• Skip to content
  • Skip to navigation
X
Burdekin Shire Council Logo Burdekin Shire Council Logo
SEARCH
CONTACT

Contact Burdekin Shire council via phone or email.

  • (07) 4783 9800
  • enquiries@burdekin.qld.gov.au
  • Online Contact Form
MENU
  • Home
  • About Council
    • Contact Us
    • Our Organisation
      • Organisational Structure
      • Our Vision, Mission and Values
      • Customer Service Charter
    • Mayor and Councillors
      • Mayor Lyn McLaughlin
      • Deputy Mayor Sue Perry
      • Councillor Kaylee Boccalatte
      • Councillor John Bonanno
      • Councillor Michael Detenon
      • Councillor John Furnell
      • Councillor Max Musumeci
    • Council Meetings
      • Archived Agendas and Minutes
      • Burdekin Road Safety Advisory Committee
      • Burdekin Local Disaster Management Group
    • Local Laws
    • Policies
    • Fees and Charges
    • Documents and Publications
      • Annual Reports
      • Strategic Asset Management Plans
      • Budget Reports
      • Contracts Valued $200,000 or More
      • Corporate Plans
      • Operational Plans
      • Strategies, Plans and Reports
    • Employment with Council
    • Latest News
    • Media Releases
    • Public Notices
    • Right to Information
      • Publication Scheme
      • Disclosure Log
      • Personal Information Holdings
    • Compliments, Complaints and Suggestions
    • Subscribe to our eNewsletter
    • Council Logos
    • Making an Insurance Claim
  • Library, Arts and History
    • Libraries
      • Membership
      • All about us
      • eBooks and eAudiobooks
      • eMovies
      • eLearning
      • Online information
      • Collections
      • Finding new authors
      • Create@108 Space
      • For the little ones
      • For children and teens
      • For parents and teachers
    • Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF)
    • History
      • Burdekin Bridge
      • Local history collection
      • Images of the Burdekin
      • Library artworks
      • History of the Burdekin Library
    • Arts and Cultural Strategy
  • Business and Investment
    • Doing Business with Council
    • Burdekin Regional Profile
    • Industry Workshops
    • Invest in the Burdekin
    • Business Directory
    • Make the Cane Change
    • Pick Burdekin
  • Cemeteries
    • Burial Register
  • Community
    • Australia Day Awards
      • Australia Day Award Recipient History
      • Current Australia Day Award Recipients
    • Calendar of Events
    • Citizenship Ceremonies
    • Community Consultations and Surveys
    • Community Directory
    • Community Maps
    • Community Message Boards
    • Facilities and Public Spaces
      • Parks and Public Conveniences
      • Boat Ramps and Camping Grounds
      • Aerodromes and Airstips
      • Caravan Parks and Swimming Pools
      • Venues for Hire
    • Grants and Sponsorship
      • Community Grants Program
      • Interest Free Loans for Sporting Bodies
    • Happy Healthy Home
    • Museum of Tropical Queensland
    • Street Stalls and Raffles
  • Emergency Management
    • Key Contacts
    • Are You Ready?
    • Recover After a Disaster
    • Emergency Evacuation
    • Local Disaster Management Plans
    • Storm Tide Evacuation Maps
    • Types of Disaster Events
      • Floods
      • Cyclone
      • Storm Surge
      • Severe Thunderstorm
      • Earthquake
      • Bushfire
      • Tsunami
      • Heatwaves
      • Landslide
  • Health and Environment
    • Licenses and Approvals
      • Personal Appearance Services
      • Footpath Usage
      • Food Business Licence
      • Temporary Food Business Licence
      • Environmentally Relevant Activities
      • Rental Accommodation
      • Caravan and Campground Approvals
    • Public Health
      • Mosquito Management
      • Overgrown Allotments
      • Abandoned Vehicles
      • Rats and Mice
    • Environmental Matters
      • Environmental Nuisance
      • Water Pollution
    • Food Safety
      • Food Safety Supervisor
      • Food Safety Programs
      • Food Safety Training
    • Beach and Dune Protection
    • Land and Pest Management
      • Council's Biosecurity Plan
      • Pest Plants including aquatic
      • Pest Animals
      • Biosecurity Property Plans
      • Biosecurity Obligations
      • Services and Subsidies
    • Environmental Levy
    • Reef Guardian Council
  • Pets and Animals
    • Animal Regulations
    • Animal Registrations
    • Microchipping
    • Desexing
    • Impounded Animals
    • Barking Dogs
    • Dog Breeders
  • Planning, Building and Development
    • Planning and Development
      • Planning Act Scheme
      • Development Applications
      • IPA Planning Scheme (Superseded)
    • Building
      • Applying for a Building Permit
      • Flood Certificates
    • Plumbing
  • Property Ownership and Rates
    • How to Pay your Rates and Payment Options
    • Electronic Rate Notices
    • Understanding Your Rates
    • Pensioner and Other Concessions
    • Utility, Separate and Special Charges
    • Property and Rating Information Searches
    • Have Your Details Changed?
    • Dividing Fences
    • Pool Safety Compliance
  • Roads and Infrastructure
    • Application to Close a Footpath
    • Permit for Erection of Gates and Grids
    • Driveway or Crossover
    • Lay Pipes
    • Lay Underground Electricity in Council's Road Reserve
  • Waste and Recycling
    • Waste Management Facilities
    • Illegal Dumping
    • Bin Collections
      • When is my bin day?
      • What to put in each bin
      • Waste Collection Services
    • A-Z of Waste and Recycling
    • Agricultural Waste
      • drumMUSTER
      • Fertiliser Bags
      • ChemClear
      • Agricultural Plastics
    • Waste Education
    • Queensland Waste Levy
    • North Queensland's Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan
  • Water Services
    • Wastewater
      • Manholes - Spraying for Cockroaches
      • Sewerage Infrastructure
      • Trade Waste
    • Water
      • Damaged or Broken Water Meters
      • Discoloured Water
      • Drinking Water Quality Management Plan
      • Fire Hydrant - Hire of Metered Standpipe for Swimming Pool Filling
      • How to Read Your Water Meter and Find Water Leaks
      • Installation of Bores
      • Key Performance Indicators - Water and Wastewater
      • New Water Service or Changes to Existing Water Services
      • Water Billing
      • Water - Conservation
      • Water Quality Sampling
      • Water Quality Sampling for Shire Residents
      • Water - Shared Rights and Responsibilities
      • Water Warriors
    • Customer service standards for water and wastewater
    • Water and Sewerage Service Areas
  • Projects
    • Burdekin Water Park
  1. Home
  2. About Council
  3. Compliments, Complaints and Suggestions
  Back

Compliments, Complaints and Suggestions

The Burdekin Shire Council is committed to an open and friendly relationship with members of our community.  Whether you're telling us what we do well, or how we can improve, your feedback is important to us.  

If you would like to provide a compliment or complaint regarding actions or decisions made by Council, or by one of our Councillors or Officers, please:

Visit Us

145 Young Street
AYR  QLD  4807

Call our Customer Service Centre (07) 4783 9800
Write to us Chief Executive Officer
Burdekin Shire Council
PO Box 974
AYR  QLD  4807
Email us enquiries@burdekin.qld.gov.au
Use our Online Contact Form Online Contact Form
Download and complete our Complaints Form See the related documents section of this page

 

Printed complaint forms are also available at Council's Customer Service Centre and the Burdekin Libraries in Ayr and Home Hill. 

To learn more about our Complaints Management, please continue reading below.

Complaints Management

What is not a complaint?

In many cases, customers contact Council to report a problem, e.g. a pothole that needs patching, a stray dog, or a broken water meter.  These contacts are recorded in our Customer Request Management (CRm) System as "service requests".  Each service request is: 

  • Given a unique identifier - a "CRM number";
  • Allocated a priority based on the type of request and the information provided by the customer; and 
  • Referred to the appropriate Council Department for action. 

What is a complaint?

Burdekin Shire Council views complaints as an expression of dissatisfaction about decisions we have made or actions we have taken or not taken.  We welcome all feedback, which is used to continually improve our processes and service delivery.  

More information is provided in Council's Complaints Managment Policy.  
 

Other types of complaints / disclosures

In accordance with legislation, the council must deal with the following types of complaints in different ways.

Public Interest Disclosures (PIDs)

A PID is disclosure of information by any person about:

  • a substantial and specific danger to the health or safety of a person with a disability; or
  • specific offences or contraventions of conditions provided in certain legislation that  could be a substantial and specific danger to the environment; or
  • a reprisal
     

Public officers, e.g. Council officers, may also make PIDs about:

  • official misconduct;
  • maladministration;
  • a substantial misuse of public resources;
  • a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety;
  • a substantial and specific danger to the environment;
  • a substantial and specific danger to the health or safety of a person with a disability; or
  • reprisal action

Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010, a person making a PID is provided with certain protections, e.g. protection against reprisal.  Information sheets providing further information are available from the Queensland Ethics website.

If you believe that you have information that could be a PID, please use our Complaints process or contact Council and ask to speak to one of our Complaints Group members.  We will deal with any PID in accordance with the Act and our Public Interest Disclosure Policy.
 

Competitive Neutrality Complaints

As stated in Section 48 of the Local Government Act 2009, a competitive neutrality complaint is a complaint that relates to the failure of a local government to conduct a business activity in accordance with the competitive neutrality principle and is made by an affected person.

An affected person is—

(a)   a person who—

       (i)     competes with the local government in relation to the business activity; and

       (ii)    claims to be adversely affected by a competitive advantage that the person alleges is enjoyed by the local government; or

(b)   a person who—

       (i)     wants to compete with the local government in relation to the business activity; and

       (ii)    claims to be hindered from doing so by a competitive advantage that the person alleges is enjoyed by the local government.

Competitive neutrality complaints should be directed to the chief executive officer.
 

Complaints about the conduct and performance of councillors

Complaints about councillors are dealt with in accordance with the Local Government Act 2009.

All complaints about councillors should be directed to the chief executive officer.
 

How do I make a complaint?

To ensure we gather sufficient information to investigate your complaint, please complete our Complaint Form.

We encourage complainants to provide contact details so that we can contact them for further information and to provide feedback regarding the outcome of their complaint.  However, complaints may be made anonymously and are treated in the same way as any other complaint.

Complaints can be lodged in the following ways listed above. 
 

Privacy

Your personal information is handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and will only be accessed by persons who have been authorised to do so.  Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given us permission or the disclosure is required by law.
 

How the Burdekin Shire Council deals with a complaint

We take complaints seriously.

When you lodge a complaint – if you have provided contact details – we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five (5) working days.

When we receive a complaint – regardless of how we receive it – the details of the complaint are entered into our Customer Request Management (CRM) System.  Each entry into the CRM System is given a unique identifier, a “CRM number” and is sent to our Complaints Group for review.

A member of the Complaints Group will then determine the type of complaint and will investigate the complaint or, if appropriate, refer the complaint to the relevant director or manager for further action.

In certain circumstances, the council can decide not to deal with a complaint.  Complaints may not be investigated if:

a)      the complaint is trivial;

b)      the complaint concerns a frivolous matter or was made vexatiously;

c)       the complainant does not have a sufficient direct interest in the administrative action that is the subject of the complaint; or

d)      in the circumstances, investigating the complaint is unnecessary or unjustifiable.

If the council decides not to investigate your complaint, we will provide notice to you together with reasons for this decision.
 

How long will this take?

We aim to respond to complaints as swiftly as possible and, if possible, we will stay in contact with each complainant until their complaint is finalised.

All complaints entered into the CRM System are assigned a priority.  In most cases, complaints have a high priority and the complainant will receive feedback within five (5) working days.

If the complaint is about a health or safety matter, it will be dealt with immediately and feedback will be provided as soon as an investigation has been conducted – normally within 24 hours.
 

What if I am still unhappy?

If, at any stage in the complaint handling process, you are not happy with the council’s response, your complaint may be referred to an external mediator who will try to settle any differences in a fair and equitable manner.

If you are still not happy with the council’s response to your complaint, you can request that the issue be reviewed by one of the following organisations:

  • Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal
  • Queensland Ombudsman
  • Department of Local Government

Related Documents

# Name Size

145 Young St, Ayr QLD 4807

(07) 4783 9800

2023 © Burdekin Shire Council

  • Right to Information
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy