Casey Council’s Unreasonable Complainant Conduct (UCC) policy stood out in 2025 as its application to residents sparked concern over how community voices are managed within local government.
Local resident and mother of three Jillian Nambu discovered she had been placed on Casey Council’s UCC Register after sending a handful of emails to councillors and executives, which sent her into shock, confusion, and distress.
“It made me feel like I had done something so horrible that I must be put on a register,” she told Star News then.
Council documents show the UCC policy exists to manage complaints that are deemed repetitive, demanding, or excessively burdensome for staff, a practice supported in part by guidance from the Victorian Ombudsman on good complaint management.
But Ms Nambu and a community advocate argue the policy, in this case, may have overreached.
Ms Nambu’s placement on the register came after she sent no more than five emails in one week, raising concerns about issues including youth services, council meeting procedures, and public question time.
Council classified her correspondence as “unreasonable persistence” and “unreasonable demands,” mainly because she contacted multiple councillors and executives directly rather than going through the council’s customer service system.
According to the notification she received, the council expected residents to use a centralised service channel to ensure efficient handling of enquiries, a point that Ms Nambu strongly disputed.
She said her intention was simply to participate in local democracy and raise issues relevant to her community.
Casey’s communications and corporate governance manager Chloe Casey told Star News then that each UCC case was looked at carefully.
“People are told in writing if any restrictions are placed on them, why it’s happening, and how they can ask for a review. Being on the register usually lasts for a year and is reviewed annually,” she said then.
When asked how many people had been placed under the UCC Register, Casey did not share the number.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association (CRRA) criticised Casey Council for placing the mother-of-three on ‘an orchestrated resident naughty list’.
President Anthony Tassone argued that such a register should be reserved for only the ‘most extreme and overly persistent complainants’.
“On the one hand, we have individual councillors inviting residents to contact them directly to hear their concerns and queries, and on the other hand, we have Council management demanding residents go through central Customer Service and not contact councillors directly,” he told Star News then.
“It’s a reasonable expectation that residents can engage with their ward Councillor directly in the appropriate way, and the council’s use of the ‘unreasonable complainant’ register appears unreasonable.
“The council should also offer to reach out to residents directly and guide them through the best way to engage with the City of Casey to have queries resolved rather than just red-flagging them and putting them on a list.”
The policy has also drawn attention to how other councils handle complaints.
Greater Dandenong Council, for example, confirmed it currently does not keep anyone on a complaint exclusion list, and encourages residents with repeated concerns to use the Ombudsman.
Ms Nambu was calling for a review of the UCC policy ahead of its compulsory review in 2028.
