The City of Casey was the subject of more complaints to the Victorian Ombudsman than any other council in 2021-22, according to new data.
In its annual report, the Victorian Ombudsman said it closed 159 cases it had received about City of Casey – the highest in the state.
The City of Casey also has the highest population in the state when compared to other local government areas.
In 31 per cent of cases, the Ombudsman made enquiries – meaning “any action taken by VO (e.g. seeking information from an authority, research, inspecting records) to decide whether the issue may be informally resolved or whether it should be investigated”.
In the majority of cases, at 37 per cent, the complaints were assessed but the Ombudsman did not make enquiries.
In 35 per cent of cases, those complaining about the City of Casey were advised to contact council, which occurred when the Ombudsman considered a complaint to be “premature” as the person had not yet contacted the council to give them an opportunity to resolve the matter.
In some cases, the report noted, the Ombudsman referred an issue to another organisation. But as referrals were not included in the figures, some percentages do not add up to 100 per cent.
In comparison, the neighbouring Cardinia Shire was the subject of 46 complaints, but 41 per cent were advised to contact council, 17 per cent resulted in enquiries made and another 41 per cent of complaints were assessed but no enquiries made.
City of Casey chief executive officer, Glenn Patterson said the City of Casey is Victoria’s most populous municipality, having 25 per cent more residents than the second largest council.
“Home to more than 390,000 residents, Casey’s population is forecast to grow to more than 550,000 by 2041. The number of complaints received by respective councils needs to be considered relative to their population.
“Complaints are managed in line with our Complaint Handling Policy which clearly sets out how complaints are handled to ensure a fair and consistent process, including timelines. Our Complaint Handling Policy is based on the principles outlined in the Victorian Ombudsman’s Councils and Complaints Good Practice Guide 2015.
“As per the Ombudsman’s latest annual report, of the 159 complaints about Casey Council, 37 per cent were assessed as needing no further enquiry, 35 per cent were advised to contact council, leaving 31 per cent that the Ombudsman made further enquiries with council. Of the 31 per cent, council has satisfactorily responded to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, with just two remaining active.
“We encourage customers with complaints to contact us to try and resolve it in the first instance. Every effort is made to respond to our customers’ concerns as a matter of priority.
“Complaints can be made online, by email, over the phone or in person and we will do our best to respond to our customers through their preferred channel.
“Complaints are managed following clear escalation and exit points:
“1. First call resolution: Where possible, we aim to resolve a complaint the first time a customer contacts us.
“2. Further investigation: If we are unable to resolve a complaint the first time we are contacted, it will be referred to the relevant service area to respond within 10 working days with an outcome.
3. Internal review: If a customer is still not satisfied with the outcome, they can request their complaint to be reviewed by a senior officer (e.g. a manager or a director), who will aim to reach a resolution within 28 days.
“4. External review: If a customer is still not satisfied with our response/outcome following the internal review process, we will refer them to the Ombudsman. Complainants can also request an external agency review at any stage in the process by contacting the Victorian Ombudsman. However, we encourage customers with complaints to contact us to try and resolve it in the first instance.”
