VIDA Complaint Management Policy

2 April 2024

As an industry, we are committed to providing an excellent service to our stakeholders. We value feedback as it helps us to understand our stakeholders’ experiences and how we can continue to meet their needs.

We acknowledge your right to raise a complaint and to receive a timely and appropriate response to your concerns.

Application and definition

This Policy applies to all complaints received by the following Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) and its Project Offices (POs) managed through our Complaint Management Process:

Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) incorporating:
- Melbourne Airport Rail (MAR)
- Regional Rail Revival (RRR)
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) - incorporating:
- Big Build Roads (BBR)
- North East Link (NEL)
- West Gate Tunnel Project (WGTP)
Metro Tunnel Project (MTP)

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about our projects and project planning, actions, services, staff or the handling of a complaint.

Our complaint management principles

Our Complaint Management Process is based on guiding principles that aim to:

enable and welcome complaints
manage complaints effectively, efficiently and fairly
promote a culture of learning from complaints and making improvements
always be transparent.

Enabling complaints

Encouraging feedback and making it easy to complain.

Managing complaints

Engaging with you and taking action to resolve your complaint.

Learning and improving

Analysing complaint data to improve services and complaint handling.

Enabling complaints

We recognise your right to complain and we are committed to addressing your concerns fairly and efficiently.

Our staff are well trained and will actively assist you through the process. We recognise that some people have particular needs or require extra assistance when making a complaint. We provide a range of accessible options to make the process as easy as possible.

We will be flexible when dealing with your complaint and will communicate with you in the most convenient and efficient way. We will use complaint handling methods that help us to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

How to contact us if you have a complaint

For up-to-date information on how to contact us, please contact us or call us on Freecall 1800 105 105 at any time.

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us directly or through the National Relay Service on 1800 555 630. If you require a translator or interpreter service, you can contact us on (03) 9209 0147.

We aim to acknowledge and respond to your complaint promptly and recognise that some issues require urgent action. We assess each new complaint to determine the most appropriate initial action and give priority in accordance with the urgency and/or severity of the issues raised.

Responses may take longer where the complaint requires detailed investigation or input from external parties, including contractors on the relevant project.

Our Complaint Management Process is fair to all parties and ensures issues are handled in an objective and unbiased way.

Avenues for review

You have avenues for review if you are not satisfied with an outcome, including internal managerial review by the relevant PO or external review by the Public Transport Ombudsman (LXRP and MTP) or Victorian Ombudsman (LXRP, MTP, NEL, WGTP and BBR). Privacy-related escalations can be made to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner for all POs.

We will protect your privacy and manage your personal information in accordance with privacy laws and our privacy policy.

Learning and improving

Complaint data is an important source of information to measure how we are performing. Each PO regularly analyses de-identified complaint data to find ways to improve how we operate and how our projects are delivered. We present monthly reports on complaint trends to senior management and we conduct root cause analysis on complaints to identify systemic issues, and work with entities across our industry to improve your experience and prevent them from recurring.

We also work hard to continually improve our Complaint Management Process. We have effective quality assurance processes in place to regularly review the quality of complaint handling and to provide feedback to staff. VIDA performs an annual compliance audit to assess adherence to the Complaint Management Process.

Our complaint management process

All VIDA POs use a 3-tiered Complaint Management Process. This enables complaints to be registered and resolved quickly where appropriate and provides opportunities for your concerns to be considered further if you are not satisfied with our initial response.

1. Acknowledgement, registration and early resolution

We record your complaint details in our stakeholder database and assign a unique reference code to the complaint. We then assign directly to the relevant PO for assessment. You will receive an acknowledgement from the PO.

We consider your concerns and work out the best way to assist you. Often, we can resolve your complaint immediately. If the matter cannot be resolved straight away, our specialist Complaint Management Team will consider the matter further.

2. Exploring resolution options and investigating

Project Complaint Management Teams

The relevant PO’s Complaint Management Team will assess your complaint and look for ways to resolve the matter with you. If necessary, they will investigate the issues you have raised.

High priority complaints

We will provide you with a final response to your complaint as soon as reasonably possible. If we need a longer timeframe than anticipated to respond, we will explain this to you.

We note that in relation to imminent safety issues, emergency situations, construction impacts, accessibility and property damage – these will be dealt with urgently and will be of utmost priority.

Low priority complaints

We will provide you with a final response to your complaint as soon as reasonably possible. If we need a longer timeframe than anticipated to respond, we will explain this to you.

Internal escalation

Have your feedback reviewed within VIDA

If you are not satisfied with our initial response, you can have your feedback reviewed by the Manager of our Complaint Management Team. We’ll discuss your complaint with you and try to reach an agreement that satisfies everyone.

You can do this by calling us on 1800 105 105 and quoting your reference number or by providing feedback online on our contact form.

Alternatively, you can escalate to the Public Transport Ombudsman (PTO) or Victorian Ombudsman - which is the final step in the complaint handling process.

You can also escalate your feedback directly to the PTO or Victorian Ombudsman without going through VIDA.

3. External escalation

You can escalate your complaint externally by contacting the Public Transport Ombudsman, the Victorian Ombudsman or for privacy complaints, the Victorian Information Commissioner.

Public Transport Ombudsman

Only some POs are members of the PTO Member Scheme. You may choose to refer your complaint to the Public Transport Ombudsman for external consideration if you are dissatisfied with the response provided by LXRP or MTP. The PTO is an independent dispute resolution body that can assist in the resolution of disputes about public transport in Victoria.

Victorian Ombudsman or Victorian Information Commissioner

You may choose to refer your complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman for external consideration if you are dissatisfied with the response provided by LXRP, MTP, NEL, WGTP or BBR. The Victorian Ombudsman investigates complaints about Victorian Government departments and agencies as well as Local Government.

For privacy-related escalations, contact the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.