How a complaint is considered
The Postal Industry Ombudsman aims to settle disputes quickly and informally, with regard to the law, the terms and conditions, policies and service charter of the postal operator, and to what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.
The Ombudsman is independent of both complainant and postal agency. We do not advocate for consumers and we do not represent postal authorities or operators.
Complaints will not normally be investigated until the postal operator has had a reasonable opportunity to settle the matter with the customer. If you have already complained to the postal operator and you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can complain to the Ombudsman. Complaints are handled initially by our public contact team. Matters requiring more in-depth consideration will be referred to an investigation officer. The following process then takes place:
Step 1
Your complaint is analysed and you may be contacted for more information. A decision is then made whether to investigate the matter: 'investigate' means contacting the postal operator for its response to the complaint.
It is the Ombudsman's decision whether to investigate a complaint or any of the issues in a complaint. We may concentrate only on the issues in which we consider there may be a basis for being critical of the postal operator, or in relation to which a useful outcome may be achieved.
Step 2
The investigation officer establishes the facts, so far as possible, and considers them in light of applicable law, terms and conditions of service, and policy statements and guidelines relevant to the service.
You should be aware that the Ombudsman does not generally approach a matter in the way that say, a police service would. We will not usually interview individuals and our role is not to gather evidence with a view to making findings of fact. Often, where there are conflicting versions of what has occurred, we will not be in a position to prefer one version over another.
Where a complaint effectively amounts to an allegation of a criminal offence, we may suggest that you consider informing the police.
We may also refer you to another more appropriate complaint handling body. For example, if as a result of a PPO's actions you feel your privacy has been breached, the Privacy Commissioner may be the appropriate person to consider a complaint.
In the vast majority of complaints received, there is ultimately little or no dispute as to the facts, and the question will be whether the postal operator has acted unreasonably in all the circumstances.
Step 3
You will be advised of the outcome of the investigation. This may include a further explanation of what has happened; information about any remedy that the postal operator is prepared to provide; or, where we do not consider that the postal operator is acting unreasonably, our explanation for that. If you are dissatisfied with our decision, you can request an internal review of it.
As the PIO is part of the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, complaints made to the PIO are managed according to the processes of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (see here for more information on how the Commonwealth Ombudsman manages complaints.