Complaints Management
Best-practice acknowledgement and resolution tracking for every complaint.
The Act requires providers to resolve complaints ‘as soon as practicable’ (Rule 165-25). The ACQSC Better Practice Guide recommends acknowledgement within 5 business days and resolution within 30. Statura Care’s Complaints module structures the entire lifecycle — from receipt through investigation and resolution — with built-in deadline tracking against these best-practice benchmarks, escalation pathways, and monitoring to ensure complainants don’t suffer adverse action.
The Challenge
Complaints are a leading indicator of care quality. But managing them well requires tracking statutory timeframes, documenting every communication, identifying systemic issues, and ensuring complainants aren’t treated badly for speaking up. Without a structured system, complaints fall through the cracks.
Key Capabilities
What the Complaints Management module does.
Complaints Register
Track every complaint from receipt to resolution with auto-generated complaint numbers. Classify across 14 categories with severity grading.
Best-Practice Deadline Tracking
The system auto-calculates the 5-business-day acknowledgement deadline and 30-calendar-day resolution deadline from receipt, based on ACQSC Better Practice Guide benchmarks. Escalating alerts ensure you stay ahead of recommended timeframes.
Communication Log
Document every interaction with the complainant — phone, email, in-person, letter. A chronological record of all communications demonstrates your commitment to resolution.
Escalation Management
Track internal escalations (to management) and external escalations (to the Commissioner) with reference numbers. Some complaints may need to be escalated to the SIRS or Whistleblower modules.
Adverse Action Monitoring
After a complaint is lodged, monitor the care recipient for adverse action — ensuring they don’t experience negative treatment as a result of complaining.
Trend Analysis
Analyse complaint trends by category, service area, resolution time, and escalation rate. Identify systemic issues before they become regulatory findings.
Open Disclosure Framework
Structured open disclosure process aligned with the Australian Open Disclosure Framework. Document the apology, factual explanation, consumer perspective, follow-up actions, and formal record — with templates for each of the 8 key elements.
Regulatory Requirements
What the law requires.
The Aged Care Act 2024 (Chapter 5) sets specific obligations that this module helps you meet systematically.
As Soon as Practicable
Rule 165-25 requires providers to deal with complaints 'as soon as practicable'. The ACQSC Better Practice Guide recommends acknowledgement within 5 business days and resolution within 30 calendar days as benchmarks for meeting this obligation.
No Adverse Action
Complainants must not suffer adverse treatment as a result of making a complaint.
Governing Body Reporting
Complaint trends must be reported to the governing body regularly.
Works With
Better together.
When modules work together, intelligence compounds. Complaints Management integrates with these modules for a complete compliance picture.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What are the recommended timeframes for handling complaints?
The Act requires complaints to be dealt with 'as soon as practicable' (Rule 165-25). The ACQSC Better Practice Guide recommends acknowledgement within 5 business days of receipt and resolution within 30 calendar days. Complex complaints may take longer, but the provider should keep the complainant informed and document reasons for any delay. Statura Care tracks both benchmarks with escalating alerts.
How does the system identify systemic issues from complaints?
The module analyses complaint trends by category, service area, resolution time, and escalation rate. When patterns emerge — for example, multiple complaints about the same service area — the system flags potential systemic issues for management review before they become regulatory findings.
What is adverse action monitoring?
The Act prohibits providers from taking adverse action against a person who makes a complaint. After a complaint is lodged, the module monitors the care recipient for negative treatment — ensuring their care, services, and interactions are not affected by the fact that they complained.
See Complaints Management in action.
Request a personalised demo of the Complaints Management module tailored to your organisation.
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