Complaints Handling Policy

At Pal Buddhist School, we are committed to addressing concerns thoughtfully and effectively. Our approach is guided by legal and regulatory requirements, as well as the international complaints handling standard (ISO 10002:2018), the Australian complaints handling standard (AS/NZS 10002:2014), and the National Office for Child Safety’s "Complaints Handling Guide: Upholding the rights of children and young people."

Guiding Principles

In addressing concerns and appeals, we are guided by the principles of the ISO 10002:2018 standard. These principles help us ensure our process is clear, efficient, and effective.

Key Principles

• Commitment: We are dedicated to establishing and maintaining a clear process and providing the necessary resources.

• Capacity: We ensure our resources are managed effectively and efficiently.

• Transparency: We communicate our process clearly to staff, volunteers, contractors, our community, and relevant parties. We also provide clear information to those who raise concerns about how their concern is being addressed.

• Accessibility: We strive to make the process easy to understand and use for everyone.

• Responsiveness: We are attentive to the needs and expectations of those who may raise concerns.

• Objectivity: We handle each concern fairly, objectively, and without bias.

• No Charges: The process is free for those who raise concerns.

• Information Integrity: We ensure all information about our process is accurate and not misleading. We ensure collected data is relevant, correct, complete, meaningful, and useful.

• Confidentiality: We protect personal information, sharing it only to address the concern within the school, unless consent is given.

• Complainant-Focused Approach: We aim to understand the perspective of those who raise concerns and welcome feedback on our process.

• Accountability: We maintain accountability and share our decisions and actions in handling concerns.

• Improvement: We continuously seek to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our process.

• Competence: Our staff are equipped with the necessary skills, training, and experience to handle concerns.

• Timeliness: We address concerns as quickly as possible, considering the nature of the concern and the process involved.

Guidelines for Child-Focused Concerns

Pal Buddhist School also adheres to the guidelines in the Child-focused Complaints Handling Guide to protect the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people, and to meet the requirements of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

• Embedding children's rights, safety, and wellbeing: We prioritise creating a child-rights focused culture.

• Reporting responsibilities: We clearly define the roles and responsibilities of staff and volunteers in reporting and acting to protect children.

• Sharing information and communicating with stakeholders: We understand the importance of sharing information to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and comply with legal responsibilities.

• Confidentiality and privacy: We follow legal obligations to maintain confidentiality and protect personal information.

• Managing risks: We continuously monitor and reassess risks to children throughout the process.

• Conducting investigations involving children: We ensure concerns are properly investigated and taken seriously, safeguarding children's rights. Investigations are planned, fair, proportionate, and thorough, with findings based on evidence.

• Fairness and objectivity: Children's views are valued; their opinions are heard without judgment and taken seriously.

• Explaining outcomes and review options: We clearly explain the types of outcomes available for different concerns, as well as the final outcomes, reasons, and review options to all parties involved.

• Record keeping: We keep full and accurate records of concerns involving children, in line with our record-keeping obligations. These records are analysed to improve our services and identify trends and risks.

We recognise the right of children and young people to participate in decisions that affect them. Our process is guided by the following principles to ensure meaningful participation:

• Participation should cause no harm.

• Participation is voluntary and informed, considering their age, maturity, and abilities.

• It is responsive to individual needs.

• It is respectful of culture and diversity.

• It is meaningful.

• It considers ethical considerations.

• It addresses power imbalances.

• It includes continuous reflection.

Transparency and Accessibility

Pal Buddhist School is committed to ensuring information about how to raise a concern is publicly available.

The school has taken the following steps:

• A clear Complaints Handling Policy, with details on how to raise a concern and a summary of our processes, is available on our website.

• All staff are trained to recognise and record feedback effectively, as many concerns are received via telephone, in person, or email.

• We have developed a Complaints Handling Guide, provided to those raising concerns to assist them through the resolution process.

• Concerns or disputes do not need to be in writing, as this can discourage those who wish to communicate with us.

• We offer assistance to those with limited literacy skills to help them express their concerns clearly.

• We provide interpreters and staff trained to support those with special needs and from diverse cultural backgrounds.

• We also encourage feedback by offering the option to make anonymous complaints or use a pseudonym, in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 2.