All affiliates, including participants and their families, support coordinators, and other providers, are encouraged to share both positive and negative experiences with PlanSense Plan Management.

Details on how to make a complaint are outlined in PlanSense’s Service Agreement, accessible to all stakeholders on PlanSense’s website. Participants are also urged to provide feedback throughout their service experience during interactions with our staff. 

PlanSense staff is introduced to this policy during onboarding and receives annual reminders through company updates. 

Feedback, whether positive or negative, is utilized by PlanSense to assess services and implement changes to ensure safety and satisfaction for everyone. Complaints will be managed according to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Complaints Management and Resolution) Rules 2018 and the NDIS Commission Effective Complaint Handling Guidelines for NDIS Providers. 

Outcome 

Our feedback and complaints policy guarantees the following outcomes: 

• • All affiliates know how to provide feedback or lodge a complaint. 
  • Concerns of all affiliates are addressed satisfactorily, providing support throughout the process and keeping them informed of progress and any changes. 
  • All feedback and complaints are documented, monitored, and managed, with identified opportunities for improvement in service delivery procedures to enhance participant satisfaction. 

Definitions 

• • Complaint: A statement expressing dissatisfaction. 
  • NDIS Commission: “A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to or about an organisation, related to its products, services, staff, or the handling of a complaint, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required.” 
  • Feedback: Information about reactions to a service, a person’s performance, a task, a product, etc., used as a basis for improvement. Feedback can be positive or negative. 

Related Policies / Documents 

• • Incident Management Policy and Procedures 
  • Risk Management Policy 
  • Risk Management Register 
  • Incident and Complaint Report form 

• • Incidents and Complaints Register 

Procedures 

Making Participants Aware that Feedback, including Complaints, is Welcome 

1. 1. Participants are provided information on how and where to provide feedback or make a complaint before services commence, through the provision of information in PlanSense’s Service Agreement and on PlanSense’s
   2. Participants can provide feedback or make a complaint at any time, particularly during reviews and plan renewals.
   3. The preferred method to provide feedback or lodge a complaint is through regular contact points at PlanSense, including the contact form on PlanSense’s Participants and others can also use PlanSense’s Designated Complaints Escalation Officers (Team Leaders at PlanSense) via email or phone.
   4. It is not mandatory for participants to discuss their complaint with PlanSense Participants or their representatives can complain directly to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission about PlanSense or how PlanSense has managed a complaint, either by phone or by completing the Complaint Contact Form.

Management of a Complaint 

Management of a complaint will be handled as follows: 

1. 1. The complainant should feel adequately acknowledged, with time given to express how it has affected them and their desired actions. 
   2. PlanSense staff will handle the complaint fairly, sensitively, and confidentially, recording as much detail as possible. 
   3. The senior PlanSense staff will discuss the complaint with a team leader, manager, or director, who will contact the complainant within 2 business days. 
   4. The complaint is recorded in the Incidents and Complaints Register by the senior PlanSense staff handling the complaint. 
   5. Senior PlanSense staff, in collaboration with the complainant, will decide on the course of action, including resolution steps, seeking feedback from others, and how to improve the service if required. 
   6. If the complaint is of a serious nature, a formal incident investigation will be conducted and documented using the Incident and Complaint Report Form. 
   7. Implement agreed actions, keeping the complainant informed. 
   8. Actions will be monitored by PlanSense team leaders (Designated Complaints Escalation Officers), with updates added to the register until the complaint is satisfactorily addressed. 
   9. If the complainant is not satisfied, an PlanSense team leader, manager, or director will be involved to assist with discussions. 
   10. If the complainant remains unsatisfied, they can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Contact details will be provided to the participant. 
   11. The Incidents and Complaints Register and related documents are kept for 7 years.