Feedback, compliments and complaints

Select ‘Provide feedback’ when you want to share your thoughts, opinions, or suggestions about our training, education, or services.

Use the feedback option when you want to help us improve, but you don’t expect a particular outcome. If you are seeking a specific resolution, use the ‘Make a complaint’ option instead.

We’ll make sure your feedback is recorded and considered. Where possible we’ll use it to help improve our services.

How to provide feedback

Select ‘Provide  feedback’ in the online form.

If you provide your contact details in the form:

• We’ll send you an email confirming we’ve received your submission.
• We’ll assign a staff member to review your feedback.
• If they need more information, they may contact you.

We value all feedback, and you can submit it anonymously. If you don’t provide your contact details, we won’t be able to follow up with you to better understand your feedback.

Provide feedback

Select ‘Give a compliment’ in the online form if you want to share a message of praise, support, or thanks. It can be about a person, team, service or any aspect of your experience with TAFE NSW.

We’ll be sure to share your appreciation with the right people and recognise them for a job well done. Receiving positive feedback helps us know what’s working and helps shape our services.

Giving a compliment

Select ‘Give a compliment’ on the form.

If you provide your contact details, we’ll send you an email confirming we’ve received your submission.

You can submit your compliment anonymously. If you do, we won’t be able to follow up with you.

We’ll share your compliment with any employees or teams you mention. We’ll make sure their good work is recognised more broadly.

Give a compliment

Complaints are when you want to tell us you are unhappy with our services, systems, buildings, how we deliver services or how we handle complaints. Complaints are the option to use if you’d like a response and a particular outcome.

When you make a complaint, we’ll listen and treat you with respect. Our process ensures your feedback reaches the best person to address your issue.

There's no fee for making a complaint or requesting an internal review.

We’ll do our best to respond and resolve the issue. We follow rules when handling complaints. Learn more about how we handle complaints in the TAFE NSW Customer Complaint Policy.

Confidentiality

We will treat every complaint with sensitivity. We cannot guarantee confidentiality in all situations. If your complaint is about someone, they have a right to know about any allegations made against them and to respond.

Anonymous complaints

You can submit your complaint anonymously. Not having your personal details may limit the steps we can take to work through issues.

It also means we can't contact you to better understand your situation.

We treat all feedback with fairness and respect. We'll do our best with information provided anonymously.

Making a complaint for someone else

You can appoint someone to make a complaint on your behalf. If you are over 18 you must sign an authority form. We can't discuss the issue with anyone other than you until we have a signed Complaint Authority form.

You’ll need to print and physically sign the form. We cannot accept a typed name without a signature.

You can then upload the signed Authority form in the Complaint and feedback form.

Complaint Authority form

How to make a complaint

If you’re a student, talking with someone who knows your situation first will often lead to a quicker resolution.

If you can't reach a resolution with your teacher, head teacher or Student Services, then you can 'make a complaint' using the online form.

Include as much information as possible about what’s happened. Also let us know if you're hoping for a particular outcome. This will help us resolve your complaint.

If you provide your contact details in the form:

1. We’ll send you an email confirming we’ve received your submission.
2. We’ll assign a staff member to review your complaint.
3. They’ll email you their contact details. This could take 5 working days.
4. If they need more information, they’ll ask you to provide it.
5. Once they've got the information they need, they'll consider your complaint and determine an outcome.
6. They’ll send you the outcome and explain their reasons in writing.

We aim to resolve complaints within 30 calendar days.

We'll update you on the progress of your complaint until we resolve it.

More serious or complex complaints may need more in-depth investigation.

The person reviewing your complaint might request a face-to-face meeting.  You can bring a friend or relative for support.

Make a complaint

Request an internal review

If you’re not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can request an internal review.

To request a review, reply to the outcome email outlining why you’re requesting a review.

An independent person will then review the original complaint and its outcome.

Request an external review

If the internal review does not resolve the issue, you can seek an external review by contacting agencies like:

• NSW Ombudsman: investigates complaints about government agencies and their conduct, including TAFE NSW. Call 02 9286 1000.
• National Student Ombudsman (NSO) works to resolve student complaints about higher education providers. Call 1300 395 775.

External support for education complaints

• Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA): regulates the vocational education and training sector.  Call 1300 701 801.
• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) regulates the higher education sector. Call 1300 739 585.
• Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW: handles complaints about discrimination, harassment and vilification. Call 02 9268 5555.
• Smart and Skilled Consumer protection: has a role in protecting students who are studying under Smart and Skilled subsidies. Call 13 28 11.
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has a role in ensuring VET Student Loan providers comply with their legal obligations. Call 13 38 73.