complaints
young people can make a complain if they are not happy with the service they receive from us
If we're not meeting this standard, we need young people to tell us so we can do something about it.
what a complaint is
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, usually about service, staff, behaviour, or the environment.
Complaints that relate to specific service received should not be dealt with by the person (or provider) concerned, although the person concerned should be given an opportunity to provide an explanation.
A complaint can be made verbally, through the online complaint form on the MSD website, or in writing.
Note: a complaint is not a review of decision – these have their own guidelines and processes.
how to make a complaint
Young people can make the complaint or they can get a support person such as a family member, friend or social worker to make a complaint on their behalf.
There are several ways they can do this:
- submit their complaint online
- call Work and Income
- make an appointment to see their Youth Service provider
- write to MSD:
Ministry of Social Development
PO Box 1556
Wellington.
You should submit any complaint you receive in ART.
Task category: Issues Management
Task type: Client wants to lodge a complaint
what we need to know
Ideally, young people will give us the following information:
- their name, address, contact phone number, and client number
- details of what their complaint is about, and
- how they would like us to resolve the complaint (eg, being heard, an apology, or a guarantee of better treatment in future).
If the complaint is done in person you must advise the young person that:
- their complaint will be sent to MSD for investigation, and
- they will be contacted with the resolution or an update within the next five working days.
msd follow-up
We will:
- look into the complaint immediately to see what went wrong and how this can be put right, and
- acknowledge the complaint by phone or email and let them know what we'll do to resolve it.
If we need to work with others to resolve the complaint this may take extra time, they'll let the complainant know if this is the case.
complaint about your service
Any complaint you receive from a young people that is about your service or a decision you have made, must be addressed and resolved by you in accordance with your organisations policy and procedure for complaints and dispute resolution.
You must document and record complaints received from a young person into ART, even if the matter was resolved and no further action is required.
If you are unable to resolve any complaints and you feel the matter could escalate further, or you receive a serious or high risk complaint (for example those alleging serious misconduct or harm), you must notify your local Regional Contract Manager immediately.
Please note, if you receive a complaint about the way you have managed an earlier complaint or the resolution of the original complaint, you must notify your Regional Contract Manager immediately.
msd receives a complaint about your service
If MSD receives a complaint about your service, your Regional Contract Manager or YSSU will contact the young person to acknowledge receipt of the complaint.
Following this, your Regional Contract Manager will assign the complaint to you to investigate and resolve the issue with the young person.
On completion of your investigation, you must email your Regional Contract Manager and detail:
- recommended resolution
- what contact you had with the young person, and
- any action taken since receipt of complaint.
As the complaint has been received by MSD, your Regional Contract Manager is responsible for providing the written response to the young person. The Regional Contract Manager will send a letter to the young person that outlines the outcome and contains information about what they can do or who to contact if they are still dissatisfied.
young person unhappy with the outcome
If the young person is not happy with the outcome of their complaint, they can take the matter to their local member if parliament, the Ombudsman, or the Privacy Commissioner.