Introduction
Complaints will be received via the complaints telephone line (1800 155 079) or via the Elf Farm Supplies website.
The complaints telephone line operates from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday, with the exception of public holidays. Voice messages can be left at any time.
On receipt, complaints will be forwarded immediately to the relevant officer for investigation, and will be responded to within five business days, should the complainant request a response. This response will be provided back to complainant through their nominated choice of:
- Follow up phone call with reference number
- Email with reference number
- Letter with reference number.
Step one: receive and record the complaint
All complaints received by the complaints telephone line (and via this complaints portal) will be recorded and the following information will be sought from the complainant:
- Personal information of the complainant – ideally name and contact details (complaints made without personal information will still be recorded and investigated)
- Nature of complaint
- Time of complaint
- Location of complaint (to the nearest cross street, if complainant prefers not to give their exact location)
- Description of odour (character and strength), if odour complaint
- How long the odour has been present, if odour complaint
- Wind direction and other pertinent meteorological information (e.g. raining, fog, hot, wind strength), if odour complaint.
Once the complaint has been recorded the complainant will be provided with a reference number and advised of the response timeframe. In circumstances where complaints can be resolved at the point of contact, a record will be taken and the complainant will be provided with the reference number of their complaint.
Step two: investigate, assess and determine action
Once a complaint has been received and the details recorded, the complaint will be investigated and an assessment made:
- Complaint information is forwarded to the appointed officer at the time of complaint for the matter to be investigated
- For odour complaints, attendance at reported site of complaint in order to confirm the nature of odour and its source:
- Confirmation of character and strength of odour
- Identification of direction of odour
- If not possible to attend (i.e. no location given, WHS requirements) the complaint is still to be investigated as per the following steps of this procedure
- Cross-reference complaint against production schedule and activities at the Elf Farm Supplies at the time of complaint and one hour preceding the complaint
- For noise, odour and dust complaints, cross-reference complaint against meteorological conditions, including wind direction and strength at time of complaint and one hour preceding the complaint
- On the basis of the data gathered during the preceding stages, make an assessment of cause of the complaint
- Determine if corrective action is required and any contingency measures pending implementation
- Implement contingency measures and corrective action, where required.
Step three: respond to the complaint
Once the complaint has been assessed, a formal response will be provided to the complainant, if they requested one. The Environmental Protection Authority will also be advised of the formal response.
This response will be provided within five business days of the complaint being made and will include:
- Time and date of the complaint
- If an odour complaint, the location of the complaint
- If an odour complaint, the wind strength and direction one hour prior to complaint lodgement
- Overview of activities at Elf Farm Supplies one hour prior to complaint lodgement
- Outcomes of the assessment of the complaint.
Should the complainant be dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaint, details of other complaint options will be provided and their dissatisfaction with the outcome will be recorded.
Step four: report the complaint
Complaint data will be compiled in a complaints register to record the quantity and nature of complaints. The complaints register will be published on this website, and updates will be posted on the site each month.
Updated December 2016.