Compliments and complaints

BPEQ strives to deliver helpful and professional service and advice to our customers.

We welcome compliments, complaints or any feedback that will help us improve our services.  We are committed to effectively handling compliments, complaints or any feedback in a timely and professional manner.

Who can I give a compliment to or complain about?

This page and the related forms deal with compliments, complaints and feedback directed at members and employees of the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland.

You can make a complaint about any aspect of the services or actions of BPEQ, including privacy breaches.

If you want to make a complaint about a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) or notify BPEQ about an offence against the Professional Engineers Act 2002 click here.

How do I give a compliment or make a complaint?

BPEQ offers a number of ways for people to give a compliment, make a complaint or offer feedback:

1. 1. Online compliments and complaints form (please scroll to bottom of the page)
   2. Email – admin@bpeq.qld.gov.au
   3. Call – 07 3210 3100
   4. Post – GPO Box 5216 BRISBANE Qld  4000

The Corporate Services Manager is the primary officer responsible for managing compliments and complaints. While any BPEQ staff member can receive a compliment or complaint it is advisable to mark your compliment / complaint for the attention of the Corporate Services Manager. All compliments and complaints made through the online form are directed to the Corporate Services Manager.

Complaints

If you have a complaint, there are some steps you can take to help us help you.

1. 1. Contact BPEQ – many concerns can be resolved quickly and easily by speaking with staff.
   2. Act quickly – please tell us about the problem as soon as possible. The earlier you tell us, the sooner we can act.
   3. Make your complaint clear – to help us assess and resolve your complaint, please give us as much information as possible including details of the issue, dates, phone calls and any other supporting information. Please also tell us the outcome you are seeking or the action that you want BPEQ to take.

We can help by:

• 1. providing an interpreter if you have language difficulties or are visually or hearing impaired
  2. letting you know where you can get further help and information.

If we cannot help you with your complaint, we will give you advice about where to get help.

We will not accept complaints about:

• 1. matters already dealt with or currently being dealt with by BPEQ, a government department or agency, court or tribunal
  2. matters that are impractical to investigate, or
  3. matters that appear to concern frivolous matters or appear to have been made vexatiously.

Anonymous complaints

Anonymous complaints will be accepted.

However, in circumstances where an anonymous complaint is received, we may find it difficult to thoroughly assess or respond to the complaint if there is not enough detail.

In this situation, the complaint may not be able to be fully assessed. For this reason, we encourage complainants to provide their contact details.

How we manage complaints

If you make a complaint:

• 1. the primary BPEQ officer responsible for managing complaints is the Corporate Services Manager
  2. it will be treated seriously and actioned promptly
  3. we will consider human rights as part of the handling of your complaint
  4. we will provide reasonable assistance to you
  5. we will handle your complaint in a way that is culturally appropriate and responsive to any special needs you may have
  6. you will not be victimised
  7. we will deal with your complaint according to the seriousness, frequency and consequences of the complaint
  8. confidentiality will be observed as far as possible
  9. you will be given timely feedback about your complaint.

Privacy and your personal information

In the course of investigating and taking action in response to complaints, personal information will be collected and handled in accordance with the 11 Information Privacy Principles in the Information Privacy Act 2009.

Documentation relating to complaints is stored on a file which is retained in locked storage. Information relating to complaints is accessible only by those staff members whose duties require them to deal with the information.

Public Interest Disclosures

Public interest disclosures are reports about wrongdoing in the public sector. They can be made by employees and members of the public, and help to uncover corruption and other misuses of public resources.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 encourages the disclosure of information about suspected wrongdoing in the public sector so that it can be properly evaluated and appropriately investigated. It sets out requirements for public sector entities to effectively manage PIDs and provide support and protections for people who make disclosures.

Complaints outcome

BPEQ will keep you informed about the progress of your complaint and any action taken.

If you are unhappy with how your complaint has been dealt with, you can request that your complaint is reviewed by the Board.

If you are dissatisfied with any action taken by BPEQ in relation to your complaint, and after you have exhausted all available avenues of review within BPEQ, you can request that the decision be reviewed by the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman.

If your complaint is about a breach of privacy and you are dissatisfied with the Board’s resolution of your complaint, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner.

If your complaint relates to a matter of human rights and BPEQ fails to respond to the human rights complaint within 45 days or does not resolve the complaint to the complainant’s satisfaction, the complainant may refer the complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission.

Further information

For more information about how we handle complaints, read:

• 1. Complaints Management Policy