Customer feedback and complaints

Community focused – putting the customer first

At the City of Hobart our mission is "Working together to make Hobart a better place for the community", so we recognise that community is at the centre of our business and the reason we exist.

As a local government organisation the City of Hobart is a complex business that provides a widely diverse range of services. We appreciate that our customers can sometimes find doing business with us difficult and confusing.

Our objective is to foster strong and respectful relationships with our customers and make it easy for them to do business with us.

We will achieve this by applying best-practice customer focused business principles to our service delivery:

  • focusing on the benefits of good communication
  • thinking innovatively, including outside in - from the viewpoint of our customers
  • seeking participation and feedback from our customers in relation to our performance
  • training our employees to understand their responsibility to deliver professional, customer-focused service
  • supporting our operations by the use of relevant technologies.

Our customers

Our customers are the people who live, work, play, visit, own, operate and transact business in our City.

They are also those who help us do our business – our suppliers, subcontractors and volunteers – people who work with our employees to deliver necessary services and projects that make Hobart the special place it is.

Our commitment

This page details our service commitment to you. If we don't meet these standards please let us know so we can keep improving.

We value

 Our values underpin our customer service approach.

  1. People

    We care about our community, customers and colleagues.

  2. Teamwork

    We collaborate both internally and externally.

  3. Focus and Direction

    We have clear goals and plans to achieve outcomes for the Community.

  4. Creativity and Innovation

    We embrace new approaches and continuously improve.

  5. Accountability

We are transparent, work to high ethical and professional standards, and we are accountable for delivering outcomes.

Our service framework

We will:

  • build a customer-first culture which puts our customers at the centre of everything we do
  • train and develop employees to take responsibility for providing a customer-first approach
  • communicate with our customers and keep them in mind when developing policies and procedures
  • measure, report, review, improve.

Our service principles

As a customer of the City of Hobart you can expect us to act:

  • Respectfully by providing courteous and friendly service, listening to your needs, valuing and considering the perspective and contribution of our diverse community.
  • Responsively by keeping you informed using your preferred method of contact
  • Resourcefully by delivering a range of relevant and accessible services on your behalf and managing and maintaining facilities to ensure a high standard of presentation and performance for your use and enjoyment.

Our contact standards

We aim to provide the following responses:

  • We will answer your phone call promptly and where possible resolve general enquiries at the time of your call.
  • Where we need to take specific action, we will refer you to the relevant service area and let you know what will happen next.
  • We will reply to your correspondence, including e-mails, and advise you of our intended actions within ten business days.
  • We will acknowledge your social media message within one business day and where follow up correspondence is required, we will inform you of the next steps.

If the nature of your enquiry or request is not straightforward, we will keep you informed of our progress.

Whilst it is the City's aim to satisfy our customers, circumstances will, at times, necessitate outcomes that may not be to the satisfaction of all of our customers. When this happens we will explain why.

Making a request

Our employees can’t be everywhere, so when you let us know there is a problem it helps us do a better job.

For example if your bin collection was missed, you've noticed a pothole in your street or you notice overhanging trees which make it difficult to use a footpath, please let us know.

If the online form does not display, you can download a PDF version here: General customer request form(PDF, 39KB)

Please note, if your request is related to a review of a parking fine, you must complete a different form, which can be accessed on the requesting a review of your parking fine page.

Making a complaint

If you have a complaint about an unreasonable delay in response to a request, the behaviour of an employee, or about the withdrawal, reduction, or general handling of a service provided by the City, please let us know.

We will need your details so we can investigate and respond to you, so please provide your name, address, contact phone number and details of the issue.

We will manage your complaint in line with the City's Complaint Management Policy(PDF, 155KB).

You can expect acknowledgment of receipt of your complaint within three business days, followed by advice on the results of our investigation and proposed action within ten business days.

Sometimes we may need more time to complete the investigation. If this is the case, the investigating officer will make contact with you to discuss what we are doing and provide an estimated timeframe for your next update.

If the online form does not display, you can download a PDF version here: General customer request form(PDF, 39KB)

Not happy?

If you are not happy with the City's response to your complaint, you can request a review.

Internal Review

Where a customer is not satisfied with the outcome of an investigation they may request to have the decision reviewed internally by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by emailing coh@hobartcity.com.au.

External Review

Should a customer remain unsatisfied with the outcome of this internal review, they may refer the matter for external review to the Office of the Ombudsman who is responsible to the Parliament of Tasmania investigating complaints and can be contacted at.

The Ombudsman

Integrity Complaints

Complaints of misconduct or unethical conduct can be made to the Integrity Commission.

The Integrity Commission

Local Government Code of Conduct Complaints

Complaints against the Local Government Code of Conduct Framework for Tasmanian elected representatives can be made using the approved form, and lodged with the General Manager. For more information, please visit the formal code of conduct complaints page.

For more information regarding complaints against local government, please visit the Department of Premier and Cabinet website.

Planning Complaints

Complaints concerning planning issues can be made to the Planning Policy Unit, Department of Justice.

The Planning Policy Unit

Community engagement

The City of Hobart recognises your right to be informed and have input into decisions which affect the City.

The City's Your Say Hobart website is where you can find information and provide feedback on important projects that are shaping Hobart's future.

At times we will engage in a range of other ways to inform, ask 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 being discussed.

Compliments

We also welcome your compliments and want to recognise and celebrate our employees and the work they do to make Hobart the special place that it is.

Please let us know if you think someone has done an outstanding job or the City has delivered a service, project or event which has particularly impressed you.

Help us help you

The City is committed to being accessible and responsive to all our customers. The success of our organisation depends on:

  • our ability to perform in the most effective and efficient way
  • the health, safety and security of our staff
  • our ability to allocate resources fairly across all aspects of our services.

We ask you to:

  • treat our employees respectfully
  • provide us with accurate and complete information
  • keep us updated on changes to your contact details.

When customers behave unreasonably in their dealings with us, their conduct can significantly affect our success. The City will take appropriate action to manage any customer conduct that negatively and unreasonably affects us.

Contact us

In person:

Hobart Council Centre
16 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
(corner Elizabeth and Davey streets)
8.15 am to 5.15 pm
Monday to Friday (except public holidays)

By phone:

03 6238 2711
8.15 am to 5.15 pm
Monday to Friday (except public holidays)

By mail to the Chief Executive Officer:

City of Hobart
GPO Box 503
Hobart 7001

By email: coh@hobartcity.com.au

Online: general request form 

Further help

If you are deaf or have a speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service website at relayservice.gov.au.

If you would like the support of translating or interpreting services, contact the Australian Government's Translating and Interpreting Service using their website tisnational.gov.au or by phone on 131 450.

Download the City of Hobart Customer Service Charter(PDF, 147KB).