Complaints and Appeals Procedure

Our Complaints and Appeals Procedure Policy

At Compass we believe it is important to be transparent and to behave with integrity at all times.

Purpose & Our Commitment
The purpose of this procedure is to describe the process that all stakeholders may initiate to lodge a complaint or an appeal with Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd “Compass”.

Compass is committed to continually improving our service and see feedback as a key input into this process. We encourage feedback so that we may resolve your concern in a constructive and timely manner and so that we may improve our business.

We take all complaints and appeals seriously and commit to resourcing the complaints resolution process in an appropriate manner. We take full responsibility for decisions related to complaints and appeals. We recognise that clients and stakeholders have the right to provide feedback or make a complaint. We commit to dealing with all complaints and appeals fairly and without prejudice at all times ensure confidentiality is maintained.

We commit to managing complaints and appeals in a timely manner and providing ongoing feedback throughout the complaint resolution process. Compass aim to have every complaint and appeal resolved within a 3 month period from lodgement.

The Complaints and Appeal Process
An appeal is an application for reversal of a decision. An appeal may be lodged with regard to an audit finding such as a non-conformance or a certification decision such as to grant, suspend or withdraw a certificate.

A complaint is a statement that something is unacceptable or unsatisfactory.

Lodging A Complaint or an Appeal
Appeals or complaints must in the first instance be lodged directly with Compass.

These can be submitted by emailing the Managing Director care of [email protected] or in writing care of 920 Memorial City Way, Houston, TX 77024, United States.

For more information on lodging a complaint or an appeal you may phone our American team on 1800 230 7765.

Initial Handling
All complaints and appeals relating to Compass or Compass clients or workers are scanned for validity and are then lodged in our corrective action database and given a unique corrective action number, responsible person, date of lodgement and target resolution date. A letter confirming the corrective action number and acknowledging receipt of the complaint are sent to the initiator within 5 working days.

Resolution Process
The nominated responsible person is responsible for managing the resolution process.  The responsible person will be someone who is a competent person, independent and has not been involved in the client specific audit or certification decision.

The responsible person will analyse the complaint, taking into consideration other complaints and the overall management system of the client and determine a cause. An action plan will then be developed to correct the current issue and for corrective action.

If the complaint in question refers to a certified client then the responsible person will notify the client at an appropriate time.

The action plan will be approved by the Managing Director and then actioned as soon as is reasonably practicable.

The responsible person may nominate action owners but is ultimately responsible for the resolution process.

Once the action plan has been deployed and completed a review is undertaken by a person not involved in the complaint to ensure the corrective actions were effective. Written confirmation of the actions taken and the status of the resolution will be sent to the initiator and the complaint will be closed.

Compass shall only on the basis of consultation with its client and the complainant whether and to what extent, the subject of the complaint and its resolution shall be made public.

If the complaint has not been resolved within the nominated time frame, the complainant may escalate the complaint to the Managing Director for immediate review.

Tracking Process
Initiators may contact the Managing Director care of [email protected] or in writing care of PO Box 1408 Cleveland, QLD, 4163 or by phone on 1300 495 855 stating their name, address and the unique corrective action number. Written confirmation of status of complaint will be sent no less than on a quarterly basis.

The Managing Director reviews all complaints and appeals as part of the monthly board meeting any complaints or appeals that have not been closed within the target resolution date are discussed at the board meeting to ensure appropriate resources are available and the complaint has the appropriate priority.

Formal Review
All complaints and appeals are reviewed at board meetings and at the impartiality committee meetings. Top management review Complaints and corrective actions are also an input into the formal management review process of Compass’s Quality Management System.

Escalation
If unhappy with the outcome of the Compass review of your complaint and the decisions made by Compass then initiators have a right to make a formal complaint to JAS-ANZ www.jas-anz.org. All complaints or appeals unresolved by Compass within 3 months of our target resolution date are brought to the attention of JAS-ANZ by Compass.

The following information will be forwarded to JAS-ANZ:

• Written details of the original complaint
• Records of the review of the complaint
• Documented response to the complainant
• Any other correspondence with the complainant