What can I do if I’m not happy with the Health Complaints Commissioner’s decision?

If you are not happy with the Health Complaints Commissioner’s decision, you should first try to raise it with the HCC staff member who was handling your complaint.

If contacting the staff member who handled your complaint does not resolve the issue, you can request an internal review.

You can request an internal review of a decision made by the HCC about:

• Whether they can accept your complaint
• How old your complaint is
• Whether they are willing to start an investigation
• Not dealing with your complaint for any other reason

You must request an internal review within 90 days of when you are informed about their decision.

You can request an internal review by writing a letter to the following address:

Health Complaints Commissioner
Level 26, 570 Bourke St
Melbourne VIC 3000

Mail to the HCC is free of charge.

Important: mail to the HCC is exempt mail. That means prison officers are not allowed to open your letters to or from the HCC, except in very specific circumstances. For more information on Mail, click here.

What happens after I request an internal review?

The HCC may refuse to do an internal review, for example because you did not lodge your request within 90 days of being informed about the HCC decision.

If the HCC agree to do an internal review, a staff member that is different from the one that handled your original complaint will review the decision.

What are the possible outcomes of an internal review?

If the HCC agrees they made an error in their decision, they will apologise and take action to fix the issue.

How long does an internal review take?

The HCC will try to complete the review within 30 days of the request. If it is going to take more time, they will let you know.

Making a complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman

You can make a complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman about a decision made by the Health Complaints Commissioner. For more information on how to make a complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman, use the links on the left side of this page.

Source: Health Complaints Commissioner website