Considered: Auditor-General Report No. 5: 2020-21 Responding to complaints from people with impaired capacity - Part 1: The Public Trustee of Queensland

COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION

In its Report No. 13, 57th Parliament – Annual Report 2020-21, tabled on 18 October 2021, the committee reported on its consideration of Auditor-General Report to Parliament 5: 2020-21 Responding to complaints from people with impaired capacity - Part 1: The Public Trustee of Queensland. The committee did not resolve to hold further inquiries into the audit report and made no recommendations to the Legislative Assembly.

Overview

Role of the Auditor-General

The Auditor-General provides Parliament with independent assurance of public sector accountability and performance, achieved through reporting to Parliament on the results of its financial and performance audits.

About the Auditor-General Report

View: Auditor-General's Report to Parliament 5: 2020-21 Responding to complaints from people with impaired capacity - Part 1: The Public Trustee of Queensland

The QAO audit looked at how well Queensland’s guardianship and administration system manages complaints to improve the protection of people with impaired decision-making capacity. Part 1 of the findings examines whether the Public Trustee of Queensland (PTQ) has effective systems and processes to receive, manage and review complaints about financial administration; how timely its responses were; and the effectiveness of the complaint management system (CMS). Part 1 also contains recommendations for improvements to the current system.

Among the QAO findings in respect of PTQ complaints handling processes were that:

  • PTQ acknowledged receipt of a complaint within 5 days, 99% of the time.
  • 80% of total complaints received were resolved within target time frames.
  • Simple complaints were fixed quickly but 47% of moderately complex complaints were not resolved within target time frames.
  • PTQ has proper complaints management policies and procedures and the internal complaints handling process follows good practice.
  • CMS policies and procedures could be written more clearly — the CMS is not easy enough to navigate or understand and is not properly designed for people with impaired capacity.
  • CMS information is written but is not in easy English or supported by pictures to explain concepts, nor are there options such as video or audio for people with impaired capacity, disability or non-English speakers.
  • The CMS information technology system does not support staff to efficiently record, manage or report on complaints which might mean that not all complaint information is correctly recorded.
  • PTQ has a team of people to coordinate and monitor the CMS but most complaints are handled by regional staff who are insufficiently trained in complaints management.
  • PTQ has not formally evaluated the effectiveness of the CMS, nor does it seek feedback from customers about its complaint handling, missing possible opportunities for improvement.
  • PTQ has implemented over 40 improvements as part of its Customers First Agenda plan which plans to improve service delivery for all of its customer but does not include specific plans to improve complaints management.
  • The QAO noted that implementation of the Customers First Agenda will address many of the issues raised in the QAO report. 

Recommendations

The QAO recommended that the PTQ:

  • Monitors and reports on how many complaints are finalised within target time frames.
  • Improves the ease of use of the CMS by making information clearer and easier to understand (using alternative language or video/audio/graphics) and offering an online complaint form with options for persons with hearing or speech difficulties.
  • Make the complaint management (CM) policy easier to understand.
  • Improve its CM information technology system with better controls over data, automatic reminders and notifications of due dates and overdue complaints and recording all information needed to manage complaints effectively.
  • Improve CM training for staff including targeted training in handling complaints from customers with impaired capacity and reviewing training effectiveness.
  • Improve system and process effectiveness by seeking customer feedback on complaints handling, developing better data to identify issues and inform improvement and measure and report on performance.

 Referral to committee 

Standing Order 194B provides that the Committee of the Legislative Assembly shall as soon as practicable after a report of the Auditor-General is tabled in the Assembly refer that report to the relevant portfolio committee(s) for consideration. 

The committee is responsible under section 94 of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 for assessing the integrity, economy, efficiency and effectiveness of government financial management by examining government financial documents and considering reports of the Auditor-General.

The Committee of the Legislative Assembly referred this Auditor-General report to the committee on 3 December 2020.

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