Public complaints

In 2014, the Ombudsman of South Australia published an audit of South Australian Government agencies’ complaint handling policies and procedures. Recommendation 3 of the audit calls for the reporting of public complaints to Parliament, with agencies required to publish details of public complaints in their Annual Reports.

The department has a dedicated Public Transport complaint management system which has been in place for a number of years, and now, in response to the Ombudsman’s audit, has developed an electronic records management system for the capture and recording of the non-Public Transport complaints received by the department. The new system is in the first year of implementation and, in conjunction with the existing Public Transport system and the new Policy and Procedures, completes the department’s Complaint Management Framework.

The tables below show complaints received by the department through both complaint management systems.

Public transport

Feedback and complaints about passenger transport services is welcomed by the department as it provides the ability to improve and assess existing services and practices. Customers are presented with multiple opportunities to provide feedback through the Adelaide Metro website, Adelaide Metro Infoline and InfoCentres, as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Complaints represented approximately 0.01 per cent of total public transport patronage (initial boarding’s and transfers) in the 2015-16 reporting year with the number received down 10.79 per cent on the previous reporting year.

Other complaints

The table below represents other complaints received by the department during the 2015-16 reporting year as recorded in the department’s records management system (KNet) which also records:

• steps taken to address the complaint
• the outcome of the complaint
• any undertakings or follow up action required.