Feedback and complaints

ACT Corrective Services aims to resolve complaints quickly, courteously and fairly.

We welcome your feedback or complaint. It helps us to fix problems and improve services.

If we can’t fix the problem, we’ll connect you to someone who can help.

Giving feedback or making a complaint

You can submit your feedback or complaint in a way that suits you:

• email ACTCSCommissionersOffice@act.gov.au
• call (02) 6205 2388
• post to Commissioner, ACT Corrective Services, GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601

What to include in your complaint

To help us assess and investigate your complaint, you should:

• provide detail and relevant information
• tell us what outcome you are seeking
• inform us of updates or developments regarding your complaint.

If you have a complaint about victim rights, you can use the Victim Rights Complaint Form [DOC 42 kB]

Anonymous complaints

You can choose to remain anonymous in your complaint.

In many circumstances, we can’t investigate or action anonymous complaints. If you give us your contact details, it allows us to contact you for more information if needed.

However, if you give us feedback anonymously it can still give us useful information to improve our services.

After you submit your feedback or complaint

To resolve your complaint, we will:

• record your complaint on the complaints register
• acknowledge your complaint in writing
• assess if ACT Corrective Services has met their service standards and objectives
• determine if any follow-up action is necessary
• advise you in writing of the outcome.

We aim to resolve complaints in 30 working days. If the complaint is complex and requires more time to resolve, we will give an update on the expected timeframe before the 30 days.

We will follow our complaints policy to review, respond to and resolve your complaint.

If you’re unhappy with our response

If you are unhappy with the response you get from us, you can raise it elsewhere.

These oversight agencies act independently of government and may inspect or review the operations of ACT Corrective Services.

• ACT Ombudsman - Can investigate complaints about the ACT Government.
• Human Rights Commission - Has powers regarding detainee complaints and inspections of correctional centres.
• Official Visitors - Can do independent inspections of adult correctional facilities in the ACT and take complaints from detainees.
• Public Advocate of the ACT - Promotes and represents the rights and interests of people with who are not able to represent or protect themselves.
• ACT Integrity Commission - Has the power to investigate corruption in public administration and strengthen public confidence in government integrity.
• ACT Privacy Commissioner - Handles complaints of how personal information is handled by ACT government agencies.
• Inspector of Correctional Services - Provides independent oversight of ACT Correctional and Youth Justice facilities. They do not handle individual complaints, they propose recommendations to address systemic issues.