Complaints

“Complaint” is defined by the Policy to be: an expression of dissatisfaction made to or about the City, related to its products, services, employees or the handling of a complaint, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required.

“employee”: means a City of Perth employee which includes the CEO, agency staff, volunteers, interns, and any other person engaged by the City of Perth under a contract for services including contractors and consultants and to advisory group members.

‘feedback’:an opinion, comment, expression of interest or concern about the City’s products, services, staff, or handling of a complaint.

“products”: City products refer to activities or goods provided by the City. This could be a specific event run by the City or piece of infrastructure. 

“recruitment or selection process”: means any process where the City has made a decision to recruit, appoint, or select an employee, contractor or other person or body for the provision of services. This could be a tender process or employment process. 

“service”: a service means any service provided by the City. This could be a waste or recycling service or other community service.

‘service request’: a request for a particular service or action by the City that is not a complaint or feedback.

Under the Policy, a complaint is not:

• a service request or suggestion for a service;
• general feedback on a service, meaning an opinion, comment, or expression of interest or concern.

If you would like to give feedback to the City or make a request or suggestion, please see the following pages:

• Engage Perth
• Contact our Customer Experience Team

Note also that complaints about Council Members or the Lord Mayor are subject to a separate policy and process. If you wish to make a complaint about Elected Members, please see this page. 

City of Perth employees wishing to make a complaint regarding a workplace grievance or other workplace matter should see the information page available on the Staff Intranet.

We encourage you to be clear and concise in filling out the form to enable the efficient resolution of your complaint. If you require any special assistance in doing so, please contact our Customer Experience Team.

For the most efficient resolution of your complaint, we encourage you to use the City complaints form. Otherwise, you can use the following methods to get in touch with us:

By phone:

Customer Experience Centre, (08) 9461 3333.

In person:

By visiting the concierge at Council House, 27-29 St Georges Terrace, PERTH WA 6000. Written forms are available upon request.

Opening Hours:
Customer Experience Centre: 8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
Council House (in-person): 8am to 5:30pm – Monday to Friday
(Operational hours do not include public holidays)

Mail:

Customer Experience Centre
City of Perth
GPO Box C120
Perth WA 6839

After lodging your complaint, you will receive an acknowledgement between two and seven business days.

You can track the status of your complaint by getting in contact with our Customer Experience Team. Please note that if an investigation into a complaint involves a process under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003 (WA) or the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003 (WA), we may not be able to share details with you while the investigation is ongoing.

Depending on the complexity of the issues raised by the complaint or any requisite legal framework, we will aim to resolve your complaint within twenty working days.

There are options for review by an external appeal body if you are not satisfied with how the City has addressed your complaint. These external appeal bodies exist outside of the City’s complaints handling process, and include the following:

• The City of Perth Ombudsman Service is a third party appeal body that is not an employee of the City and is not subject to direction by the Council or the CEO. The City of Perth Ombudsman is only available for parking infringement appeals, and only after you have fully progressed an appeal through the City of Perth’s internal parking infringement appeal process.

• The WA Ombudsman is a State Government body that can receive and investigate complaints about local governments and other public authorities. The WA Ombudsman requires the complainant to have given the public authority (local government) a chance to first address the complaint. 

• The State Administrative Tribunal deals with appeals arising from town planning, building approvals and other local government approvals.

What can I make a complaint about?

Apart from requests for service or general feedback, you can make a complaint about anything relating to:

• An employee of the City;
• A City recruitment or selection process;
• An Elected Member via a separate form.
• A service provided by the City;

What if I’m not happy with the result of my complaint?

This form can also be used if you’re dissatisfied with the handling of a previous complaint. Tick the box to indicate that the complaint refers to a past complaint, and in the “Details of Complaint” field include why you are not happy with the outcome of the previous complaint.

Can I remain anonymous?

Anonymous complaints are normally not actioned by the City unless they relate to allegations of misconduct of a City employee, and will only then be actioned if they contain sufficient evidence. If you wish to complain about the conduct of a City employee but wish to remain anonymous, we recommend that you lodge a report to the Corruption and Crime Commission or consult the Public Sector Commission.

How can I track the progress of my complaint?

We are currently working on an online portal to track the status of your complaint online. In the meantime, you can receive an update on the status of your complaint by contacting our Customer Experience Team.

Who can I speak to follow up on my complaint, make changes to a complaint or for further information?

You can speak to a member of our Customer Experience Team for any query regarding a lodged complaint.