Complaints about VAGO

The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Victorian Parliament, established by the Constitution Act 1975 to conduct and report on financial and performance audits in the Victorian public sector. The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) is established to support the Auditor-General in the execution of his responsibilities.

VAGO’s purpose is to provide assurance to Parliament on the performance and accountability of the public sector. In doing this, VAGO provides products and services to Parliament and the public sector and VAGO staff interact with the community and the public sector. From time to time, this contact can result in dissatisfaction and complaints about our staff, products and services.

We have a complaints framework and related policies, Complaints about the conduct of audits and Complaints about matters other than audits.

Implementing a complaints handling framework is consistent with good public sector administration. Our framework and policies have considered the Ombudsman’s Good Practice Guide on Complaint handling for Victorian public sector agencies as well as appropriate Australian Standards and accounting standards.

What is a complaint?

VAGO defines a complaint as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction with a specific action or service of VAGO or its employees, including failure of VAGO to comply with its legislation, purpose or vision’.

Our commitment

VAGO is committed to handling complaints in line with the following principles as outlined in the Ombudsman’s Good Practice Guide on Complaint handling for Victorian public sector agencies:

Fairness
Transparency and access
Responsiveness
Privacy and confidentiality
Accountability
Business improvement
Internal review.

Rights and responsibilities of complainants

You can expect to:

be treated with courtesy and respect
have complaints considered in good faith, and judged on their merits and facts
be given appropriate and easily understood information regarding VAGO’s complaints handling process and the treatment of the complaint
have personal information treated as confidential.

You are expected to:

treat all staff with courtesy and consideration
ask for assistance or further information when unsure about the information provided to you
assist the complaint process by supplying documents and information whenever possible.

Time frames for handling complaints

We will provide written acknowledgement within five days of receiving the complaint. This will identify the VAGO staff member who will be the person managing the complaint.

All complaints will be dealt with within 28 days. We will notify you if an extension of time is required for complex investigations.

Your rights during the process

While the complaint is being investigated, you have the right to enquire about the status of the complaint by contacting the person who has been identified as managing the complaint.

Responses to the complainant

Responses to complainants will be in writing and will include the following:

acknowledgement of whether or not merit has been found in the complaint
advice of the remedy proposed and adequate reasons for that decision
an apology, where appropriate
advice of how the matter may be further reviewed if you are unhappy with the remedy or response.

Disclosures made under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001

This policy does not address disclosures of improper conduct by public officers and public bodies made under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001. If a complainant identifies themselves as a whistleblower, they will be referred immediately to VAGO’s Protected Disclosure Coordinator.

The exercise of the powers and the discharge of the responsibilities by the Auditor-General under the Audit Act 1994 are expressly excluded from application of the whistleblowers legislation. We have established written procedures for the handling of whistleblower disclosures in respect of our administrative processes. Please refer to the ‘Corporate Information’ section of the VAGO website.