.act.gov.au/ - 1300 362 072
Have you lodged a complaint with the complaint handling area of the you are dissatisfied with? *
Complaint Reference Number and date lodged
Provide any complaint reference number the you are complaining about has to identify your complaint, and the date you lodged your complaint with the . Do NOT provide your tax file number (TFN) or any confidential numbers.
Contact the involved before you submit this form
We usually do not investigate a complaint until it has been raised with the involved. This gives the an opportunity to solve the matter first.
We suggest that you lodge a complaint or appeal with the complaint-handling area of the you are dissatisfied with.
We suggest that you lodge a complaint with the Department of Human Services Complaints and Feedback area. The contact details are:
Internet: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/information/feedback-complaints
Phone: 1800 132 468
We suggest that you lodge a complaint with the Australia Post Customer Sales and Service Centre. The contact details are:
Internet: http://auspost.com.au (go to the ‘Contact us’ link)
Phone Enquiries:
Australian contact 13 76 78
Account holder contact 13 11 18
International contact + 61 3 8847 9045
If this does not resolve your complaint, you are welcome to contact us again with the response provided to you.
Do you believe there are special reasons for you to submit a complaint to us without first lodging a complaint with the you are dissatisfied with? *
Explain the reasons you have not lodged a complaint with the you are dissatisfied with (300 character limit)
/300

Contact details

* Required
Your details
Important information about anonymous complaints
You may complain to us anonymously, however, if you do so it may be difficult or impossible for us to investigate your complaint. We will not normally investigate an anonymous complaint unless there is sufficient information in the complaint to enable us to conduct an investigation and the complaint raises a serious matter. In addition, if you lodge a complaint without providing your contact details we will not be able to respond to you or obtain further necessary information. Please phone our office if you want to confirm if we can accept your complaint anonymously. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.
Do you wish to make this complaint anonymously?
Date of birth
Do you need an interpreter to speak to us by phone?
Are you making this complaint on behalf of someone else? *
Complete an Authorisation Form
You can submit a complaint on behalf of someone else. Before we can investigate the complaint, a consent form must be signed by the person you are making the complaint on behalf of. We may also need to contact the other person to confirm details of the complaint. Download the Permission for another person to act on my behalf declaration and attach a completed copy at the end of this Complaint Form.
Details of the person you are making this complaint for
Date of birth
Private health fund details

Complaint details

* Required
Describe your complaint *(1200 character limit)
/1200
What steps have you taken to resolve your complaint? *(1200 character limit)
/1200
What would you like the you are complaining about to do in order to resolve your complaint? *(500 character limit)
/500
In some situations, we may decide that a complaint would be best handled by being transferred back to the organisation being complained about for action. Do you consent to us transferring your complaint in these circumstances? *
If your issue hasn't already been escalated, our usual process is to refer your complaint to the organisation or provider for a quicker response (for complaints about Health Funds, this is usually three business days from the time we contact the Fund). It's important that they have an opportunity to review their decision at a higher level, before we proceed with an investigation. Do you agree to us transferring your complaint in these circumstances? *
If we cannot investigate your complaint, we may be able to transfer your complaint to another organisation that we consider is better placed to deal with the matter. Do you consent to us transferring your complaint to a different organisation if we decide we cannot investigate your complaint? *
Do you wish to attach files to your complaint? *
How to attach files
After you press the Submit button, you will be taken to a new page where you can upload attachments. You must press the Continue button after you add your files otherwise your submission will not be complete.
© Commonwealth Ombudsman 2015
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