Complaints and Apeals

Invicta Technical College is committed to providing a fair complaints and appeals process. Invicta Technical College recognises that a complaint and an appeal are different and therefore require a different process for responding toeach.

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.

Invicta Technical College 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 Invicta Technical College 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.
• Invicta Technical College 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 Invicta Technical College representative is to disclose information to any person without the permission of Invicta Technical College Chief Executive Officer. A decision to release information to third parties can only to be made after the complainant has given permission for this to occur.
• Complaints and appeals are to be considered on the basis of procedural fairness and lead to opportunities for improvement through a report to the CEO.

Invicta Technical College considers that it would be extremely unlikely that complaints and appeals are not able to be resolved quickly within Invicta Technical College’s internal structures.

Matters that cannot be resolved at the time they occur should be referred to Invicta Technical College Chief Executive Officer for review. The following procedure is to be followed when a complaint form is received:

• A Complaints and Appeals Form is received by Invicta Technical College and is to be immediately recorded into Invicta Technical College Complaints and Appeals Register.
• Complaints which are received in other forms such as phone or email are to be detailed on a

Complaints and Appeals Form by the person receiving the complaint and then recorded in the Complaints and Appeals Register.

• The Complaints and Appeals Form is to be forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer who is to review the matter and make recommendation as to how to respond to the matter. The Chief Executive Officer may choose to consult with others within Invicta Technical College or relevant agencies external to Invicta Technical College in determining their recommendation.
• The Chief Executive Officer may choose to make inquiries about the matter or may task another person to research the matter against relevant policy.
• The Chief Executive Officer is to finalise his 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 Chief Executive Officer 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 Chief Executive Officer 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.
• Complaints must be resolved to a final outcome within sixty (60) calendar days of the complaint being initially received. Where Invicta Technical College Chief Executive Officer considers that more than 60 calendar days are required to process and finalise the complaint, the CEO must inform the complainant in writing, including reasons why more than 60 calendar days are required. As a benchmark, Invicta Technical College should attempt to resolve complaints as soon as possible. A timeframe to resolve a complaint within thirty (30) calendar days is considered acceptable and in the best interest of Invicta Technical College and the complainant. A complainant should also be provided with regular updates to inform them of the progress of the complaint handling. Updates should be provided to the complainant at a minimum of two (2) weekly intervals.

If complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint handling, the Chief Executive Officer may arrange for the complaint to be considered by an appropriate independent third-party or  the  student  may  refer  the  complaint  to  the  Overseas  Students  Ombudsman  at

https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=oco-complaint-  form

phone:1300 362 072

• In addition, ACPET has suggested Resolution Institute, the national association of dispute resolvers, as an appropriate third party. Head Office details as follows:

Address: Level 1, 13 Bridge Street Sydney NSW

Phone: (+61 2) 9251 3366

Free call: 1800 651 650

Email: infoaus@resolution.institute

Website: https://www.resolution.institute

Staff are to provide assistance to students during the complaint handling process.

• 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.

Applications by students for reconsideration of an unfavourable decision or finding are to be treated with the highest importance. 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 when the decision or finding is communicated to the student. The following procedure is to be followed when an application for appeal is received:

• A student appealing an assessment decision is to be referred immediately to the Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Executive Officer is to arrange for a re-assessment of the student as soon as possible. The student is also to be offered the opportunity to undertake additional training before this re-assessment. The reassessment is to be conducted by a different assessor than conducted the initial assessment. The student may be offered up to 3 re-assessments.
• If after the reassessment, the student remains not competent and is dissatisfied with the assessment outcome, the student is to meet with the Chief Executive Officer and the Principal to discuss the assessment process and the assessment outcome.
• If after consultation with the Chief Executive Officer, the student remains unsatisfied with the assessment process, the student is to be provided the Complaints and Appeals Form and the matter is to be dealt with in accordance with the complaint handling procedure.

• If the student is seeking a refund of their tuition fees based on an unfavourable outcome, this may be considered by the Chief Executive Officer on its merits. If the Chief Executive Officer does not approve a refund and considers that Invicta Technical College has dealt with the matter appropriately and has provided the student all reasonable opportunity to demonstrate their competence, the student is to be advised of the opportunity to refer the matter to Office of Fair Trading.
• The Management Team is to inform the applicant 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 appeal was received to the date the appeal was resolved.