About us

Public complaints

Number of public complaints reported

Complaint categories	Sub-categories	Example	Number of Complaints 2018-19
Professional behaviour	Staff attitude	Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency	19
Professional behaviour	Staff competency	Failure to action service request; poorly informed decisions; incorrect or incomplete service provided	8
Professional behaviour	Staff knowledge	Lack of service specific knowledge; incomplete or out-of-date knowledge	0
Communication	Communication quality	Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer	5
Communication	Confidentiality	Customer’s confidentiality or privacy not respected; information shared incorrectly	0
Service delivery	Systems/ technology	System offline; inaccessible to customer; incorrect result/information provided; poor system design	0
Service delivery	Access to services	Service difficult to find; location poor; facilities/ environment poor standard; not accessible to customers with disabilities	66
Service delivery	Process	Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive	3
Policy	Policy application	Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given	0
Policy	Policy content	Policy content difficult to understand; policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer	0
Service quality	Information	Incorrect, incomplete, out dated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose	0
Service quality	Access to information	Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use; not plain English	0
Service quality	Timeliness	Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met	3
Service quality	Safety	Maintenance; personal or family safety; duty of care not shown; poor security service/ premises; poor cleanliness	8
Service quality	Service responsiveness	Service design doesn’t meet customer needs; poor service fit with customer expectations	24
No case to answer	No case to answer	Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate	0
		Total	136

Source: DHS Client Feedback System (note: complaints data is influenced by various factors including Machinery of Government changes, changes in service provision and relies on complaint data being entered into the Client Feedback System).

Additional Metrics	Total
Number of positive feedback comments	69
Number of negative feedback comments	136
Total number of feedback comments	205
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes	81%

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/organization/dept-of-human-services under Government reporting and policy.

Service improvements for period

Service improvements that responded to customer complaints or feedback

ConcessionsSA

In response to customer feedback, ConcessionsSA simplified and streamlined concession processes in 2018-19 to reduce red tape. As a result, ConcessionsSA is due to process 250,000 less sheets of paper each year. Customer service improvements include:

Simplified concessions application form: The number of questions on the customer application form was significantly reduced from 34 to 14 questions. Forms were also consolidated, resulting in a single application for all household concessions (energy, water, sewerage, Cost of Living and Emergency Services Levy).
Reduced supporting documents: Operational systems were improved so that customers no longer need to provide copies of a range of documents with their application or when their living arrangements change.
Shift in customer communication channels: DHS now seeks any missing customer information via communication over the phone, rather than by post.
Notification of approval: Written notification was introduced to advise the customer that their application was approved, reducing any uncertainty for the customer. A summary of concession payment methods and timeframes is included to help keep the customer informed.

As a result of service improvements, the processing time for customer applications has been reduced from two to three months to less than one week.

In 2019-20, further work will be undertaken to simplify and streamline online forms and to utilise SMS technology to provide concessions notification updates to customers.

Interpreting and Translating Centre (ITC)

Changes to the ITC Management System were made to address client complaints regarding invoicing and response times to booking confirmation. These include the centralisation of accounts and process enhancements.

Youth Justice

In 2018-19, following research into alternative options to partially clothed searches at the Adelaide Youth Training Centre - Kurlana Tapa, Youth Justice implemented the use of ion scanning machines that can detect various forms of contraband, such as illegal drugs. This has contributed to a reduction in the number of partially clothed searches being undertaken.

Page last updated : 12 Aug 2021