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When making a complaint, you can choose what feels safest and most comfortable for you — including asking for a caseworker who understands your cultural background, remaining anonymous, or deciding how much personal information to share.
If you are Aboriginal, you can request an Aboriginal caseworker for culturally respectful support.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty with speech, contact us through the National Relay Service .
If you can, start by talking to someone in the office or service you were dealing with about your concern. You can speak to a staff member or a manager to give them a chance to fix the problem.
You can share your feedback in any of these ways:
All complaints are handled confidentially, and you can choose to remain anonymous. We accept anonymous complaints and will investigate the issues raised where enough information is provided.
When making a complaint, please include:
If you prefer to stay anonymous, that’s okay. Just provide as much detail as possible so we can look into the matter effectively.
If you have access needs when providing feedback or making a complaint - such as communication, language, or accessibility requirements - we’re here to support you.
Please let us know:
Examples of support we can provide include:
If you have a concern or complaint related to child protection, there are safe and private ways to raise it. The Enquiry, Feedback and Complaints Unit (EFCU) can help you understand the process and make sure your complaint is directed to the right place.
Phone: 1800 000 164 (9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday)
Email: complaints@facs.nsw.gov.au
Post: Reply Paid 63437, Complaints Unit, Locked Bag 4028, Ashfield NSW 2131.
For more information on the EFCU or how to make a complaint, please visit the Child Protection complaint handling page.
Alternatively, you can contact your local Community Services Centre to make a complaint.
You can give feedback or make a complaint about social housing services in several ways:
Post: Client Feedback Unit, Locked Bag 7150, Liverpool BC 1871.
Service providers can make a contracting complaints to DCJ about a DCJ contract or about the services or management practices of an organisation funded by DCJ.
If your complaint is about a DCJ funded contract, you can raise it with your DCJ contract manager. You can also visit the Funded Contract Management Framework for other ways to make a contracting complaint.
If your complaint is about an organisation funded by DCJ to provide services, you can raise your concern directly with that organisation. This includes complaints about accessing a service, the quality of service, or the organisation’s management practices.
You can contact the Assisted Boarding Houses Team if you have comments, enquiries, complaints or feedback. Assisted Boarding Houses team
You can contact the Assisted Boarding Houses Team if you have comments, enquiries, complaints or feedback.
DCJ must handle personal and health information responsibly and in line with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act). Visit the DCJ Privacy page to learn how we keep your personal and health information safe.
These laws, along with the DCJ Privacy Management Plan, set out how:
If you are concerned about DCJ has handled your personal or health information, you can contact the Open Government, Information and Privacy Unit:
Phone: 9716 2662
Email: infoandprivacy@dcj.nsw.gov.au
For complaints about Youth Justice, please see the Youth Justice complaints process.
For complaints about Corrective Services, please contact Corrective Services.
You can provide feedback about:
There are some things DCJ cannot review:
Courts and tribunals are separate from government. The Attorney General and DCJ cannot change their decisions.
Registry staff can explain legal appeal options, but cannot give legal advice.
The Judicial Commission of NSW is responsible for complaints about judicial officers, such as judges and magistrate. More information is available on the Judicial Commission of NSW website.
Decisions made by independent statutory authorities:
If your concern is about another NSW Government or non-government agency, you should contact that agency directly or write to the relevant Minister. You may also contact the NSW Ombudsman for matters involving NSW public sector agencies.
DCJ will usually acknowledge your complaint within 3 business days and provide a response within 21 business days.
Some matters may take longer if they are serious or complex.
If a delay is expected, DCJ will let you know and, where possible, give you an updated timeframe for when you can expect a response.
If your complaint is justified, we can do one or more of the following:
We’ll take all reasonable steps to make sure you’re not treated unfairly or disadvantaged because you’ve made a complaint, either for yourself or on someone else’s behalf. Your feedback is important and safe with us.
If you have made a complaint and are not satisfied with the response, you have several options.
Internal review
You can write to DCJ and ask for an internal review.
This means your complaint will be looked at by a more senior staff member who was not involved in the original response.
They will look at:
NSW Ombudsman
The NSW Ombudsman is independent from DCJ and helps ensure government agencies and some non-government organisations act lawfully and fairly. The Ombudsman can review the way your complaint was handled and may ask DCJ to explain decisions or make improvements.
The Ombudsman:
More information about the Ombudsman, including how to make a complaint online, is available in the Refer to our FAQ sheet, Complaints.
Mediation
Some complaints may also be suitable for mediation through Community Justice Centres. Mediation is led by an independent mediator and provides a safe space for everyone involved to:
Mediation can be helpful when communication has broken down or when there is a misunderstanding that could be resolved through guided conversation.
Not all complaints will be suitable for mediation. Mediation is voluntary - both you and the DCJ must agree that it is the right approach. If mediation is not appropriate for your situation, other review options remain available to you.
DCJ is required by law to protect your personal information. It will only be shared in limited situations allowed under privacy laws. DCJ is committed to handling complaints in a way that respects your privacy. For more information, you can visit the DCJ Privacy web page or the Information and Privacy Commission website.
To review your complaint, DCJ may need to speak with other staff or areas of the department involved in the matter. You can ask for your complaint to be handled confidentially within DCJ.
When a complaint is kept confidential, DCJ may not be able to gather all the information needed to investigate the complaint. If this changes how the matter can be reviewed, DCJ will contact you to explain the situation and discuss the safest and most suitable next steps.
The DCJ Managing Complaints and Feedback Policy (PDF, 196.2 KB) outlines the standards and processes used by DCJ to manage complaints and feedback fairly and consistently across the department.
If you need contact details for a specific area of DCJ, please visit the contact us page.
We’re changing how we work with Aboriginal communities to build better systems and work towards Closing the Gap. Learn more about this work
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