Feedback and complaints

In terms of Bond University’s Complaints and Feedback Procedure, feedback is defined as "a compliment, criticism, comment or suggestion where a response is neither sought nor reasonably expected".

This means that feedback can be positive or negative, but the person providing the feedback does not expect a response. Despite this, Bond takes all feedback seriously and will take reasonable steps to respond to issues raised in feedback to the extent necessary (such as where a systemic issue or risk to the University or the Bond community is identified).

In terms of the Complaints and Feedback Procedure, a complaint is defined as "an expression of dissatisfaction about something Bond University has done or not done, or about the standard of service provided by or on behalf of the University".

A complaint can be about anything to do with the operations, services or facilities of the University. Unlike feedback, complainants expect and are entitled to an appropriate response from the University. A wide range of responses are available, but the type of response will depend on the nature of the complaint and the circumstances surrounding it. 

In all cases, if you submit a complaint, you can expect to be treated respectfully and to receive regular updates on the progress of your complaint.

If at all possible, you should submit your complaint within 12 months of the date on which the incident, act or omission occurred that you want to complain about.

If there are compelling reasons that justify submitting your complaint outside of this time period (i.e. if it has been more than 12 months since the act, omission, or incident occurred), you may send these reasons to the Office of Integrity for consideration.
The Office of Integrity will assess these reasons before agreeing or declining to investigate your complaint, despite the delay.
In cases where there is a legal or regulatory obligation on the University to investigate the complaint regardless of the 12-month time limit, the University will do so. 

A complaint can be about anything to do with the operations, services or facilities of Bond University. This includes all aspects of student life and learning, as well as Bond’s operations, services and facilities that do not relate directly to student life and learning.

If Bond University has no control over or responsibility for a particular concern or incident (for example, road closures around the University due to a non-University event), it is unlikely that Bond will be able to resolve your concerns.

No, Bond University does not charge for handling complaints.

1. Informal resolution

Generally, you should seek a solution to your complaint informally first. This entails contacting the person, service, facility or operation involved (if you are confident, able and willing). Often, this is the most efficient and effective way to manage and resolve a complaint.

If you are unable or unwilling to pursue informal resolution or informal resolution fails, you are welcome to submit a formal complaint to the Office of Integrity here [ADD LINK]. If you need help doing so, you may contact us directly at [email protected]. The complaint will then progress to the formal resolution stage.

2. Formal resolution

When submitting a formal complaint via the online portal, you will need to include details of:

• What you are complaining about (ie the type of complaint);

• When and where the act, omission or incident occurred that gave rise to your complaint;

• Any action that has been taken to resolve your concern/s so far;

• Any evidence available to support your complaint;

• The outcome or remediation that you would like; and

• Anything else relevant to your complaint (eg reasons why you are submitting the complaint outside of the 12 month time limit).

Please provide as much information as you can to assist us with understanding and responding to your complaint. This will make the process more efficient and will assist us in identifying and submitting your complaint to the appropriate decision-maker as soon as possible.

• Within 5 business days of receiving your complaint, the relevant decision maker will let you know they are handling your complaint.

• Within 10 business days of receiving your complaint, the decision maker is required to begin addressing the complaint.

• Only where a conflict of interest arises, may this process be delayed.

• While investigating the complaint, the decision maker may meet with or contact you and/or other relevant role-players to obtain additional information, will consider all relevant documentation, policies, procedures and legislation and may seek further advice and/or clarity on the matter. 

• The decision maker may find in your favour. This may include remedies that may or may not be what you expected or requested; or

• The decision maker may disagree with you and dismiss the complaint; or

• The decision maker may determine that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious; and/or

• The decision maker might include recommendations for improvements to Bond’s processes, services, policies or procedures.

The decision maker will reach a decision as soon as practicable, usually within 20 business days of receiving your complaint. However, the time taken will depend on the nature and complexity of the complaint, the number of parties involved, when the complaint was lodged, and any other relevant factors.

Where significant delays arise and/or alternative timeframes are to be applied, you will be notified of this.

The decision maker will notify you in writing of the outcome. This will include reasons for the outcome and options available to you to review the outcome if you are unhappy with it. 

Yes, you may lodge a complaint anonymously. However, this may limit our ability to handle it effectively, particularly where insufficient evidence exists to investigate and/or resolve it.

If you choose to lodge a complaint anonymously, Bond will follow the Complaints and Feedback Procedure to the extent possible when responding to your complaint. However, if you do not provide us with contact details, we will not be able to notify you of the progress and outcome of your complaint.

• Information relating to a complaint will be kept confidential as far as possible. Disclosure will only be made to University staff directly involved in the process and/or people requiring information about the complaint for it to be properly managed. 

• This includes relevant information being disclosed to a respondent in a complaint, where this is necessary to resolve the complaint. At all times, this will be done in accordance with the University’s Privacy Policy and applicable law.

• In limited circumstances, the University may need to disclose information about the complaint to other people or institutions. For more information about when this might occur, see clause 6.6 of the Complaints and Feedback Procedure.

• When an outcome is reached, as much information about the outcome will be disclosed to the affected parties as possible while accounting for individual confidentiality and privacy concerns and Bond’s legal responsibilities in this regard. 

  • This means, for example, that if you have complained about the conduct of another student or staff member, and your complaint has resulted in disciplinary proceedings being instituted against them, you may not be given details of the allegations/penalty(s) imposed on them following the proceedings.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint, you may apply for a review of the complaint to the University. Before doing so, ensure that you have a clear rationale for believing that the outcome is incorrect. Disagreement is not enough to succeed in a review.

When applying for review, you must submit a clear and reasonable rationale, along with documentation in support of your belief that the complaint outcome is wrong. This submission should be sent to the Office of Integrity within 20 business days of being notified of the outcome. 

If your request is accepted as containing sufficient information to proceed, it will be sent to the reviewer who is best placed to decide the matter.

For further details of the requirements and the process, please see clause 6.5 of the Feedback and Complaints Procedure.

Possible outcomes include:

• Retaining the original outcome of your complaint; or

• Recommending an alternative action or outcome to resolve your complaint; and/or

• Recommending actions or improvements to address systemic issues arising from the complaint.

Usually, your request for review will be resolved within 20 business days of receiving it. It may take longer in exceptional circumstances or where the matter is particularly complex or involves numerous people.

You will be notified in writing of the outcome of the review; this will include information about the process followed, the reasons for the outcome, options to seek external review if applicable, and any support services that may be available to you.

As a witness to a complaint, you may be called to an informal meeting and/or a formal hearing to provide information and answer questions about the complaint. You might also be offered the opportunity to make a statement in writing. In all instances, you can expect to be treated with respect, discretion and confidentiality (as appropriate). 

Note that any information you provide during this process may be given to the parties to the complaint as well as staff members involved in resolving and managing the complaint.

If you would like to chat further about what you can expect, please feel free to contact the Office of Integrity at [email protected]. 

We understand that being a witness to complaint proceedings can be a stressful experience. If you would like or require additional support, please feel free to contact:

• Security at [email protected] for safety concerns; and/or

• Student Wellbeing at [email protected] for your mental health and wellbeing; and/or

• The relevant staff (for staff member support) or Bond University Student Association (for student support).

We understand that being the subject of a complaint can be a stressful and worrying experience. However, rest assured that the complaint will be dealt with in a sensitive manner, and that your rights to privacy and confidentiality will be respected, in accordance with the University’s relevant policies and procedures.

Bond University has a range of resources and support services available to assist staff and students who are experiencing stressful, challenging or unsafe situations. Which of these services is best placed to support you, will depend on whether you are a staff member or student, the nature of the complaint as well as the conduct of the complainant. Other factors may be relevant too. For your options, please visit our help guide.

Alternatively, if you’re unsure of where to find help, feel free to contact the Office of Integrity at [email protected]. This Office can also provide you with guidance if the complainant is engaging in unreasonable conduct.

Given that a power imbalance may be present between complainants and respondents (for example, where complaints are submitted by students against staff or by staff against their line managers), Bond University commits to taking steps to prevent reprisals against complainants acting in good faith.

Depending on your role within the University and whether you are a resident of the campus, this may involve (for example) relocating you, changing your reporting lines, or assigning you a new educator or supervisor.

Bond University has a range of services available to support and assist students and staff who are involved in complaints. Please click here for the support services and associations available. 

Unreasonable conduct may include:

• aggressive, rude or threatening behaviour or language; or

• insisting on unreasonable or unachievable outcomes; or

• issuing instructions or demands about how a complaint should be handled; or

• refusing to provide information, misquoting people, only providing selective information, and/or making serious allegations without substantiating them; or

• changing the substance of a complaint or re-phrasing the allegations during the complaint-handling process; or

• when requested, refusing to provide clarity on issues raised, especially where large quantities of information are provided as part of the complaint; or

• repeatedly contacting the University despite being advised not to do so, because the complaint has been finalised or is in the process of being resolved. [See Clause 7 of the Complaints and Feedback Procedure]

Just because the evidence supporting a complaint is thin or may seem implausible, it does not mean that it is certainly false or made in bad faith.

Yes, you may withdraw your complaint at any point during the process. If a formal resolution process has already begun, this must be done in writing. 

Unless the complaint is particularly serious, requiring further investigation or referral to an external agency, withdrawing your complaint will usually mean that Bond regards the matter as resolved.

Bond University will monitor formal complaints to determine whether systemic issues exist within the University.

This will be used by the Office of Integrity to report on data and trends, and to identify where changes to policy and/or procedure have or should occurred.

The University Registrar will also review the number of complaints received and how quickly these were finalised. To encourage continuous improvement, statistics and trends will then be reported to relevant University operations, facilities and services.

Yes, there are various independent, external agencies and tribunals that deal with complaints. Which one you approach will depend on whether you are a domestic or international student, the nature of your complaint, the outcome sought and other relevant factors. A list of external agencies is included in the External Review Procedure. There is also a more extensive list available on this page below. The Office of Integrity can also advise you on which agency to approach; feel free to contact us at [email protected]. 

Usually, the external agency will require you to have completed the internal complaint process at Bond before accepting your complaint.

If you have started the internal complaint process at Bond but it is not complete when you refer the matter to an external agency, Bond may choose to suspend that process until the agency has followed its own process.

For more information, please have a look at the FAQs on external reviews below.

Generally, yes, the same process applies to international students as to domestic students. 

The external bodies available to assist with your grievance may differ, however, depending on whether you are a domestic or international student. For more information, see the FAQs on external review on this page.