Canberra First Aid is committed to providing fair Terms and Conditions including complaints and appeals process.
Course dates can be found on our website www.canberrafirstaid.com or by calling 02 6239 4292 or emailing [email protected]
Payment for courses can be made upon booking or made via credit card over the phone. Canberra first Aid PTY LTD will offer invoicing for group or company bookings with 21 day trading terms.
A course participant/organisation is entitled to a date transfer where they give more than 48 hours advance notice of the course the participant wishes to transfer out of. A $40.00 fee will be charged for the transfer. No refunds or transfers will be made within 48 hours of a course start time.
A full refund of course fees paid will be given if:
- Canberra First Aid PTY LTD cancels a course;
- A participant or organisation gives more than 2 business days advanced notice that they will not be attending the course.
The refund will be subject to a $40.00 administration fee.
To request a refund, the participant is required to contact Canberra First Aid PTY LTD in writing via email. The refund is then credited to the account of the person or organisation who made the original payment.
If a participant or organisation does not attend without notice then no refunds will be made. If a participant provides a medical certificate for non-attendance to the course, then the $40 admin fee will apply and the participant may be moved to a new course date.
Canberra First Aid PTY LTD respects the privacy of participants and staff. Information collected will be used in administration procedures and may be provided to the training staff. This information will not be released to any other organisation without the individuals express consent. A reminder email and text message will be sent to those who are eligible to attend an annual Refresher course. Other information on first aid training opportunities may be sent to participants and/or organisations. Failure to provide up to date contact details or a valid email address upon enrolment may result in certificates and/or reminders not being forwarded.
Canberra First Aid PTY LTD has a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for its employees, participants and visitors. Under the Work Health and Safety ACT 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulations (2017) and the current Codes of Practice, participants also have a responsibility to:
- Undertake activities in a safe manner;
- Follow instructions provided for safety;
- Not to place themselves or others at risk;
A complaint is generally negative feedback about services or staff which has not been resolved locally. A complaint may be received by Canberra First Aid in any form and does not need to be formally documented by the complainant in order to be acted on. Complaints may be made by any person but are generally made by students and/or employers.
An appeal is an application by a student for reconsideration of an unfavourable decision or finding during training and/or assessment. An appeal must be made in writing and specify the particulars of the decision or finding in dispute. Appeals must be lodged within 28 days of the decision or finding is informed to the student.
In all cases, issues that arise during training and assessment that are the source of frustration or are in dispute should be resolved at the time they occur between the persons involved.
Frequently, the complaints and appeals handling process will expose weaknesses in the training and assessment system that can flow into the continuous improvement system as opportunities for improvement. This outcome of complaints and appeals handling is very positive and should be actively applied by all persons involved.
Canberra First Aid undertakes to apply the following principles to its complaints and appeals handling:
- A written record of all complaints and appeals is to be kept by Canberra First Aid including all details of lodgement, response and resolution.
- A complainant or person lodging an appeal is to be provided an opportunity to formally present his or her case at no cost.
- Each complainant or person lodging an appeal may be accompanied and/or assisted by a support person at any relevant meeting.
- The handling of a complaint or appeal is to commence within 10 working days of the lodgement of the complaint or appeal and all reasonable measures are taken to finalise the process as soon as practicable.
- The complainant or person lodging an appeal is to be provided a written statement of the outcome, including details of the reasons for the outcome.
- The complainant or person lodging an appeal is to have the opportunity for a person or a body that is independent of Canberra First Aid to review his or her complaint or appeal following the internal Canberra First Aid complaint or appeals process. It is noted that a review of findings by an independent person or body will generally only relate to the appeals process and is less likely to be required in complaints handling.
- Canberra First Aid shall maintain the enrolment of the complainant or person lodging an appeal during the complaint or appeals process.
- Decisions or outcomes of the complaint or appeals process that find in the favour of the student shall be implemented immediately.
- Complaints and appeals are to be handled in the strictest of confidence. No Canberra First Aid representative is to disclose information to any person without the permission of the Canberra First Aid General Manager. A decision to release information to third parties can only to be made after the complainant has given permission for this to occur. This permission should be given using the Information Release Form located in the Privacy Policy Tools section earlier in this manual.
- Complaints and appeals are to be considered on the basis of procedural fairness and lead to opportunities for improvement as a Continuous Improvement Report.
- Students who are not satisfied with the complete complaint handling by Canberra First Aid may refer their complaint to the National VET Regulator for consideration. Students are to be advised that registering bodies will require the student to have exhausted all avenues through Canberra First Aid before taking this option. Please refer to the Complaint Handling Procedure for more information.
- Appeals of assessment decisions are not able to be referred to the National VET Regulator and are to be determined by an approved independent body.
- Canberra First Aid considers that it would be extremely unlikely that complaints and appeals are not able to be resolved quickly within Canberra First Aid’s is internal structures.
Matters that cannot be resolved at the time they occur should be referred to the Canberra First Aid General Manager for review. The following procedure is to be followed when a complaint form is received:
- A Complaints Form is received by Canberra First Aid and is to be immediately recorded into a Canberra First Aid Complaints Register.
- Complaints which are received in other forms such as phone, are to be detailed on a Complaints Form by the person receiving the complaint and then recorded in the Complaints and Appeals Register. Complainants should be encouraged to make all complaints in writing so only written facts will be referred to in the investigation and not verbal claims.
- The Complaints and Appeals Form is to be forwarded to the General Manager who is to review the matter and make recommendation as to how to respond to the matter. The General Manager may choose to consult with others within Canberra First Aid or relevant agencies external to Canberra First Aid in determining their recommendation.
- The General Manager may choose to make inquiries about the matter or may task another person to research the matter against relevant policy.
- The General Manager is to finalise his or her response to the complainant and provide the complainant a response as soon as possible but no later than 10 working days from when the complaint is received.
- The General Manager is to communicate the response to the complainant personally either during a meeting or via the telephone. Complaint responses are not to be provided to the complainant via any third-party or via electronic communication such as e-mail. The General Manager is to seek feedback from the complainant about their level of satisfaction with the complaint outcome. And advise the complainant of their options if they are not completely satisfied with the outcome.
- Complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint handling, the General Manager may arrange for the complaint to be considered by an appropriate independent third-party or the student may refer the complaint to the National VET Regulator (ASQA). In some cases, ASQA may not be the appropriate body to handle a complaint. ASQA can only deal with complaints about:
- the information provided to the student by an RTO about the course/s they are interested in;
- the delivery and assessment of the training the student has received; and
- the qualifications the student have or have not been issued.
To make a complaint, students are to complete the Complaint about a registered training organisation form located on the ASQA website click here.
The student can also submit the form by emailing: [email protected].
If the student wishes to submit the complaint in hard copy they can print and fill out the form, and post it to:
Complaints team
Australian Skills Quality Authority
GPO Box 9928
Melbourne VIC 3001
Staff are to provide assistance to students during the complaint handling process. If student’s require additional help they may call the ASQA complaints team on 1300 701 801, or email [email protected].
The response to the complainant must include information that demonstrates that the matter was thoroughly reviewed and what actions and outcomes have been identified as a result of the complaint.
Opportunities for improvement that were identified as a result of the complaint are to be recorded in a Continuous Improvement Report and submitted for the next Continuous Improvement Committee meeting. The General Manager may, at his or her discretion, follow-up with the complainant after consideration by the Continuous Improvement Committee to inform the complainant of the improvement actions identified.
The Complaints and Appeals Register is to be kept up to date at all times to accurately reflect how the matter was responded to and the duration from the date the complaint was received to the date the complaint was resolved.
All courses are run under the auspices of Allens Training. RTO 90909