Do you have a complaint, would you like to make a comment, or are you seeking a review of a decision made by Child Safety and Youth Justice Services?

Child Safety Service is committed to protecting children and young people.  Youth Justice Services aims to supervise and assist children and young people who have offended.

You might want to comment on, or complain about, our services, especially if you have an issue with:

• a decision we have made
• the service we have given you and/or
• the behaviour of our staff.

Who can complain?

You can make a complaint about a service if you are a client of a service (whether adult, young person or child); a friend, relative or guardian of a client; a service provider; or anyone who has a valid interest in an issue.

You can complain about a service provided by Child Safety or Youth Justice Services if you believe they:

• failed to properly look after you, your family or friend
• failed to give you enough information or you feel  your rights were denied
• denied your respect, dignity or privacy
• were not dedicated and/or
• caused you concern for any other reason.

Reporting Concerns About Your Safety or the Safety of a Child or Young Person.

The Department is committed to safeguarding the rights of all children and young people to have an education, to be heard, and to be kept safe from harm.

If you have any concerns about your safety or the safety of a child or young person, you must report it immediately by contacting the Advice and Referral Line on 1800 000 123. If you or a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, contact 000 for urgent police or medical help.

Enquiries

If you have a general enquiry please telephone 1800 816 057 during business hours: 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday

Seeking a review of a decision

You have the right to be told about a Children and Youth Services decision that affects you, and the reasons behind a decision. This usually happens through meetings with staff members, or through more formal planning meetings.

In Child Safety a family group conference can be held to review previous agreements or care arrangements.

At Ashley Youth Detention Centre you can meet and talk to the Manager.

You also have the right to say when you do not agree with a decision, and expect that your views will be listened to and considered.

How to Resolve Your Concern

• If English is not your first language, you can call the Telephone and Interpreter Service on 131 450 for assistance.

We want Tasmanian children, young people and their families to have the best possible chance of reaching their full potential.

To help them achieve this, we provide family violence counselling and support, child safety, out of home care, adoptions, youth justice and other services.

Our promise to you

We strive to provide useful, respectful and fair services sensitive to your choices, needs, values and culture. We also strive to work in partnership with you in a courteous, professional and responsive way. We will always try to answer your questions, but if we cannot give you all of the information you want, we will explain why.

Who can make a complaint?

Anyone who has contact with our services can make a complaint if they are not satisfied.  You can make a complaint to any of our staff.  The easiest way to sort out a problem is to speak with the person you have been dealing with or their Team Leader or Manager. If you are worried about the rights of a child in care not being upheld, you can contact the Child Advocate for Out of Home Care by email at child.advocate@communities.tas.gov.au or phone 1800 549 725.

If you are not fully satisfied with our response to your concern you can make a formal complaint.

What can you expect when making a complaint?

When you make a formal complaint our staff will listen to you, give you information where we can and keep your concerns confidential. We will help you make your complaint and make sure it gets to the right person. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint we will help you to take it further.

How to make a complaint

It is always a good idea to put your concerns in writing as it helps us get a clearer picture of your concerns.

You can either email your concerns to cyf.liaison@communities.tas.gov.au or mail them to:

GPO Box 65, HOBART, TAS, 7001. Alternatively, you can call us on (03) 6166 3526.

We will contact you within a week of receiving your formal complaint to talk with you about how we will address your concern. We will try to resolve any formal complaint within four weeks of receiving it – if it will take any longer we will let you know. We will treat your complaint confidentially and only discuss it with the people involved in sorting it out. We will write to tell you the outcome and explain our decision.

What should I include in my written complaint?

Here are a few suggestions of what to include to help us address your concern:

• Details of who was involved, the date it happened and did anyone else see what happened.
• Please attach any documents or photographs to support your complaint and say what they are about.
• Describe how your concern has affected you, your family or your client.
• What would you like to see happen to resolve your concerns?
• Please make sure you include your contact details.

How to take your complaint further

If you are not fully satisfied with the outcome of your formal complaint you can ask for it to be reviewed by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will review your complaint to make sure proper procedures were followed and that you have been treated fairly.

Ombudsman Tasmania

Phone 1800 001 170, email ombudsman@ombudsman.tas.gov.au or write to
GPO Box 960, HOBART, TAS, 7001.

Contact information

Children Youth and Families Complaints
Email: cyf.liaison@communities.tas.gov.au
Postal: GPO Box 169, HOBART, TAS, 7001.
Phone: (03) 6166 3526