Changes to the student and public complaints process

ServiceNow will now be used for receiving and referring complaints, as well as communicating with stakeholders regarding complaints and feedback received (effective 18 March). The student.complaints@acu.edu.au and feedback@acu.edu.au email inboxes will no longer receive complaint or feedback forms. These email inboxes will be reserved for other communications between ACU staff and the Complaints & Feedback team.

The key purpose for the change is:

• to increase the security around handling and storing the sensitive and personal information of complainants, their complaints, and supporting documentation; and
• to streamline and systematise the process.

See a summary of the key changes below.

1) The policy and procedure have recently been updated in both title and content, to encompass complaints from members of the public:

• Student and Public Complaints Policy
• Student and Public Complaints Procedure

2) What is the new process for students submitting a complaint?
Instead of using the public form on the ACU website to submit a complaint or feedback, current students will be directed to log into the student portal to submit the form, which will be received by the Complaints & Feedback team in ServiceNow. Students wishing to be fully anonymous in the submission of their complaint will be directed to the public form. These forms will also be received in ServiceNow.

Notifications and communications relating to complaints from current students will be notified and received in a student’s ACU email and the student portal.

3) What is the process for prospective students and members of the public?
These stakeholders will continue to use the public form on the ACU website, which will be received in ServiceNow.

Notifications and communications relating to complaints from these stakeholders will be notified and sent to the email address they used to submit their complaint or feedback.

4) What is different for complaint handlers, or the recipient of feedback?
Once a complaint or feedback has been referred, you will receive this as an email from ServiceNow, rather than from the Student Complaints or Feedback email address.

It is important that you reply directly to these emails to ensure that our team receives your correspondence, and that all correspondence relating to a case (submitted complaint/ feedback) is logged against its relevant case ID.

5) Are there knowledge articles or other information available yet on these changes, that can be shared with students or colleagues?
Soon the Complaints & Feedback team will be developing knowledge articles for staff (which will be available in Service Central) and for students (which will be available in the AskACU portal). The team will advise when this information is available in future communications.

In the meantime, there is information on the ACU website which is readily accessible and clear in directing students and public stakeholders to the relevant portal/ form to submit a complaint or feedback: Complaints and feedback – ACU.

If you have any questions about these changes, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Complaints & Feedback team at student.complaints@acu.edu.au.