Complaints Procedure For Doctors Surgery Template for Australia

Yes. General practices accredited against the RACGP Standards for General Practices (5th edition) must have a documented complaints and feedback process, and privacy complaint handling is required under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Each state and territory also has a health complaints body, such as the Health Care Complaints Commission in NSW or the Health Complaints Commissioner in Victoria, that patients can escalate to. A written procedure evidences compliance and guides staff consistently.

It should set out how complaints can be made (in person, by phone, in writing or by email), who receives them, acknowledgement and response timeframes, how the complaint will be investigated and recorded, and how the outcome is communicated. It must also name the external escalation options, including the relevant state or territory health complaints commission, the OAIC for privacy issues, and Ahpra for practitioner conduct concerns. A confidentiality and non-retaliation statement protects the patient's ongoing care.

Most Australian practices acknowledge a complaint within three business days and provide a substantive response within 30 days, with written updates if the investigation runs longer. There is no single national statutory deadline for general practice complaints, but state health complaints bodies and the OAIC expect timely handling, and the OAIC generally allows 30 days for a privacy complaint response. Set your timeframes explicitly in the response clause so patients and staff know what to expect.

Yes. The procedure is an internal policy, not a contract, so the practice can amend it at any time through the review clause. Good practice is to record a version number and review date, review at least annually or after any accreditation change, and make the current version available in the waiting room and on your website. Notify staff of changes and retrain where escalation contacts or timeframes have shifted.

The relevant commission, such as the HCCC in NSW, the Health Complaints Commissioner in Victoria or the Office of the Health Ombudsman in Queensland, may seek your records of the complaint, your response and your internal investigation. A weak or undocumented process is the main risk here, so the record keeping clause requires every complaint, action and outcome to be logged. Ahpra may separately assess practitioner conduct or performance.

Yes. Complaints frequently involve access to health records or alleged misuse of personal information, which fall under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and state health records legislation such as the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) or the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). Include a clause directing privacy complaints to the practice privacy officer, and note the patient's right to complain to the OAIC if unsatisfied.

Treating a complaint as grounds to withdraw care creates significant risk, including a conduct notification to Ahpra and a discrimination or adverse treatment finding by a health complaints body. Include a non-retaliation clause confirming that making a complaint will not affect the patient's access to care or their standing at the practice. Where the therapeutic relationship has genuinely broken down, handle transfer of care separately and document the clinical reasoning.