If you have a problem or concern about the services, decisions or actions of City of Gold Coast, we would like to hear about it.
Complaints provide us with valuable feedback to enable continuous improvement of our services.
Our Complaints (Administrative Actions) Policy has been developed to ensure all complaints are dealt with efficiently, objectively and fairly.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by a person who is directly affected by an administrative action of Council of the City of Gold Coast or a Council employee.
A complaint is not the same as a request for service, a request for information or an enquiry seeking clarification of an issue. Examples of matters that are not classified as complaints include:
- an enquiry to seek clarification or further information about the amount of a rates bill
- a request to Council to act on a barking dog, a noisy pool filter, a leaking water pipe or any other services
- an enquiry made to Council on a particular development or compliance matter that is processed in accordance with statutory or administrative timeframe established by Council.
However, if:
- no action or inadequate action has been taken on a request for service or information that personally affects you, and you want to lodge a complaint about the way the request has been handled, or
- you are requesting a review of a decision or action made by Council that personally affects you
this contact would be classified as a complaint and handled under our Complaints (Administrative Action) Policy.
Complaints from Council suppliers
All supplier complaints regarding a procurement process or outcome must be forwarded via email to mail@goldcoast.qld.gov.au.
Address your complaint to the Chief Procurement Officer as the first point of contact, to provide the opportunity for our procurement branch to deal with and resolve the complaint.
Matters not covered by the Policy
The following types of complaints are dealt with by different Council processes:
If your complaint is to do with one of these matters, please contact us:
Council vehicles
To make a complaint about a Council vehicle or a vehicle used to conduct a Council service, such as rubbish collection, please forward the information below to mail@goldcoast.qld.gov.au:
- your name and contact details
- registration number of the vehicle
- a description of the vehicle
- date, time and location of the incident
- a brief description of what happened
- any other information pertinent to the incident.
Accidental damage to property
Unforeseen accidents, for example where a stone or hard object is thrown up from a mower or a whipper-snipper, can happen unexpectedly.
If your property has been accidentally damaged by Council maintenance works, please see our Accidental damage to property by City mowing page for information.
Report a problem
A request for service is where you want Council to take action. Examples include:
- a barking dog
- an overflowing waste bin
- a pothole
- or another issue requiring service.
If you would like to submit a request for service, visit Report a problem.
How do I make a complaint?
You are strongly encouraged to put your complaint in writing to ensure that it is clearly understood by the officer investigating it. You can make a formal complaint using one of the options below.
If you wish to lodge a complaint anonymously, please use the printable form and omit your personal details.
Need help lodging your complaint?
If our information is not in your language, please call the National Translating and Interpreting Service (NTIS) on 13 14 50. Advise the NTIS of your preferred language and ask to speak with City of Gold Coast Customer Service on 1300 GOLDCOAST (1300 465 326).
Alternatively, we have provided information on how to make a complaint in a range of other languages. Find links to our information in other languages below.
If you need assistance because of a hearing or speech impairment, please contact the National Relay Service on 13 36 77. If you can speak and hear but sometimes people have trouble understanding you, the number to call at the Relay Service is 1300 555 727.
If the person who wishes to complain is unable to do so due to poor health, distance, language, legal or other reasons, the complaint may be lodged by another person on their behalf.
Complaints process
It is important that our approach to dealing with complaints allows for fair and detailed consideration.
We take complaints seriously. The officer investigating your complaint will contact you within 10 working days of receiving the complaint to let you know how they will deal with it. After 10 working days, if you have not received a response, please phone 1300 GOLDCOAST (1300 465 326).
The timeline for handling complaints depends on how complex the matter is. The officer investigating the complaint will keep you informed of the progress of the investigation.
We aim to resolve complaints at the first point of contact. If that is not possible, your complaint will be referred for a review ('Preliminary Review') by an officer in the area where the original Council decision was made.
- When a complaint is received, an impartial Council officer will review the case. Once investigated, the Council officer will provide a written report of the investigation to the area manager and to the person who initiated the complaint.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the preliminary review, you may request a second review ('Final Review') by an authorised complaints officer.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the final review, you can lodge your complaint with the Queensland Ombudsman, the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) for water complaints, or use any other external complaints review process, such as judicial review (through the courts).
You can also lodge your complaint, at any time, directly with the Queensland Ombudsman (or EWOQ). The Ombudsman investigates complaints to make sure that public agencies such as local councils act fairly and make the right decisions for residents/customers.
Confidentiality
Your identity will remain confidential. Council must comply with the Information Privacy Act. Under this Act, personal information, including personal names and addresses, cannot be disclosed without a person's consent to anyone outside City of Gold Coast.
Refusal to investigate
We may refuse to investigate a complaint if:
- it is considered trivial or vexatious
- it is made using rude or abusive language, or where the complainant is physically harassing or stalking a Council officer
- it is made 12 months or more after the event that gave rise to the complaint
- it is made anonymously and there is insufficient information to investigate the complaint
- the matter is complex and the complainant refuses to put it in writing
- it is being considered through another review process
- the complainant in some way obstructs the investigation.