Complaints

If you have a problem, issue or concern about the service, decision or action of Douglas Shire Council, we would like to hear about it. 

Your comments provide us with valuable feedback to allow for continuous service improvements.

If your matter is urgent: for example a burst water main or public safety hazard you can report this immediately to Council by phone on 4099 9444.

If you would like to lodge a request for service or notify Council about a non-urgent problem, for example a pot-hole or barking dog, you can use the link here or call Customer Service on 4099 9444 .

Complaints about Council services
Complaints about employee conduct
Complaints about Councillor Conduct
Human Rights Complaint
Noise Complaints
Dogs and animal complaints
General and non-urgent requests

Complaints About Council Services

If your complaint is about a Council service, an officer in the relevant business area will be assigned to a Council officer in the relevant business area to investigate and respond to you. 

If this initial response is unsatisfactory  and you would like to request a review of Council’s decision by a relevant manager, an internal review of an administrative action or process led by the Governance Manager or else lodge a complaint about the conduct of a Council Officer, the complaint will be investigated in accordance with Council’s Administrative Action Complaints Management Process. 

Administrative Action Complaints Policy & Procedure 

Douglas Shire Council has established a complaints management system in line with the requirements of the Qld Local Government Act 2009 

Section 268 of the Qld Local Government Act 2009 requires Councils to establish a complaints management process for resolving administrative action complaints. 

An administrative action complaint (AAC) is a complaint made by a constituent about an administrative action of Council and includes: 

  • a decision, or a failure to make a decision 
  • an act, or a failure to do an act 
  • the formulation of a proposal or intention, and 
  • the making or a recommendation. 

The types of complaints dealt with by the AAC process include:  

  • A complaint about a Council service or other administrative action. 
  • A complaint about the conduct of a Council employee. 

Further information on Administrative Action Complaints can be obtained in the links below:

Administrative Action Complaints Management Policy (218.1 KiB)

Administrative Action Complaints Management Procedure (800.4 KiB)

An Administrative Action Complaint can be lodged on following form:

GV06 - Administrative Action Complaint Form (210.6 KiB)

Requirements For A Complaint

Administrative Action Complaints will normally only be accepted when they are made by an ‘affected person’. This is someone who has personally been directly affected by the conduct, service or other action of Council.  

Complaints lodged by legal guardians and caretakers in the name of an affected person, and complaints made anonymously, will be directed to the Manager Governance for assessment and response.  

To be acknowledged and investigated, the complaint must be reasonably complete and include specific details of where and when and who the complaint is about and what is being requested as an outcome. 

How to make a complaint 

Complaints can be made by:  

  • Writing to the Chief Executive Officer 
  • Telephoning 4099 9444 
  • Emailing enquiries@douglas.qld.gov.au  
  • Visiting Customer Service at the Council Administration Building, Front Street Mossman or at the Community Hub, Mowbray Street Port Douglas. 

What to include in your complaint

To assist Council in dealing quickly and effectively with your complaint, you are asked to provide the following:  

  • As much detail as possible about the matter.  
  • Details of any loss or detriment that you have suffered.  
  • List any other agencies or authorities you have already reported this matter to.  
  • Your contact details, including your name and at least one method of contact (phone, email, address).  
  • An explanation of the outcome you are seeking noting the kinds of actions that are possible for Council to take.  
  • Any supporting information including photos or contact details of anyone else who can support your complaint.  
  • A declaration that you are an affected person and that the information submitted in the complaint is true and correct.  

Accessibility

Council has a range of channels for accessing Council officers and services including  

  • In person 
  • Post  
  • Email  
  • Telephone  

Reasonable assistance will be provided to help people make complaints, including translating and interpreting services and services for people with hearing or speech impairments.

What happens next

Your complaint will be registered in Council’s records and you will be provided with an acknowledgement of receipt of your complaint and a complaint reference number (COM).  This will occur within 10 working days of receipt of a complaint.  

A working day is any day Monday to Friday and not inclusive of weekends, reflecting Council’s ordinary business hours.   

A Council reference number is issued whenever a  

  1. Problem is Reported (CRM);  
  2. Complaint is filed (COM);  
  3. Right to Information (RTI) or Information Privacy (IP) access application is lodged ;  
  4. A formal request or formal response to a request is generated

What To Expect

As a complainant, you should be kept informed of the progress of any investigation and you will be notified of the outcome.

How long will it take to resolve a complaint?  

Council aims to resolve all complaints as quickly as possible.   

Complaints about simple matters, that don’t require a formal investigation, can usually be addressed within a few business days.  

However, the circumstances vary considerably between complaints and types of complaints.   

Council endeavours to resolve complaints of a minor nature within 20 working days, and within 40 working days for complaints of a complex nature and up to 45 business days in the case of a Human Rights complaint. 

Some complaints are referred to other agencies, for example –the Office of the Independent Assessor | Office of the Independent Assessor (oia.qld.gov.au) in the case of councillor conduct complaints. Complaints handled by other agencies are handled according to the response times and resources available in those external agencies.  

Can I make a complaint and remain anonymous?  

Council acknowledges that in certain circumstances a person may prefer to remain anonymous when making a complaint. This is not encouraged, as it can compromise the quality of the investigation, however Council respects this right and will investigate all complaints received. Anonymous complaints can be made in writing to the Chief Executive Officer or by phone. 

The complaint must still include all relevant information to enable Council to investigate and respond or the complaint may be dismissed for lack of evidence and credible grounds for pursuing the complaint.  

What happens to the information and documentation?  

Documentation relating to a complaint will be treated as confidential information.  This includes the written complaint, investigation report and correspondence between the complainant and the investigator.  

Your personal information is handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and will be accessed by persons who have been authorised to do so.   

Any personal information you choose to provide will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided and will not be disclosed to other persons or organisations without your prior consent, or if required by law. 

Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given permission of the disclosure except as authorised by law. 

Grounds for refusal:   

Complaints can only be investigated on the basis of credible and reasonably complete information.  

Grounds for refusing a complaint include: 

  • The matter is not within Council’s power. 
  • The matter is not within the Douglas Shire. 
  • As worded, the complaint breaches or else would breach Work, Health and Safety, Respect at Work, anti-bullying; psycho-social safety and/or industrial obligations. 
  • The complaint is Unacceptable Complainant Conduct2 meeting the Ombudsman’s tests for UCC being unacceptably persistent, based on wrong or false assumptions or argument/s, demanding, uncooperative or another unacceptable behaviour and/or Unreasonable Council Contact or else is breaching the restrictions already in place as a result of prior notice from Council. 
  • The complaint is already closed, due to having been considered already by a previous Council, CEO and/or a court of law and no new or further information 
  • and there are no grounds for resubmitting the complaint that have not already been addressed.  
  • The complaint is frivolous, vexatious, malicious, negligent, unlawful, discriminatory, reckless or intentionally wasteful of time and resources in which any review or investigation is unable to alter or produce a different result. 
  • To respond, the complaint would be an excessive application of resources, including that the matter has previously been investigated, has previously or is currently being internally or externally reviewed already,  or has been investigated and determined, internally reviewed and determined to be closed by Council, unless or until there is new information, or else is currently the subject of an appeal or investigation at another place. 
  • Has been reviewed, or is in the process of being reviewed, mediated and/or determined by an external party or a regulator for example, the Ombudsman, Crime and Corruption Commission, Office of the Independent Assessor, the Privacy Commissioner, or Queensland Human Rights Commission, a court of law or alternative dispute mechanism.   
  • Involves illegal or unlawful discrimination or harassment (actual and attempted), and / or makes verbal or physical threats, aggression, shaming, abuse and/or malice. 

Privacy Notice:  The information you supply to Council will be used for the purpose of responding to your complaint.  The collection of this information is authorised by the Information Privacy Act 2009.  Your personal details will only be provided to the Complaints Officer or when necessary to a relevant department officer for investigation purposes and will not be disclosed to any third party unless you have given permission or Council is required to do so by law.

Human rights complaints 

The introduction of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Human Rights Act) means that human rights considerations now form part of decision-making and complaints management approaches by government agencies, including local governments. 

In the case of a Human Rights complaint, if a complaint has been lodged, and the complainant has not received a response from Council within 45 business days, or else you are dissatisfied with the Council’s  response, you can make a complaint to the QHRC – Queensland Human Rights Commission directly. 

Further Action  

If you are dissatisfied with the decision or outcome of your complaint you have the right to take your complaint to an external agency, such as the Queensland Ombudsman.  

Phone: (07) 3005 7000 or 1800 068 908  

Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.qld.gov.au