Making a complaint

How we can help you if you have a complaint

Our complaints handling policy

Fordham has prepared this policy to align our procedures with relevant legal requirements and current best practice. This will enable us to respond promptly to the needs and concerns of our clients and so maintain our reputation as a firm delivering high quality professional services. We have developed the following framework to provide guidance for the handling of any complaints made against Fordham, our Partners and our employees. This will help to:

• Improve the overall quality of our services and products
• Increase the level of client satisfaction and enhance relationships with our clients
• Uphold our values and protect our reputation

What is a complaint?

Under this policy (and in accordance with AS ISO 10002-2014), a complaint is defined as follows:

• An expression of dissatisfaction made to an organisation; related to its products, services or the complaints handling process itself; where a response or resolution is implicitly or explicitly expected
• A person or organisation (the complainant) who is dissatisfied with a product or service provided by Fordham, for any reason, may contact us to complain. This can be verbal or in writing.

Please note, some complaints may be negative feedback requiring no resolution or formal feedback. While this type of feedback can be valuable, this policy doesn’t apply to feedback of this nature.

How should you contact us?

Where you are familiar with the team working on your matter; or if a complaint is about a particular engagement, product, Partner or employee; you might initially prefer to address your complaint to an appropriate member of that team. This may be verbally, by letter, email or fax. If possible, we recommend that your complaint be made in writing to establish a clear and complete account.

If you are unsure about who to contact, or if you just prefer not to address your complaint directly to a team member, please contact us as follows:

• National Manager, Fordham Business Advisors, GPO Box 4369, Melbourne Victoria 3001
• Telephone: +61 3 9611 6611
• Email: complaints@fordhamgroup.com.au
• Fax: +61 3 9611 6666

To help us help you, the following information needs to be provided in your complaint:

• Your name, position and contact details
• Your relationship with Fordham (for example, if you are a client, the nature of your engagement)
• Your contact person within Fordham
• The nature of your complaint (the person or issue and when this occurred)
• Details of any Fordham Partner or employee involved
• Copies of any supporting documentation you may have

All of this will allow us to acknowledge your complaint immediately upon receipt and to handle your complaint in an effective and efficient manner.

Once we have received your complaint, we will undertake an initial review. We are committed to resolving your complaint within four weeks, however this is not always possible. When we look like taking longer than four weeks, we will let you know the reason for the delay and when we think we will be able to complete the review. Of course, you are welcome to enquire about your review status by contacting the Partner or employee who is handling your complaint.

Upon completion of the review, we will provide you with a written response. Should you be dissatisfied with this response you have the right to ask for reconsideration by the National Complaints Office. This request should simply be made in writing and forwarded to the address above.

Where else can you find help?

If you are dissatisified with the manner in which your complaint has been handled, you may be able to refer the matter to one of the following external dispute resolution bodies: