Complaints and Appeals Policy

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Galaxy Training Australia (GTA) is committed to providing a fair and transparent complaint/appeal handling process. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all complaints and appeals made by students are dealt with fairly, confidentially, and quickly.

All GTA learners can make allegations involving the conduct of:

  • GTA, its trainers, assessors, or other staff
  • third-party advertising or marketing on GTA’s behalf, or its staff or
  • any other learner of GTA

All learners can request for review of a decision made by GTA. The decision could involve but is not limited to:

  • enrolment processes
  • assessment outcomes
  • course progression
  • rejected access to support
  • grounds of cancellation by GTA due to non-payment of fees or no course completion within the course due date

GTA has developed complaints and appeals policy to improve its operations and to prevent complaints/appeals from recurring. Galaxy Training Australia ensures –

  • Any complaints and appeals are resolved promptly, objectively, sensitively, and confidentially
  • Views of each complainant, appellant and respondent are respected and that no party to a complaint/appeal is discriminated against or victimized
  • Consistent response is provided for any complaints and appeals

Complaint/Appeal handling principles

Galaxy Training Australia applies the following principles to its complaints/appeals handling:

  • A written record of all complaints/appeals are kept by Galaxy Training Australia, including all details of lodgement, response, and resolution. Records relating to complaint/appeal handling are stored securely to prevent access to unauthorised personnel.
  • A complainant/appellant is provided with an opportunity to formally present his or her case at no cost.
  • The policy for complaints and appeals is publicly available and published on the Galaxy Training Australia website.
  • The handling of a complaint/appeal is to commence within seven (7) working days of the lodgement of the complaint/appeal, and all reasonable measures are taken to finalise the process as soon as practicable.
  • The complainant/appellant is to be provided with a written response to the complaint/appeal, including details of the reasons for the outcome. A written response will be provided to the complainant within fourteen (14) days of the lodgement of the complaint/appeal.
  • Complaints/appeals will be resolved to an outcome within sixty (60) days of the complaint/appeal is initially received. Where Galaxy Training Australia Chief Executive Officer considers that more than 60 calendar days are required to process and finalise the complaint/appeal, the CEO will inform the complainant in writing, including reasons why more than 60 calendar days are required. As a benchmark, Galaxy Training Australia attempts to resolve complaints/appeals as soon as possible. A timeframe to resolve a complaint/appeal within thirty (30) days is considered acceptable and in the best interest of Galaxy Training Australia and the complainant/appellant. A complainant/appellant is provided with regular updates to inform them of the progress of the complaint/appeal handling.
  • Galaxy Training Australia maintains the enrolment of the complainant/appellant during the complaint/appeal handling process.
  • Decisions or outcomes of the complaint/appeal handling process that find in favour of the student shall be implemented immediately.
  • Complaints/appeals are handled in the strictest of confidence. No Galaxy Training Australia representative is to disclose information to any person without the permission of the Galaxy Training Australia Chief Executive Officer. A decision to release information to third parties can only be made after the complainant/appellant has given permission for this to occur. This permission should be given using the Information Release Form.
  • Complaints/appeals are considered and handled to ensure the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are applied at every stage of the complaint/appeal handling process. This means that the complainant/appellant is entitled to be heard with access to all relevant information and with the right of reply. The complainant/appellant is entitled to have their complaint/appeal heard by a person that is without bias and may not be affected by the decision. Finally, the decision will be made based on logical evidence, and the decision-maker will take account of relevant considerations, act for a proper purpose, and will not consider irrelevant considerations.

Review by an external agency

Where the complainant/appellant is not satisfied with the handling of the matter by Galaxy Training Australia, they have the opportunity for a body that is independent of Galaxy Training Australia to review his or her complaint/appeal following the internal completion of the complaint/appeal handling process. In these circumstances, the Galaxy Training Australia Chief Executive Officer will advise of an appropriate party independent of Galaxy Training Australia to review the complaint (and its subsequent handling) and provide advice to Galaxy Training Australia regarding the recommended outcomes. This advice is to be accepted as final and advised to the complainant in writing.

A complainant who remains not satisfied with the process applied by Galaxy Training Australia following review by an independent party may refer their grievance to the Australian Skills Quality Authority - ASQA Online Complaint Form. Students are advised that ASQA will require the student to have exhausted all avenues through Galaxy Training Australia internal complaints/appeals handling procedure before taking this option.

The National Training Complaints Hotline also provides an opportunity for students to lodge their grievances with an external agency that will follow up and investigate their complaints. This service can be accessed via the following phone number: 13 38 73.

If the appellant is seeking a refund of their tuition fees based on an unfavourable outcome, this may be considered by the Chief Executive Officer on its merits. If the Chief Executive Officer does not approve a refund and considers that Galaxy Training Australia has dealt with the matter appropriately, the student is to be advised of the opportunity to refer the matter to the Office of Fair Trading in relation to their dispute over the requested refund.

The purpose of the external appeals process is to consider whether Galaxy Training Australia has followed its policies and procedures – it is not to decide in place of Galaxy Training Australia.

Galaxy Training Australia considers that it would be extremely unlikely that complaints and appeals are not able to be resolved quickly within Galaxy Training Australia internal arrangements.

Complaints/Appeals Handling Procedure

Matters that cannot be resolved at the time they occur should be referred to Galaxy Training Australia Chief Executive Officer for review. The following procedure is to be followed when a complaint/appeal form is received:

  • A complaint or an application to appeal a decision must be submitted in writing to Galaxy Training Australia using any of the following methods –
  • A Complaints/Appeal Form is received by Galaxy Training Australia and is to be immediately recorded into Galaxy Training Australia Complaints and Appeals Register by the CEO. The Complaints and Appeals Register is password protected and not easily accessible by other staff members other than the CEO.
  • Complainant/Appellant to be acknowledged via phone or email within 5 working days of receipt.
  • The Chief Executive Officer reviews the matter and makes a recommendation as to how to respond to the matter. The CEO may choose to consult with the complainant/appellant, with others within Galaxy Training Australia or relevant agencies external to Galaxy Training Australia in determining their recommendations.
  • The Chief Executive Officer may choose to make inquiries about the matter or may give the task to another person to research the matter against relevant policy.
  • The Chief Executive Officer is to commence their review of the complaint within seven (7) working days from the date the complaint was submitted.
  • The Chief Executive Officer is to finalise their response to the complainant and provide the complainant/appellant with a response as soon as possible but no later than fourteen (14) working days from when the complaint was submitted.
  • The Chief Executive Officer is to communicate the response to the complainant personally, either via mail or phone. Complaint responses are not to be provided to the complainant via any third party or via electronic communication such as e-mail. The Chief Executive Officer is to seek feedback from the complainant about their level of satisfaction with the complaint outcome and advise the complainant of their options if they are not completely satisfied with the outcome.
  • Where the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint handling, the Chief Executive Officer is to arrange for the complaint to be considered by an appropriate independent third party. The independent third party is required to respond with their recommendations within fourteen (14) days of their review being requested.
  • A complainant who remains not satisfied with the process applied by Galaxy Training Australia following review by an independent party may refer their grievance to the Australian Skills Quality Authority - ASQA Online Complaint Form click here. Students are to be advised that ASQA will require the student to have exhausted all avenues through Galaxy Training Australia internal complaints handling procedure before taking this option.
  • The response to the complainant/appellant must include information that demonstrates that the matter was thoroughly reviewed and what actions and outcomes have been identified because of the complaint.
  • Opportunities for improvement that were identified because of the complaint/appeal are to be recorded in a Continuous Improvement Register and submitted for the next Management Team meeting. The CEO may, at his or her discretion, follow-up with the complainant/appellant after consideration by the Management Team to inform of the improvement actions identified.
  • The Complaints and Appeals Register is to be always kept up to date to accurately reflect how the matter was responded to and the duration from the date the complaint/appeal was received to the date the complaint was resolved.
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