Make a complaint

I want to make a formal or informal complaint about sexually harmful behaviour.

Informal process

You may wish to request to have your complaint raised directly with the person in an informal manner. This is an informal process and it can take many forms depending on what you are both comfortable doing. It requires the agreement of the person who you are complaining about and it could include:

• trained staff meeting directly with the person to raise concerns on your behalf
• a shuttled conference where someone raises issues on your behalf and goes between yourself and the other person to try and resolve the issue
• a written restorative approach where both parties are given the opportunity to communicate in writing
• a restorative process where a trained facilitator helps you work through what happened what the impact has been on you and what can be done to repair and restore the relationship
• another process that suits your cultural or spiritual needs.

There is no formal investigation if you select this option and the outcome requires the agreement of both parties.

For more information about the informal process contact the Student Interest and Conflict Resolution team.

The information provided in an informal process will be retained by the Student Interest and Conflict Resolution team. The information will be treated confidentially.

Further action will not be taken without your consent unless there is a serious and imminent risk to you or someone else in the University community.

If there are concerns about risk of harm, or other significant concerns about health and safety, we may be required to communicate or seek advice with external specialists or external stakeholders or take other actions to protect you or other members of the University community.

Wherever possible this will be done in a collaborative manner and in consultation with you.

Formal process

You may prefer to request a formal process to address your complaint, which has a potential disciplinary outcome. This requires a formal complaint detailing your concerns. If the complaint is about a staff member it will be provided to the staff member’s manager or another senior manager at the University who will determine the appropriate procedure to follow in consultation with the University’s Human Resources team. If the complaint is about a student it will be provided to the relevant decision maker, which could be the Head of School or the Convener of the Disciplinary Committee. They will determine the appropriate procedure in consultation with the Student Interest and Conflict Resolution team.

A copy of your complaint will be provided to the person to allow them to understand the complaint and to respond. You will be contacted by a trained staff member to help you understand the process and discuss your safety and support needs during the complaint process.

If you request a formal process the Student Conduct Statute or Staff Conduct Policy and Guidelines will be followed. You will be informed at the completion of the process whether your complaint has been upheld.

For more information about the formal process contact the Student Interest and Conflict Resolution team.