Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals Policy

PURPOSE

This policy outlines the approach of Leaders Institute (LI) to resolving a complaint, grievance, or appeal involving a student, prospective student, member of staff, volunteer, or visitor.

SCOPE

All campuses. A complaint, grievance, or appeal by a staff member, as well as matters of sexual misconduct are outside the scope of this policy.

PRINCIPLES

LI is committed to ensuring:

• transparent, ethical, and timely processes for addressing complaints, grievances, and appeals to which the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are applied, regardless of campus or delivery mode of study;

• equity and fairness to all parties, without bias or special treatment;

• confidentiality for all parties involved;

• the right of all parties to have a support person present during meetings;

• adherence to current legal requirements;

• independent review of a decision determined in response to a grievance;

• that there is no fee for complaint, grievance, or appeal processes;

• the grievant may seek confidential, independent professional advice at any stage of the process;

• the grievant may ask for assistance in the form of a translator/ interpreter at any time during the process;

• a student may continue their studies as usual during the process, except in circumstances where their health or safety is potentially at risk or if they pose a health or safety risk to others;

• the grievant is kept informed of the progress and outcome decisions of their grievance or appeal;

• the grievant has the right to refer their grievance or appeal to an external agency.

Academic grievances and appeals may include matters relating to:

• academic misconduct;

• assessments (including assignments, tests, exams);

• content and delivery of courses or units;

• advanced standing, cross credit or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL);

• selection and admission into a course;

• special consideration;

• academic progress.

Administrative grievances and appeals may include matters relating to:

• admissions;

• cancellation of enrolment;

• critical incidents;

• education agents;

• exclusion;

• facilities;

• fee payment and refunds;

• bullying, discrimination, harassment, or vilification;

• health, wellbeing, and safety;

• misconduct (other than academic misconduct);

• personal information;

• withdrawal without penalty.

LI will respond to any complaint, grievance, or appeal an international student makes regarding education agents or any related party LI has an arrangement with to deliver a course or related services.

DEFINITIONS

Academic decision or action: a decision/action made by a LI staff member that is directly related to the academic progress of a student or prospective student. This may include but is not restricted to: an issue arising from application into or progression in a course; academic supervision; academic freedom; ethical practice; professional experience performance; quality of assessment feedback; or course workload.

Appeal: is an application made by a student or prospective student to have a decision reviewed where that decision relates to a matter affecting an experience at LI.

Authorised Officer: A relevant LI staff member with authority who may be approached at any time in relation to the policy, process, and implications of making a grievance or appeal. This may include, but is not limited to, an Administrative Officer, Campus Manager, Marketing Officer, Program Director, or Registrar.

Complaint: minor problem or concern which may have arisen from a lack of, or unclear, communication.

Grievance: major problem or concern with LI (including with agents or other related parties who represent or act on behalf of LI) for which the grievant is seeking an official resolution.

Natural justice principles: are broadly summarised as follows:

• all parties to the matter(s) in dispute, including respondent(s) will have a right to be heard before a decision is made, including the right to respond to any statements or evidence that may prejudice their case;

• all relevant submissions, information, and evidence to be considered by the decision maker should be disclosed, where requested, to all parties to the complaint prior to the hearing. Matters that are not relevant shall not be considered by the decision maker;

• the decision maker/s shall not be biased or appear to be biased (by a reasonable and informed bystander) nor have a vested interest or personal involvement in the matter being considered;

• in addition to these principles of natural justice, there should be no undue delay in responding to complaints or appeals and all parties to such matters under this policy shall have the right to a representative of their choice, other than a currently practising solicitor or barrister (except in extraordinary circumstances at a hearing with the prior leave of the Chair of the Grievance Appeals panel).

Non-academic decision or action: a decision/action made by an LI staff member that is not directly related to the academic assessment or progress of a student or prospective student. It may include but is not limited to: customer service and administration; marketing and information; facilities; fees/finance related matters; or health and wellbeing.

Vexatious complaint: complaints or grievances which are considered without merit, malicious or already resolved.

Grievance Appeals Panel

• The Chair of the Grievance Appeals Panel is appointed by the President;

• Membership includes:

  
  

  • Registrar;

  • At least one academic staff member (not associated with the grievance/appeal);

  • At least one administrative staff member (not associated with the grievance/appeal);

  • A nominee from the Student Representative Group, who cannot act as an advocate for the student or prospective student.

    
    

• The Panel will meet on an as needs basis;

• Any conflict of interest must be declared, and that panel member must withdraw from the appeal hearing.

External Appeal

Where the person lodging the appeal has exhausted all internal grievance and appeals processes in this policy and remains dissatisfied, the person can access an external appeal process outlined below at no cost.

PROCEDURES

A student or prospective student is entitled to continue their enrolment or application while an internal review or appeal process is ongoing. However, the student or prospective student is not entitled to enrol in units which are the subject of or consequential to the decision under review and cannot withdraw from a unit with ‘special circumstances’ while the internal review or appeal process is ongoing if this unit is the subject of the decision under review or appeal.

Where a complainant or grievant remains dissatisfied with the decision, they are entitled to continue to the next step in the procedures, providing new or additional information is provided to support the case. It is not sufficient to simply disagree with the decision. Any student or prospective student who provides false or misleading information will have their complaint, grievance, or appeal application deemed invalid and may be dealt with in accord with the Academic Integrity Policy.

Any student or prospective student who makes a vexatious grievance may be dealt with under the Code of Conduct Policy.

The right to make a complaint, grievance, or appeal under does not affect the rights of the student or prospective student to act under the Australian Consumer Law if the Australian Consumer Law applies. A grievant may choose to have their grievance reviewed by an external appeal process. In this situation, LI will not continue further consideration of matters where the process options have been exhausted or where the grievant has taken their grievance to an external agency.

The procedure for the notification and resolution of a grievance related to sexual misconduct is outlined in LI's Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Policy.

International Students

For international students studying in Australia where the grievance relates to them being excluded from a course due to not completing their course in the required time frame, not achieving satisfactory attendance, or not making satisfactory course progress, the student will be notified in writing that they will be reported to the Department of Home Affairs and this may result in their student visa being cancelled. The student will be informed, in writing, that they have 20 working days to access the appeals process.

LI will respond to any complaint, grievance, or appeal an international student makes regarding education agents or any related party with which LI has an arrangement to deliver the international student’s course or related services. If the international student submits a Complaint, Grievance or Appeal Form this will be sent to the relevant Authorised Officer (usually the supervisor of the academic or administrative staff member involved in the grievance). If the grievance or appeal relates to a LI education agent, the submitted form will be sent to the LI Marketing Manager.

Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals Resolution Process

A person lodging a complaint, grievance, or appeal is expected to follow the resolution process below:

1. Informal Resolution

• A person who has a complaint or grievance should, where possible, discuss this with the relevant LI staff member responsible for the academic or non-academic decision or action. The LI staff member will deal with the issue promptly and, where possible provide the person with a full explanation in writing of reasons for the decision or action with a view to avoiding an escalation of the grievance;

• If there is a conflict of interest, the staff member should refer the complaint or grievance to their supervisor;

• Most complaints and grievances should be resolved informally. 

2. Lodgment of Grievance and Appeal Form

• If a complaint or grievance cannot be resolved informally, the grievant may submit a Grievance and Appeal Form with the relevant Authorised Officer (usually the supervisor of the staff member involved in the grievance);

• The grievant must provide the following:

  • nature of the grievance;

  • what actions they have taken to resolve the matter to date;

  • evidence to support their claim;

  • outcomes they are seeking.

• The person lodging the complaint or grievance is issued, in writing, with an acknowledgement of receipt of the grievance and advised of the timeframe for review of the grievance matter within five working days.

Any grievance which is anonymous and may allege or involve abuse of a minor or is a protected disclosure of alleged corruption or wrongful conduct in the context of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is reported immediately to the President (or other suitable Authorised Officer, where relevant).

3. Investigation and Decision

• The person lodging the complaint or grievance is notified in writing of the outcome within 10 working days of lodgment of the original grievance and of their right to appeal the decision;

• The person is provided with a written statement, which includes a full explanation for the decision;

• The decision taken may include to:

  • deem the grievance to be invalid.

  • dismiss the matter on the grounds that the grievant has not presented sufficient evidence to justify the matter as a grievance.

  • uphold the grievance and provide a decision based on the evidence, including any agreed actions.

• A report will be recorded by the Authorised Officer in the LI Register of Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals;

• If the person who lodged the complaint or grievance is not satisfied with the internal grievance decision, they can submit a Grievance and Appeals Form to appeal the decision.

4. Appeal of Decision

• Formal appeals are to be made to the Grievance Appeals Panel by lodging a Grievance and Appeal Form;

• In lodging an appeal, the person must specify in writing the grounds for appeal and attach copies of all documents relevant to the appeal;

• The person lodging the appeal is expected to provide genuine reasons and any additional factual evidence in support of an appeal of a decision. The Institute will not alter a decision merely on the grounds that the person lodging the appeal disagrees with the decision. In applying for the review or appeal of a decision, the person needs to provide evidence that the decision in the first instance was an unreasonable one;

• The appeal of decision matter is then dealt with by the Grievance Appeals Panel as soon as practicably possible.

5. Grievance Appeals Panel

• The Chair of the Grievance Appeals Panel will convene the Panel to discuss the matter within five working days of receiving the appeal, ensuring that members of the panel are not those who have previously dealt with the grievance, and are experienced in the area of concern;

• The person lodging the appeal is provided an opportunity to formally present their case to the Panel and bring a support person to the Panel hearing;

• The decision of the Panel is the final internal decision and a formal report will be prepared within five working days after the Panel meeting;

• The Panel may take any of the following actions:

  • deem the appeal to be invalid;

  • dismiss the appeal on the grounds that the decision taken was right and proper, and/or the appellant has not presented sufficient evidence to justify further consideration of the appeal; and in so doing affirm the decision in its original form;

  • uphold the appeal after establishing that there is sufficient evidence to support the finding that the decision taken was unreasonable.

• Where an appeal has been rejected by the Panel on the grounds of it being found to be invalid or lacking in sufficient evidence to justify further consideration, there is no further internal avenue for the appellant to appeal.

6. Notice of Final Decision

• The Panel Chair provides written notice of the decision to the person lodging the appeal. It includes a statement of reasons for making the decision, as well as notifying them of their right to lodge an external appeal if they are unsatisfied with the decision;

• The Chair of the Grievance Appeals Panel will also detail if any corrective or preventative actions are to be taken by the Institute because of the decision.

EXTERNAL APPEAL

The person lodging the appeal may not be satisfied with the outcome of the internal appeal process and is entitled to proceed to an external authority. For an external review to be approved, the person must have exhausted the internal grievances procedures outlined in this policy. LI subscribes to the following external mediator services at no cost to the person lodging the appeal:

Independent Higher Education Australia (IHEA)

Phone: 03 9642 5212

Email: contact@ihea.edu.au 

Website: https://ihea.edu.au 

The IHEA appointed external reviewer will make a decision and advise the relevant officer of LI, the person lodging the appeal, and IHEA within 30 days, providing in writing the reasons and rationale for any decisions and/or actions to be taken. The relevant LI officer will ensure that recommendations of the IHEA appointed external reviewer are implemented within 20 working days. Decisions of the appointed reviewer shall be final and binding on all parties.

OR

Nominations Services Officer

Resolution Institute, Level 2, 13-15 Bridge Street, Sydney 2000

Email: infoaus@resolution.institute 

Website: www.resolution.institute

There is no cost to the person accessing external mediation from the nominated services listed above.

International Students 

International students or prospective international students who wish to lodge an external appeal can contact the Overseas Students Ombudsman. This service is free. See the Overseas Students Ombudsman for more information.

Both LI and the international student or prospective international student are bound by the decision of the ombudsman and such decisions are final and non-reviewable. While the appeal is still being investigated, an enrolled international student may continue to attend classes as normal unless the student has a reasonable concern about an imminent risk to their health, wellbeing, or safety.

Confidentiality

All documentation relating to grievances or appeals will be kept confidential and will be disclosed only to those persons who have a right to the information by virtue of their role in the review or appeal process, or as required by law.