Service charter

Who we are and what we do

Integrity Oversight Victoria provides independent assurance to the Victorian parliament and people that Victorian integrity bodies act lawfully and properly in the performance of their functions. Our vision is an integrity system that strengthens confidence in the Victorian public sector.

We achieve our purpose through a range of functions. These functions include receiving and assessing complaints and public interest disclosures.

Our complaint handling provides proportionate responses to concerns raised with us. We may raise complainants’ concerns with a body where appropriate, but our primary role is to improve how the integrity bodies we oversee and Victoria’s integrity system performs overall. Because of this we only investigate a small number of the complaints we receive.

Our commitment to you

We are committed to:

• providing an independent, fair and accessible service
• acknowledging and progressing complaints consistent with our service standards
• being up-front about how we will manage your complaint, setting honest expectations and keeping you up to date
• assessing your complaint impartially and focusing our resources where we can have the greatest impact
• being transparent and providing reasons for our decisions in a way that’s accessible to you
• treating you with respect and professionalism
• respecting and protecting human rights and your privacy
• acting in line with our values of integrity, impartiality, professional courage, accountability, collaboration, open communication, respect and the promotion of human rights
• promoting accountability for decisions and improving the integrity system.

What you can complain about

We can receive and assess complaints about the conduct of:

• Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and current and former IBAC officers
• Victorian Ombudsman officers
• Officers of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office
• Chief Examiner and Examiners
• Officers of the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner
• Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission and its officers.

The types of complaints we can deal with are different for each body or officer. See our complaints page for further information.

If your complaint is about improper conduct or detrimental action, your complaint may be considered and assessed as a public interest disclosure. Look at our public interest disclosure guidelines to find out who you can make a public interest disclosure about and the protections available to you.

What we ask and expect of you

You can help us by:

• checking whether we can deal with your concerns before lodging a complaint with us
• raising issues with the body you are complaining about before making a complaint to us, when it is reasonable to do so
• using our secure reporting portal to submit your complaint (we can provide help if needed).
• answering all questions accurately and giving us clear information. While AI can be useful, we want to hear about your concerns in your own words. You do not need to give us all your supporting documentation when you make your complaint. We will ask you for any additional information that we need
• letting us know about any communication or support needs you have
• being clear about what you want us to do (noting that what we can do is limited and guided by legislation)
• responding to our requests for information as quickly as you can
• understanding that while we will assess and respond to each complaint, we decide next steps with your complaint. Only a small number of our complaints are escalated or investigated.
• treating us politely and with respect.

We will not tolerate behaviour that is threatening or disrespectful to our team. Providing a safe place of work is paramount to us. Depending on your behaviour, we may end a call or consider limiting access to our service if you do not treat us with respect.

How we deal with complaints

When you make a complaint, we will:

• acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days. We will tell you as soon as possible if we cannot assist and let you know who may be able to help
• consider whether the information you’ve provided should be handled as a public interest disclosure (unless you have indicated otherwise)
• contact you to confirm our understanding of your concerns and request any further information
• aim to understand the outcome you’re seeking and explain whether we may be able to achieve it. If we are unable to assist, we will try to provide you with information about where you could go for further assistance
• consider if we need to request information from the body you’ve complained about. We will do so if we decide this information will assist us to assess your complaint and decide next steps
• decide whether further involvement by us is justified or if your complaint needs to be escalated or investigated
• provide you with updates at least every 4 weeks about your complaint unless you advise us not to. This will include informing you about what will happen next, and what outcome to reasonably expect
• provide feedback to the body you’ve complained about, if appropriate
• provide reasons for our decisions in a way that’s accessible to you.

We aim to deal with most straight-forward complaints within 2 months and more complex complaints within 5 months. However, the time it takes to assess and provide an outcome can depend on a number of factors, including the quality and timeliness of your information, what the complaint is about, the issues raised and whether your complaint is a public interest disclosure.

For every complaint, we ask:

1. Is the complaint in our jurisdiction?
2. How urgent and serious is the complaint?
3. Do we need more information?
4. By taking action, will we:
   1. ensure you, or others in similar circumstances, are treated fairly and reasonably?
   2. improve the operation of the integrity body and potentially improve Victoria’s integrity system?

We assess each complaint we receive and will respond to you, but we do not take further action with all complaints for a range of reasons. We can’t overturn the decision of another body or tell them to change a decision.

Accountability and feedback

We do not offer internal reviews of our decisions.

If you have an issue with our service, please try to raise it first with your case officer. Your case officer may also escalate your concerns if required.

Public interest disclosures about Integrity Oversight Victoria or one of our officers must be made to the Integrity and Oversight Committee of the Victorian Parliament, or to a Presiding Officer i.e. the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the President of the Legislative Council.

We value your feedback and use compliments, complaints and suggestions to monitor and improve our performance.