Customer Service Charter
Our purpose
The Customer Service Charter outlines the Clarence City Council’s values and commitments to our customers. It’s a promise we make to each customer to deliver the best experience in every interaction.
Customer queries help us understand and respond to community needs – we encourage you to reach out to us. Working together, we can shape a vibrant future for Clarence.
Our missionÂ
To respond to the needs of the community through a commitment to excellence in leadership, advocacy, best practice governance and service delivery (Strategic Plan 2021-2031).
Our customer experience guiding principles
- Accountable – We will be accountable to our customers ensuring the highest level of service is provided at each interaction.
- Collaborative – We acknowledge the importance of customer service both externally and internally. We will work collaboratively with all customers.
- Authentic – We are committed to authenticity in our interactions with customers, fostering genuine connections built on trust and sincerity. Our communication is honest, transparent, and reflective of our values, ensuring that every interaction has an aim to help the customer.
- Seamless – Provide simple and seamless experiences that ensure a smooth and hasslefree experience with straight forward processes focused on good customer outcomes.
- Consistent – Consistency is key to delivering exceptional customer experiences. We strive to maintain consistency in the quality and accessibility of our services, communication, and interactions across all touchpoints and channels.
Our commitment to you
We aim to provide exemplary customer service that is seamless, authentic, and consistent across the organisation.
We are committed to:
- Being caring and empathetic when speaking to you.
- Understanding your needs.
- Helping you quickly to find the right information or person to talk to the first time.
- Being authentic and setting honest expectations.
- Keep you up to date.
- Taking ownership of your enquiry and ensuring it is resolved.
- Being curious and willing to learn so we can unlock opportunities and better ways to help you.
Response times – our service commitments to our customers
You can expect the following responses from us:
- We will answer your phone call promptly and where possible resolve general enquires.
- If specialised assistance is required, we will direct you to the appropriate department and outline our next steps.
- We will reply to your correspondence, including emails within 10 business days.
- If the nature of your enquiry or request is not straightforward, we will keep you informed of our progress and expected timeframes.
- In person – we aim to resolve your enquiry immediately. Where this is not possible, we will contact you with a response using your preferred communication method within 10 business days.
- There are some processes within Council that are subject to statutory timeframes that are legislated.
- Website – we will provide current, accurate and timely information that is easily understood and accessible.
- Social media (comments, messages, and requests) – social media is a channel for distribution of information and comments, not a formal customer service portal for responses and requests.
- While it is the council’s aim to satisfy our customers, circumstances will, at times, necessitate outcomes that may not be to the satisfaction of all our customers. When this happens, we will explain why.
How you can help us
To help us deliver the best experience to you, we ask that you:
- Let us know when your contact details or circumstances change so we can keep our information up to date.
- Be polite and respectful towards our employees and other customers. Clarence City Council supports a safe working environment, including the use of appropriate language and behaviour, free from discrimination or harassment.
- Understand that we will not tolerate behaviour that is likely to put someone in physical danger or make them feel anxious, threatened, or disrespected. Our employees are trained to report inappropriate conduct immediately and we reserve the right to end a call or ask you to leave, and we may contact the police if you refuse to comply.
Feedback
We seek and welcome all customer feedback to understand if you are satisfied or dissatisfied with our services, and why. We use this customer feedback to monitor and improve our services.
Community engagement
Clarence City Council recognises your right to be informed and have input into decisions which shape our city.
The Clarence City Council Your Say website is where you can find information and provide feedback on important projects that are shaping our future.
At times we will engage in a range of other ways to inform, consult, or collaborate with you.
The way we engage with our community will be tailored to achieve the greatest input and feedback in relation to specific projects or programs that we are working on.
Council’s community engagement and consultation activities are covered by the Community Engagement Policy.
Compliments
We want to recognise and celebrate our staff and the work they do to make Clarence the special place that it is. Please let us know if you think someone has done an outstanding job or a project or event has impressed you.
Complaints
We take complaints seriously and attempt to identify issues and resolve them as soon as possible.
If your experience with Clarence City Council didn’t meet your expectations, please take the time to let us know.
A complaint can be made by phone, in person, in writing to the Chief Executive Officer or by email. We will endeavour to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible and get back to you by your preferred method of response.
While most problems can usually be resolved quickly, there are times when a detailed investigation is required. If this takes some time, we will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint.
If your complaint is of a serious matter or is a complex one, please put it in writing and address it to the Chief Executive Officer, who will arrange for the appropriate department to address it.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can ask for a review of your complaint by the Chief Executive Officer who will investigate the matter and contact you about it.
You may seek advice of a Councillor who may take up the matter on your behalf.
If you are still not satisfied with council’s resolution to your complaint, there are other external avenues available:
- The Ombudsman
Level 6, 86 Collins Street
Hobart TAS 7000
Phone: 1800 001 170
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.tas.gov.au - Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner
Level 1, 54 Victoria Street
Hobart TAS 7000
Phone: (03) 6233 4841 or 1300 305 062
Email: office@equalopportunity.tas.gov.au - Director, Division of Local Government
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Level 5, 15 Murray Street
Hobart TAS 7000
Phone: (03) 6232 7022
Email: lgd@dpac.tas.gov.au
While you can refer your complaint directly to these bodies at any time, we strongly encourage you to approach council to investigate your complaint first.
Any administration decision where council has a statutory decision-making role may be subject to a further review under the Judicial Review Act 2000.
How to make a coplaint or give a compliment
You can make a complaint or compliment by visiting us in person, via phone or email, in writing to the Chief Executive Officer or by contacting a Councillor.
How to contact us
Visit us in person at:
- 38 Bligh Street, Rosny Park (Monday to Friday – excluding public holidays)
General enquiries – 8:30am – 5:15pm
Payment enquires – 8:45am – 5:00pm
Building, Planning, Health, and Plumbing enquires – 8:00am – 5:15pm
By Phone:
- (03) 6217 9500 (as per business hours above)
Write to us:
- Clarence City Council
PO Box 96
Rosny Park TAS 7018
Contact a Councillor:
- Contact details for all Councillors can be found on our website here.
Online General Request Form:
Email us:
Visit our social media pages for information:
Further Help:
- If you are deaf or have a speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service
website here. - If you would like the support of translating or interpreting services, contact the Australian Government’s Translating and Interpreting Service using their website
www.tisnational.gov.au or by phone 131 450.