2022 Annual Complaints Reporting (ACR) requirements for registered or regulated Victorian disability services.
“The annual complaints reporting process and online tool [has]… transformed a culture of ‘complaints are a bad thing’ to ‘feedback is good and constructive” Disability service provider.
Access the ACR Tool
Registered or regulated disability service providers in Victoria need to report to the Disability Services Commissioner (DSC) every year about their complaints. Reports are to be submitted anytime from 9am Friday 1 July to 5pm Friday 8 July 2022.
If you are not sure if your organisation is registered or has been registered during 2020-2021 – you can check your status on the Register of disability service providers (https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/register-disability-service-providers-xls).
You can also contact us for help.
Frequently Asked Questions
- My organisation is a Victorian registered or regulated disability service provider – do I need to submit a report to the Disability Services Commissioner?
Yes. All registered and regulated disability services are required to submit a report. This is a requirement under the Disability Act 2006.
- My organisation’s registration ceased during 2021-22 – do I need to submit a report?
Yes. If your organisation was registered for any period of time during 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022, your organisation is required to submit a report.
- What does my organisation need to report on?
Using the free on-line ACR tool (which is administered by the DSC) organisations are required to report on:
-
- number of complaints received that relate to services funded by DFFH (formally DHHS)
- types (eg – can we give examples here?)
- outcomes of complaints received, including how they were resolved.
Refer to questions – 6-8 for more information about the ACR tool.
- What if my organisation has no complaints to report on?
You are still required to submit a report. This is what we call a ‘nil report’ which can be done in one of the following ways:
-
- enter a nil report using the ACR tool or
- send an email to acr@odsc.vic.gov.au advising that your organisation would like to submit a ‘nil’ report.
- How does DSC use the complaint data?
DSC does not have access to individual complaints data, and only receives summaries of annual complaints reports at the end of each financial year. This data is published every year in the Commissioner’s Annual Report.
- What is the ACR Tool?
The ACR Tool is a free online all-in-one complaints register and annual complaints reporting tool available to your organisation. The ACR Tool can be used for:
-
- Meeting your organisation’s legislative obligation to report all complaints received to the Disability Services Commissioner every year
- Keeping a secure record of all complaints as they are received
- Recording additional data about complaints, such as information about the individual and specific case notes.
When using the ACR Tool to record and manage your complaints, you can be confident that your organisation’s complaints records are securely stored and comply with legislative requirements.
- Who can use the ACR Tool?
All registered and regulated disability service providers in Victoria have access to the ACR Tool. The ACR Tool is designed to manage the annual complaints reporting process required of service providers.
If your organisation has a number of people who need access to your complaints register, the ACR Tool can accommodate multiple system users from the same organisation. The main administrator of the tool within the organisation has the ability to add and remove users as needed.
- Who is responsible for the data in the ACR Tool?
The ACR Tool is administered by Disability Services Commissioner. The technology and data security is managed by Orima Research, a public sector research and online data system specialist.
In using the ACR Tool, service providers enter into an agreement with Orima Research to store complaints data on their behalf. The full Terms and Conditions of this agreement can be found by contacting Orima Research.
Contact us for more information about DSC
Email (preferred): acr@odsc.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1800 677 342 (free call from landlines)
National Relay Service: www.relayservice.gov.au then 1800 677 342
