It’s ok to complain!

Age doesn’t matter, your voice does.

We are listening

You have the right to speak up about things that make you feel unsafe or unhappy. Speaking up can be hard, but it is important to try so you can get help.

If you have a worry, or you feel unsafe or unhappy about something, you can tell us.

If you need help urgently, or you have been very badly hurt or are feeling very unsafe, call the police on 000.

Illustration of children with giant speech bubbles containing text: 'It's ok to complain', 'speak your truth', 'It's good to speak up and talk about your concerns'.

Print this page

Translation services

If you require an interpreter, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask for a connection to the relevant telephone number.

Translating and interpreting

National Relay Service:

TTY/voice calls 133 677
Speak and listen 1300 555 727
SMS relay 0423 677 767.

How to make a complaint

You can choose to tell us how you’re feeling or your worry or problem in the online form or by calling us on 6552 7300.

You could also talk to someone you trust to help you speak up and get help.

Your information will come to us and will be kept safe. You can choose to share your name and contact details with us, but if you don’t want to, that’s ok too.

We will listen, take you seriously and do everything we can to help you.

Top tips on how to make a complaint

What you can complain about

We are called the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC).

If you are involved in a DLGSC recreation camp or a sport, arts or cultural activity that we run or give money to and:

you are unhappy about the way you have been treated
you are feeling unsafe
someone did something wrong.

We want you to tell us about it.

What happens after you complain

We will take you seriously, believe you, and do what we can to help.

We respect your privacy but may need to share your information with others who can help if we are worried about your safety or the safety of someone else.

These are the steps we will follow to help you with the worry, problem or information you have told us:

Swipe right or click the arrows below.

Illustration of a girl in front on a laptop

1. We will contact you soon

We will contact you using the details you gave us as soon as we can (within 3 weekdays) and may ask you for more information about what you told us.

Illustration of children using giant post-it notes

2. We may need to find out more

We may need to do more investigation and share the information you told us. We will ask you if you want to know what’s going on while we investigate.

Aerial view of 2 young people drawing a question mark (?) , in chalk, on the pavement.

3. Keep you informed

If you want to know what’s going on with your worry, problem or information while we investigate, we will give you updates on what is happening. If you don’t want us to contact you with regular updates, that's ok just let us know.

A group of kids, one holding a soccer ball, facing away

4. Help and support

We will try to help with what you have told us within 15 weekdays. We will contact you using the details you gave us to explain what has happened.

Young person looks at the ground where there is a large paper speech bubble, that has been ripped in half.

5. Not happy?

If you are not happy with the outcome, you can contact the Ombudsman’s office. The Ombudsman is a person who receives, investigates and makes decisions about complaints about government agencies (like us) in Western Australia.

Online form for children and young people

Your details

When you see a (*) in a box, it means you cannot skip this part.

*Do you want to share your name and contact details with us?

First name

Last name

Telephone number

Your postal address

If you don't want to or can't be contacted by phone or email, you can tell us your address and we will post you information if needed.

If we need to contact you, would you like us to call you, text you or email you? You can select as many options as you want.

Call

Text

*Please tell us what happened. You can share what feels right for you.

Include what happened, where it happened, when it happened and who else was there.

Child friendly complaint policy and procedure

Our complaints handling policy and procedure, in a child friendly easy-to-read format, explains the rules and steps we follow when working on your complaint.

pdf Easy Read Complaint Handling Policy and Procedure For Children and Young PeopleEasy Read Complaint Handling Policy and Procedure For Children and Young People (pdf) (3318 KB)

10 rules we follow when dealing with complaints

A poster that explains the rules we follow when working on your complaint.

10 Rules - Poster10 Rules - Poster (pdf) (68 KB)

Other organisations that can help you

Kids Helpline
Telephone 1800 55 1800
Email counsellor@kidshelpline.com.au

eSafety Commissioner and eSafetykids

headspace and eheadspace

13YARN
Telephone 13 92 76 (13YARN)

Help for non-English speaking people contact TIS National.

Thank you

DLGSC gives a huge thank you to the children and young people who shared their ideas and feedback to help us create this webpage. Thank you for you valuable input!

Page reviewed 13 November 2024