The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office’s (HaDSCO) provides an impartial resolution service for health, disability and mental health service complaints. Parties are encouraged to discuss complaints and works towards mutually agreed outcomes.
HaDSCO is generally unable to deal with complaints which are more than two years old or have already been determined by a court, registration board or tribunal. In these cases referrals to alternative organisations may be suggested.
In the first instance, HaDSCO encourages complaints to be raised with the service provider. Offering the provider a chance to address the issues, usually results in quicker complaint resolution. A complaint can be lodged by the service user or a nominated representative, for example, a family member, carer or guardian. If this proves unsatisfactory, complainants should call HaDSCO’s Assessment Team, 61 8 6551 7600 or 1800 813 583 to discuss the complaint.
The HaDSCO Assessment Team will outline the options, explain the complaints process and organise a complaint form to be sent by post. Alternatively, complaint forms can be completed online or downloaded (PDF) and returned by fax, email or post.
All complaints must be confirmed in writing.
Once completed forms are received, HaDSCO determines how best to deal with the complaint and may contact the service provider.