Complaint Lodgement Form

Exclusions

• Complaints which involve matters relating to the safeguarding of vulnerable people, please use Incident report (Person)
• Complaints relating to a matter or matters before the Courts, the subject of investigation by law enforcement, or subject of a civil litigation claim.
• Complaints that arise from an issue or incident that occurred more than 12 months ago.
• Third party complaints unless the complainant are the guardian of a vulnerable person.
• Vexatious, malicious, or frivolous complaints.

Natural Justice

Scouts WA will uphold the principles of natural justice in responding to a complaint. This requires that the subject of the complaint be given enough information so that they can understand and respond to the complaint made against them. Non-adverse information, adverse information which is not being relied on, and information that would merely be of interest (e.g. the identity of the complainant will invariably be of interest to the person complained about however may not be relevant to the subject matter of the complaint) does not trigger a natural justice obligation to provide the person with that information.

Procedural Fairness

Scouts WA will maintain complaint procedures which ensure procedural fairness. These will include:

• Reasonable notice that an adverse decision may be made.
• Notice of the specific, critical issue or issues on which the decision is likely to turn.
• Information about any adverse, relevant, or credible evidence that has been obtained from other persons.
• A fair opportunity to directly address those critical issues.
• Genuine consideration by the decision maker of the person's submissions with an open mind and without prejudice or any form of bias.
• A right for the person to appeal the decision on the basis of not being provided natural justice and/or procedural fairness.

Timelines

Scouts WA will not unreasonably delay investigation of a complaint. We will seek to conclude an investigation within 25 business days of receiving the complaint and provide a response to the complainant within the following 15 business days.

Policy and Standard

• Scouts WA Complaints Policy
• Scouts WA Complaints Standard

Your Personal Details

Whistleblower protections

Scouts WA commits to take all reasonable steps to protect persons making a complaint of improper conduct from victimisation, harassment or discriminatory treatment by Scouts WA, its employees, volunteers and members. In support of this all complaints of improper conduct will be investigated by the Executive Manager unless they are the subject of the complaint in which case the matter will be investigated by the Board Chairman.

Limitations of anonymous and confidential complaints

Scouts WA commits to assist people who wish to make an anonymous complaint. However, it may be difficult (and sometimes impossible) for us to progress a complaint without certain information such as the name of the relevant parties.

This is because:

• it can be difficult for us to clarify or ask any further details about the complaint if we do not have the contact details of the complainant
• we may not be able to gather specific information from other parties about the issues raised in the complaint
• we need to ensure those involved in the complaint are given a fair opportunity to respond to allegations and it may be difficult to explain an allegation without disclosing certain information
• in some circumstances we may be compelled to share information about a confidential complaint with others, such as if the matter is the subject of legal proceedings.

Help Required

If someone is helping you complete this form, please complete this section.

You may also call (08) 6240 7798 and request assistance completing the form.

Nature of Complaint

Who is the subject of your complaint?

Previously Raised Complaint Information

Complaint Details

We need to know what happened. In your own words please tell us:

• When it happened? Specific dates, time.
• Who do you believe was responsible for and/or involved in what happened?
• What was the impact of what happened?

Attachment

You can only upload one file with this report