- Wet Tropics Management
- Legislative framework
- Management partnerships
- Sustainable Tourism Plan
- Threats to the Area
- Research and a Learning Landscape
- How can I help?
The Wet Tropics Management Authority’s aim is to provide you with high quality service delivery. If you are not satisfied with our service delivery, services, products, decisions or actions and you have not been able to resolve the matter with our staff, you can lodge a complaint.
We value your feedback and will use the complaints process to identify opportunities to improve our efficiency and effectiveness.
The Authority is committed to ensuring that all complaints are managed in a responsive, efficient, effective and fair manner and that you are treated with respect throughout the complaints process.
In accordance with Section 219A of the Public Service Act 2008 the Wet Tropics Management Authority reports the following for 2023–24:
One (1) complaint received by the Wet Tropics Management Authority.
1. Authority’s services: a complaint about dissatisfaction with the Authority’s services, products, decisions or actions. Refer to section 1 below.
2. Public Interest Disclosures: a complaint of suspected serious wrongdoing by an Authority employee/s. Refer to section 2 below.
3. Privacy complaint: you believe that the Authority has breached your right to privacy in its handling of your information. Refer to section 3 below.
Let staff know as soon as possible about your concerns and they may be able to quickly resolve it for you.
If they can’t, you can lodge a complaint by giving us as many details as you can, such as what happened, who was involved, when and where it happened, and if there are any others who may be able to provide further information.
All complaints will be dealt with in a responsive, confidential and fair manner.
Complaints will initially be assessed by the business unit responsible for the service that is the reason for your complaint. Assessment will include; severity, safety implications, complexity and the need and potential for immediate action.
The senior manager will allocate a complaint manager to investigate the complaint and a separate manager will consider the findings and recommendations provided and make a decision regarding an appropriate resolution of the complaint.
The complaint manager and the decision maker will not have been involved in any prior decision or action that was involved in the complaint.
Unless your complaint must be dealt with under a law or another mechanism, our aim is to resolve your complaint within 30 business days. Please note that more complicated issues may take longer. We will notify you if this is the case.
When we have investigated your complaint, we will contact you via your preferred method of contact to advise you of the outcome of the investigation.
The Department of Environment and Science’s policy and procedure for managing complaints is available:
Complaints can be lodged in a number of ways:
online—by completing the online complaint form
print—complete the printable complaint form (DOCX, 94KB) and:
post it to Wet Tropics Management Authority, PO Box 2050 Cairns, QLD 4870; or
scan and email it to: complaints@wtma.qld.gov.au
in person—complaints can also be submitted by telephone or face to face at our office. These complaints will be documented by the staff member who receives the complaint
You can complain anonymously, although if clarification is needed during the resolution process we won’t be able to contact you, which may affect achieving a successful outcome. We will also not be able to advise you of the results of the investigation.
Please let us know if you require assistance with lodging your complaint by contacting wettropics@wtma.qld.gov.au.
Assistance may include explaining the complaints process and providing information on how to make and lodge a complaint.
Additional assistance, such as documenting details of the complaint and lodging it on your behalf will be provided for people who have a disability, literacy or language difficulties.
If you prefer to lodge your complaint in person, our staff will provide the appropriate assistance that you need.
Your personal information will not be released to a third party without your consent unless required to do so by law (Information Privacy Act 2009). For more information on privacy, please visit the Department of Environment and Science’s privacy page.
All documents relating to your complaint will be stored in a secure location, and only accessible to staff who are involved in resolving the complaint.
The employee who is managing your complaint will keep you informed of any delays, requirements for additional information and the outcome.
You can request a review of the decision made by the Authority’s decision maker. The Authority will arrange for an employee who has not been previously involved in the resolution of your complaint to review the information and the decision.
If you are not satisfied by the results of the Authority’s review you can ask the Queensland Ombudsman’s Office to review the Authority’s decision. You can contact the Queensland Ombudsman by:
Telephone: 07 3005 7000
Toll free: 1800 068 908
Email: Ombudsman@ombudsman.qld.gov.au
Post: Level 18, 53 Albert Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 GPO Box 3314
A Public Interest Disclosure (PID) is a report about suspected serious wrongdoing in the public sector and can be made by an employee or a member of the public. A PID may be made to an appropriate public sector entity as specified in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010.
As a member of the public you can make a PID complaint about:
suspected danger or harm to the health or safety of a person with a disability
significant environmental harm
a reprisal action that has been or will be made against a PID or a person who is believed to be a PID.
For an allegation to be considered a PID, and gain the protections of the PID Act, the discloser must honestly believe on reasonable grounds there is wrongdoing or have information that tends to show wrongdoing and make a disclosure to a proper authority.
Members of the public may make their disclosure to any of the following:
the Director-General
a divisional or branch head (e.g. Deputy Director-General, Executive Director, Senior Director, Regional Director)
a line manager or supervisor of the discloser
Head of Internal Audit
Executive Director, Human Resources, or
Director, Executive Services.
Alternatively, you can lodge your PID by completing the online complaint form below, specifying that it is a PID matter.
Ideally, PID information should include:
the name and job title of the person, or the name of the company or organisation that is the subject of the disclosure
information about relevant events, dates and places
the names of people who may be able to provide additional information
your contact details (for communication about the PID assessment and outcome).
A PID need not include all this information. For example, a PID may include information about an event, time and place but the names of the officers involved may be unknown to you.
The PID Act requires that anonymous disclosures be accepted. However, if you choose to be an anonymous discloser, the Authority cannot contact you to clarify your disclosure or to seek additional information. If you are an anonymous discloser, it will not be possible to keep you informed of progress in handling the disclosure; or to offer you PID Act protections.
The Department of Environment and Science’s policy and procedure for managing PIDs can be downloaded below:
If you are concerned that the Authority has breached your privacy by not dealing with your personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 you can submit a complaint in writing to the department or use the online complaint form below.
The complaint should outline the basis for the complaint in as much detail as possible and include an address to which notices and correspondence may be sent during the complaint investigation process. Written complaints should be sent to:
Wet Tropics Management Authority
Post: PO Box 2050 Cairns, QLD 4870
Phone: (07) 4241 0500
Email: complaints@wtma.qld.gov.au
If you believe that your complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, or the Authority has not responded, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner. The complaint will then be mediated if deemed appropriate, or may be referred to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A complaint may not be made to the Information Commissioner until at least 45 business days after the complaint has been made to the Authority. The postal address of the Information Commissioner is:
Office of the Information Commissioner
PO Box 10143
Adelaide Street
Brisbane QLD 4001
