Complaints Policy & Handling Procedure

1. Policy Aims:

SELECT Strata Communities is a network of Member firms, domiciled and operating from our Kew East Headquarters. Each member firm is individually owned and operated by a member firm Director.

SELECT Strata Communities and its member firms (“SELECT”) care deeply about the standard of professional management services provided to clients and customers. We also care about your experience in your dealings with our staff and third-party suppliers. This policy aims to maintain and enhance our reputation of providing you with high quality services by providing you with a clear outline of how any complaint you may have in relation to our services, staff or suppliers, will be managed.

SELECT is committed to being responsive to the needs and concerns of our customers and to resolving your complaint as quickly as possible. The Owner/Director of each SELECT member firm, or their responsible delegate, is the person responsible for hearing and actioning your complaint.

This policy has been designed to provide guidance to both our clients, customers and staff on the manner in which SELECT receives and manages your complaint. We are committed to being consistent, fair and impartial when handling your complaint.

The objective of this policy is to ensure:

• You are aware of our complaint lodgement and handling processes;
• Both you and SELECT staff understand our complaints handling process;
• Your complaint is investigated impartially with a balanced view of all information or evidence;
• We take reasonable steps to actively protect your personal information;
• Your complaint is considered on its merits taking into account individual circumstances and needs.

2. Definition of a complaint:

In this policy, a complaint means an expression of dissatisfaction by a customer relating to the provision of professional strata management services provided by us.

3. How a complaint can be made:

If you are dissatisfied with a management service provided by us, you should in the first instance consider speaking directly with the staff member/s you have been dealing with. If you are uncomfortable doing this or consider the relevant staff member may be unable to address your concerns, you can lodge a complaint with us in one of the following ways:

• By completing a feedback form on our website here;
• By telephoning our office on (03) 9862 3700 and speaking to one of our member firm Directors;
• By writing to us C/- 711 High Street, Kew East, VIC 3102;
• By emailing us at info@selectsc.com.au
• In person by leaving a message for a member firm Director with our Front Desk Administrators.

If we receive your complaint verbally and if we consider it appropriate, we may ask you to put your complaint in writing.

4. Information you will need to tell us:

When we are investigating your complaint, we will be relying on information provided by you and information we may already be in possession of. We may need to contact you to clarify details or request additional information where necessary. To help us investigate your complaint quickly and efficiently we will ask you for the following information:

• Your name and contact details;
• The name of the person you have been dealing with (E.G., SELECT staffer/contractor/supplier);
• The nature of the complaint;
• Details of any steps you have already taken to resolve the complaint;
• Details of conversations you may have had with us that may be relevant to your complaint;
• Copies of any documentation that may support your complaint.

5. Help when making a complaint:

Our Front Desk Administrators will direct your complaint to the relevant Director of the SELECT member firm, to whom your complaint should be referred. All complaints are heard and actioned by the relevant SELECT member Director or their delegate.

6. How we will record a complaint:

When taking a complaint, our Front Desk Administrators will record your name and contact details and your intentions to make a complaint. Please note, all complaints are heard and actioned by SELECT Directors, not our Front Desk Administrators.

Our Front Desk Administrators will take your contact details and the matter will be referred to a SELECT member Director, or their delegate, via email. The Director (or delegate) will then contact you to hear the nature of your complaint and record all details of your complaint including the facts and the cause/s of your complaint, the outcome and any actions taken following the investigation of your complaint. We will also record all dates and times relating to actions taken to resolve the complaint and communications between us.

As part of our ongoing improvement plan, complaints will be monitored for any identifying trends by management and rectification/remedial action taken to mitigate any identified issues.

If you lodge a complaint, we will record your personal information solely for the purposes of addressing your complaint. Your personal details will actively be protected from disclosure, unless you expressly consent to disclosure.

Where a third-party supplier, such as a trade contractor, was involved in the provision of your strata management services, we may be required to speak with them to fully investigate your complaint.

Where your complaint involves a third-party supplier, your personal information such as your name, will need to be disclosed to the third-party, but only for the purposes of investigating your complaint.

7. Feedback to clients /customers

SELECT Strata Communities is committed to resolving your issues at the first point of contact, however, this will not be possible in all circumstances, in which case a more formal complaints process will be followed.

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three (3) business days of receipt. Once your complaint has been received, we will undertake an initial review of your complaint.

There may be circumstances during the initial review or investigation of your complaint where we may need to clarify certain aspects of your complaint or request additional documentation from you. In such circumstances we will explain the purpose of seeking clarification or additional documentation and provide you with feedback on the status of your complaint at that time.

We are committed to resolving your complaint within 10-business days of you lodging your complaint, however, this may not always be possible on every occasion. If we have sought clarification or additional documentation from you and we are waiting on you to provide this information, we may not be able to meet our 10-business day finalisation commitment. In such circumstances upon receipt of your clarification or additional documentation we will indicate to you when we expect to be able to finalise your complaint.

Once we have finalised your complaint, we will advise you of our findings and any action we have taken. We will do this in writing, unless it has been mutually agreed that we can provide it to you verbally. You have the right to make enquiries about the current status of your complaint at any time by contacting us.

8. Our Complaint Process

• Within three (3) business days of receiving your complaint we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint.
• We undertake an initial review of your complaint and determine what if any additional information or documentation may be required to complete an investigation. We may need to contact you to clarify details or request additional information where necessary.
• Within 10 business days of receiving your compliant we will investigate your complaint objectively and impartially, by considering the information you have provided us, our actions in relation to your dealings with us and any other information which may be available, that could assist us in investigating your complaint.
• Where appropriate we amend our business practices or policies.
• We will record your complaint for continuous improvement process and monitoring through regular review, your personal information will be recorded in accordance with relevant privacy legislation.

9. When you complain about a SELECT staff member

If you complain about a member of our staff, we will treat your complaint confidentially, impartially and equally (giving equal treatment to all people). We will investigate your complaint thoroughly by finding out the relevant facts, speaking with the relevant people and verifying explanations where possible.

We will also treat our staff member objectively by:

• Informing them of any complaint about their performance;
• Providing them with an opportunity to explain the circumstances;
• Providing them with appropriate support;
• Updating them on the complaint investigation and the result;
• If appropriate, promote a restorative conversation and apology relevant to the circumstances.

10. Complaints investigation by a regulator or law enforcement agency

If your complaint is currently being investigated by a relevant federal or state consumer protection regulator or law enforcement agency (E.G., Victoria Police), we may cease to take further action in relation to your complaint pending finalisation of any regulator or enforcement agency investigation.

SELECT will assist any agency with their investigations.

11. SELECT complaint escalation process

Where possible, we will attempt to resolve your complaint at the first point of contact with a SELECT Member Firm Director, or their delegate. If we are unable to resolve your complaint at the first point of contact, we will undertake an investigation of your complaint and provide you with our findings.

If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled, or the resolution provided by us, you can request us to escalate your complaint to the SELECT Board of Directors.

The SELECT Board of Directors’ approach will be to attempt to resolve your complaint through consultation, by working with both you and us, to determine the relevant facts to promote a resolution of the matter.

The SELECT Board of Directors will remain open and impartial throughout any consultation process and consider your complaint and our actions, in attempting to resolve your complaint on their merits.