To make a complaint about a Disability Employment Service, Australian Disability Enterprise, or a disability advocacy service, you can contact the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service (CRRS).

Vision Statement of the CRRS

How to make a complaint to the CRRS

To make a complaint, you can:

• call 1800 880 052 Monday to Friday, 9 am to 7 pm AEST, except for national public holidays
• fill in the online complaint form.

The CRRS is a free service.

Help to make a complaint

If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact the National Relay Service (NRS) on 1800 555 677 then ask for 1800 880 052.

If you need to speak to someone in a language other than English, you can use the free Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) by calling 13 14 50.

Who can use the CRRS

To complain to the CRRS about a service, you must be using a disability service funded by the Australian Government. These services include:

• Disability Employment Services (DES)
• Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs)
• advocacy services.

These are services funded under the Disability Services and Inclusion Act (2023).

You can also make a complaint to the CRRS if you’re an advocate or nominee of a person using the service.

Services can also get help from the CRRS. For example, to get information:

• to deal with or prevent a complaint
• on how to improve policies and procedures.

Types of complaints you can make to the CRRS

These can include issues such as:

• not getting the right pay
• unsafe or poor employment conditions
• not being respected and valued at work
• not getting the training you need to find, keep or do a new job
• not getting a service or support that you should 
• not being allowed to make a complaint or ignoring your complaint
• being removed from a service unfairly
• abuse and neglect – find out more about types of abuse and neglect. 

If you’re not sure if the CRRS can help you with your problem, you can still contact the CRRS. They will refer you to another service that may be able to help.

Your complaint must:

• be no more than 2 years old
• not be a complaint that you’ve raised with the CRRS before and has been closed.

What the CRRS will do

Providers of disability services need to meet the National Standards for Disability Services. The CRRS will help you understand your rights under these standards. They will try to improve your experience with a DES, ADE or advocacy service.

For information about the National Standards for Disability Services, visit the Department of Social Services website.

When you contact the CRRS, they will:

• listen and take notes about your complaint
• get your permission to talk to the service and any others that are involved
• not take sides in the issue or advocate for anyone.

Please note, the CRRS doesn’t record phone calls, but they do take notes to make sure they have accurate information.

The CRRS has different ways of resolving complaints. Depending on the situation, the CRRS might:

• help you and your service to resolve the issue together
• contact your service, find out what happened and recommend ways to address the issue
• give you advice and confidence to contact the service yourself to deal with the complaint
• give an advocate or support person information, or find a support person for you, to help you raise the complaint with the service.

What to expect from the CRRS

People who use the service will:

• get advice that is private and impartial – the CRRS will not take sides
• be treated with respect and understanding
• be listened to.

Services that use the Complaints Resolution and Referral process will:

• benefit from the skills and experience of the CRRS team
• value the fair approach that focuses on results
• gain skills in handling complaints
• get better results when solving issues.

Changing your provider

If you want to change your employment service provider, contact the National Customer Service Line (NCSL). You can:

• call 1800 805 260
• send an email to DEWR customer service. 
• Complete the Online contact form - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government

Complaints about the CRRS

If you want to complain about the service you have received from the CRRS, contact the Department of Social Services (DSS). You can contact the DSS:

• online through DSS complaints
• by phone on 1800 634 035
• by email