Compliments and complaints
Reporting child abuse
If you believe a child is in immediate danger or a life-threatening situation, call Triple Zero (000).
If you have a reason to suspect a child in Queensland is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm or being neglected, talk to someone about your concerns:
- During normal business hours - contact your nearest Regional Intake Service.
- After hours - contact the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre on 1800 177 135. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Give us a compliment
To tell us about something we've done well, you can submit a compliment by:
- contacting your local Child Safety Service Centre.
- submitting an online form
- emailing Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety on feedback@dcssds.qld.gov.au
- calling 1800 080 464 (free call).
Make a complaint
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You can make a complaint about any aspect of the services or actions of the department or our staff.
If you have a complaint or a concern, there are some steps you can take to help us help you:
- Go local first: You can solve most concerns by speaking with local staff or the person you have been working with. Contact your local Service Centre if your concerns are about them.
- Act quickly: Tell us about the problem as soon as possible. The earlier you tell us, the sooner we can act.
- Make your complaint clear: Provide details of the issues, dates, phone calls and other relevant information. Tell us the outcome you are seeking or the action that you want us to take.
You have the right to have a friend, advocate, community Elder, interpreter, or independent person support you when you make a complaint. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples can also ask to speak to a person of their own culture for support.
Do you need an interpreter?
If you require an interpreter, call Translationz on (07) 3123 4887 and ask to talk to the Complaints Unit on 1800 080 464
If your matter can't be resolved at a local level or you are dissatisfied with the response to your concerns, please contact your Complaints Unit.
You can make a formal complaint by:
- using the online form
- emailing Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety
- phoning 1800 080 464 (Child Safety) to reach a 24/7 government customer service phoneline or phoning 1800 491 467 (Disability Services and Seniors)
- posting your feedback to:
Complaints Unit
Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety
Locked Bag 3405
Brisbane Qld 4001
Anonymous complaints
We can accept anonymous complaints. However, we may find it difficult to thoroughly assess or respond to the complaint if we can't contact you to obtain information.
Privacy and your personal information
In the course of investigating and taking action in response to complaints, personal information will be collected and handled in accordance with the 11 Information Privacy Principles in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) .
After you have lodged a complaint
We understand the importance of listening and responding to your feedback.
Once we have received your complaint, a departmental officer will keep you informed of its progress. You will receive a written response within 30 business days and have the opportunity to provide feedback to the response.
If you are unhappy with the outcome
If you remain unhappy you can request an internal review. You need to lodge a request for an internal review within 20 business days of your complaint closing and include details of the complaint outcome or your process you disagree with.
Once the internal review is complete you can pursue an external review:
- If your concerns relate to an administrative decision of the department, you can contact the Queensland Ombudsman by phone 1800 068 908 or ombudsman@ombudsman.qld.gov.au.
- If you are not satisfied with our response to your human rights complaint, you can contact the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) by phoning them on 1300 130 670 or enquiries@qhrc.qld.gov.au.
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NDIS participants can contact the NDIS directly about issues relating to their plan or if they are dissatisfied with the services they are receiving from the NDIS.
NDIS participants who have a concern about a NDIS service provider can make a complaint directly to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
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Privacy complaint is a 'complaint about an act or practice of the department in relation to your personal information that is a breach of the department's obligations under the Information Privacy Act 2009'.
See Information privacy for more information.
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Complaints under the Human Rights Act 2019 (Human Rights Act) can only be made about alleged breaches that have occurred after 1 January 2020.
The Human Rights Act requires public entities, including this department, to act in a way that is compatible with human rights obligations when delivering services and interacting with the community.
There are 23 human rights set out in the Human Rights Act.
If you believe that the department has breached your human rights, you can make a complaint directly to the department through our complaints process.
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If you have been harmed by violence, you have rights. You should be treated appropriately by government and non-government agencies in accordance with the Charter of Victims’ Rights.
You can make a complaint if you think the department has not behaved in accordance with the Charter of Victims’ Rights. A friend or family member may also make the complaint for you, with your permission.
You can make a complaint directly to the department through our complaints process or to the Office of the Victims' Commissioner.
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We are required to publish a complaints management report to meet the Public Service Act 2008 mandatory requirements.
- Complaints data 2023-2024 (PDF, 156 KB) Complaints data 2022-2023 (DOCX, 174 KB)
- Complaints data 2022-2023 (PDF, 142 KB) Complaints data 2022-2023
Former Department of Child Safety, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs
- Complaints data 2021-2022 Complaints data 2021-2022
- Complaints data 2020-2021 Complaints data 2020-2021
- Youth Justice complaints data 2020 Youth Justice complaints data 2020
- Complaints data 2019-2020 Complaints data 2019-2020
- Complaints data 2018-2019 Complaints data 2018-2019
Former Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
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Complaints about the departmental employees
Complaints can be made about the alleged conduct of departmental employees to Professional Standards. Professional Standards conduct assessments on corrupt conduct concerns in accordance with the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 and/or serious misconduct of a departmental employee in line with the Public Service Commission’s Conduct and Performance Excellence (CaPE) requirements.
You can contact Professional Standards in the following ways:
Email: professionalstandards@dcssds.qld.gov.au
Phone: Professional Standards hotline - 07 3097 5204
Mail: Professional Standards, Locked Bag 3405, Brisbane QLD 4001Professional Standards does not consider referrals about employee grievances, customer complaints, performance issues or lower level alleged misconduct. However, if received, these matters will be referred to the relevant departmental area for appropriate consideration.
Information to include in your complaint
Professional Standards require as much relevant information as possible to conduct an assessment. This includes:
- your name and contact details (unless you are reporting anonymously)
- the name, job title and workplace address of the employee subject to your referral
- details of the incident including date and what has occurred
- who may have been involved in the matter and/or witnesses to the alleged conduct
- any further relevant supporting evidence
Anonymous complaints
Complaints can be made anonymously, however it is important to include relevant information as listed above.
After you have lodged a complaint
Professional Standards will provide an acknowledgement in receipt of your concerns and provide you with a reference number. The matter will then be allocated to a Senior Assessor to undertake an assessment.
Confidentiality of a complaint
Professional Standards treats all complaint information with a high level or confidentiality and security. If the complaint information is assessed as a public interest disclosure (PID) under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010, there are additional confidentiality obligations that will bind everyone involved in the management of that matter.
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- Complaints management policy (PDF, 239 KB) (DOCX, 976 KB)
- Complaints about the Director-General policy (PDF, 544 KB) (DOCX, 1.1 MB)
- Complaints management procedure (PDF, 231 KB) (DOCX, 968 KB)
- Queensland Public Service Complaint Management Framework (PDF)
- Queensland Public Service Complaint Management Guideline
Child Safety Factsheets
- First Attempt at Resolution (FAAR) (PDF, 187 KB) (DOCX, 572 KB)
- Feedback (PDF, 232 KB) (DOCX, 573 KB)
- Complaint (PDF, 180 KB) (DOCX, 516 KB)
- Internal review (PDF, 178 KB) (DOCX, 654 KB)
- Unreasonable Client Conduct (PDF, 242 KB) (DOCX, 448 KB)
- Making a complaint (PDF)
- Making a complaint (poster) (PDF)
Disability Services and Seniors Resources
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence