| Complaint categories | Sub-categories | Example | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional behaviour | Staff competency | Failure to action service request; poorly informed decisions; incorrect or incomplete service provided | 26 |
| Communication | Communication quality | Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer | 25 |
| Service delivery | Process | Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive | 32 |
| Policy | Policy application | Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given | 10 |
| Service quality | Timeliness | Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met | 17 |
| No case to answer | No case to answer | Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate | 33 |
| Total | 143 |
| Additional Metrics | Total |
|---|---|
| Number of positive feedback comments | 20 |
| Number of negative feedback comments | 143 |
| Total number of feedback comments | 163 |
In 2019 the Public Trustee reviewed and updated its complaints management procedures consistent with the Ombudsman SA 2018 Audit report and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 (Complaints Management in the South Australian Public Sector).
Additional training was provided to staff in recording, investigating and resolving complaints. The Public Trustee has increased the rigour around complaint investigation led by Branch Managers.
The Public Trustee recorded 143 complaints in 2019-20. A number of these complaints arose from the high number of telephone and email enquiries from customers seeking access to economic stimulus payments under Federal government COVID-19 support arrangements.
The average number of days to resolve a customer complaint was 8.7 (target 10 days).
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/organization/attorney-general-s-dept
Service Improvements resulting from complaints or consumer suggestions over 2019-20
The approach adopted to investigating complaints requires input from the Estate Officer, Team Leader and Branch Manager. Whilst the primary focus is on resolving the customer complaint, the process is also used to coach staff involved to avoid a reoccurrence.