CHG410 | Defining and recognising a complaint: Complaints and appeals

It is not always clear if an expression of dissatisfaction is an appeal against an appealable decision, or a complaint about handling. If in doubt, talk to the customer to find out what the underlying issues are. If it transpires that the matter is an appeal against our decision or a review request, it should be dealt with in the normal way - see ARTG8660 (external users can find the guidance at . Let the customer know who will take responsibility for this and how they can be contacted.

If you have a mixture of complaint and appeal or review, the complaint and appeal elements should be separated and the complaint aspects dealt with appropriately. Always include an explanation of how the appeal or review will be handled and by whom. In these cases, you will need to liaise closely with those responsible for handling the appeal aspect. And remember that different deadlines are likely to apply for each aspect.