Skip to main content

What are you looking for?

Enter keywords to search across resources, guides, training, tools, and more.

Create an account for suggestions personalised to you and your organisation

Factsheets
1 minute read

Complaints Handling Factsheet

Meeting National Standards and Strategy Seal Meeting National Standards and Strategy What's this?

Introduction

Complaints are a fact of life for most charities, and how you deal with them is crucial. It's about having a clear process for addressing concerns raised by anyone involved with your organisation, from staff and volunteers to service users and donors.

Summary

Effective complaints handling can:

  • Improve your services and programs

  • Boost your reputation and community standing

  • Increase support from existing and potential donors

  • Save money by preventing future problems

It's also a chance to learn and improve your practices, showcasing good governance. Poor complaints handling can damage your reputation and finances.

Benefits for Volunteer Organisations & Managers

  • The guide, model policy and procedure, provides a step-by-step approach to handling complaints, making it easier for volunteer managers to address issues.

  • A fair complaints process fosters trust and shows volunteers their concerns are valued.

  • Effective complaints handling builds public confidence in your charity's work, attracting more volunteers and supporters.


Downloads and sources

More about the author

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the national regulator of charities.

Contribute to the Gateway


More like this

Articles & Reports

Volunteer Recognition

This article and guide highlights the importance of recognising volunteers and provides suggestions of various methods to show your appreciation.
1 minute read
The Knowledge Base, Volunteering ACT, The Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering SA&NT, Volunteering Tasmania, Volunteering Victoria, Volunteering WA
General
Guides

Navigating Background Checks

This guide and weblinks explain Working with Children Checks (WWCC) and Working with Vulnerable People Checks (WWVP) required for volunteers in Australia including jurisdictional variations and resources.
1 minute read
The Knowledge Base, Volunteering ACT, The Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering SA&NT, Volunteering Tasmania, Volunteering Victoria, Volunteering WA
General
Volaby
Tech

Volaby

Volaby is an end-to-end volunteer and people management platform, enabling organisations to do more with less! Built from the collective voice of our volunteer managers using the platform, Volaby helps you automate and simplify the volunteer and manager experience to save time and scale impact.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Event management
Rosterfy
Tech

Rosterfy

Rosterfy is an end-to-end volunteer management software solution, that helps organisations streamline their volunteer management and engagement. Rosterfy offers automated solutions to manage volunteers efficiently.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Social media Event management
Emergency Support Volunteering website
Tech

Emergency Support Volunteering website

The Emergency Support Volunteering website allows volunteers in Western Australia to register to help in emergencies, organisations needing support can also register to contact volunteers for assistance.
Volunteer database Recruitment Reporting
scheduled

Volunteer Management Essentials: Recognition

This online workshop will explore opportunities to recognise the contribution of volunteers in a way that is meaningful to them, from day-to-day recognition through to one-off celebrations and events. Included will be a range of methods, including those with low or no cost.
Volunteering Queensland
$0-$39
scheduled

Rethinking Volunteer Recognition and Retention

Take a second look at volunteer recruitment and retention with the Sector Development Coordinator, Tony Ward
The Centre for Volunteering
Free
scheduled

National Standards Deep Dive: Standard 7

Take a deep dive into Standard 7 of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
The Centre for Volunteering
Free