Managing complaints

Guidance on making a complaint about a registered community housing agency in Victoria. The Housing Registrar will review all complaints from people who are affected by decisions of a registered agency on matters relating to rental housing if they are not satisfactorily resolved through the agency’s complaints process.

The core focus of our complaints process is to:

assist in facilitating an outcome for the complainant through local resolution where possible
ensure registered agencies have acted in accordance with their policies and procedures.

The complaints process

### Contact the registered agency

Contact the registered agency and provide details of your complaint.
The registered agency will take all reasonable steps to resolve your complaint and provide you with a written response within 30 days. In some circumstances, it may take longer than 30 days to resolve your complaint; this will be discussed with you.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you can ask the registered agency to review its decision by following the agency’s internal appeals process.
If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome or the agency has not resolved your complaint within 30 days, you can seek assistance from the Housing Registrar.

### First external review: The Housing Registrar

To request a review, submit your complaint to the Housing Registrar and include:

A copy of your formal complaint to the registered agency
A copy of the agency’s written response to your complaint
The address of the property involved.

We will review the information you provide to assess whether the agency has met its obligations. If more details are needed to complete the review, we may contact the agency directly.
If the agency has had a reasonable opportunity to respond to your complaint, we will assess the matter and assist you and the agency to resolve the issue if possible.
If we find the agency has not met its obligations under the Housing Act or Performance Standards, we may take regulatory action.

### Second external review: The Victorian Ombudsman

If you are unsatisfied with how the registered agency and Housing Registrar handled your complaint, you can contact the Victorian Ombudsman(opens in a new window).
The Victorian Ombudsman will ask you if a formal complaint has been made directly to the registered agency and Housing Registrar, what happened, and the outcome you are seeking.
The Victorian Ombudsman may ask you to make a formal complaint to the registered agency or Housing Registrar before it assesses the issue.
The Victorian Ombudsman is also able to conciliate complaints as an alternative method of dispute resolution.
You may also have statutory rights of appeal which should be directed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal by calling 1300 018 228 or emailing renting@vcat.vic.gov.au.

Online complaint form

Use our online complaint form to make a complaint to the Housing Registrar.

Confidentiality

All complaints and appeals are confidential and no identifying information will be shared without permission.

Community housing regulation

The Housing Registrar monitors and regulates the community housing sector in Victoria.

Our compliance process

The Housing Registrar provides regulatory oversight of registered community housing agencies by monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Housing Act 1983 and Performance Standards.

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