Frivolous & Vexatious Complaints
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Investment: $430 incl GST
Delivery: Face 2 Face & Webinar
(Delivery methods are subject to change)
Target Audience
Governance Officers, Freedom of Information Officers
Overview
Members of the public are entitled to complain. Members of the public are also able to express dissatisfaction in other ways, such as through requests for reviews of decisions or (in some cases) freedom of information applications. However, councils are entitled to refuse to deal with complaints, requests and applications if there is a proper basis for doing so. Generally, if a complaint, request or application is ‘frivolous’ or ‘vexatious’, this will be an appropriate basis to refuse to deal with the matter.Therefore, council staff members must be able to identify when a matter is in fact ‘frivolous’ or ‘vexatious’, and must know what rights and obligations the council has in respect of dealing with such matters.
Key Learnings
- The legislative basis of councils’ obligations to deal with complaints;
- What constitutes a frivolous or vexatious complaint;
- How to appropriately deal with or refuse to deal with frivolous or vexatious complaints;
- What sorts of matters apart from complaints can be refused on the basis of being frivolous or vexatious;
- Foreshadowed amendments to freedom of information legislation which will expressly introduce the concept of ‘frivolous or vexatious’ freedom of information applications;
- Requirements relating to council policies and procedures.
Facilitator
Felice D’Agostino, Principal – Governance and Regulatory Services – Norman Waterhouse LawyersFelice assists and provides advice to local authorities on a wide variety of matters involving statutory interpretation, administrative law, governance, public administration, freedom of information, and public integrity. She has extensive experience in delivering high quality training seminars, workshops and conferences across her many specialisations.
The Norman Waterhouse Local Government team is the largest of its kind in the State and is widely recognised as the leader in the provision of advice and representation to the local government sector in South Australia.
Additional Information
What ‘Delivery Options’ are available for this session?If a session is scheduled, the delivery options can be found below in the location field of the ‘Upcoming Workshops’ section. (Address = Face 2 Face delivery, Webinar = Virtual delivery)
No ‘Dates’ scheduled?
Complete our ‘Enquiry Form’ to be added to our waitlist and notified of upcoming dates.
Interested in having this program brought ‘In-House’ to your council?
Check your eligibility by requesting an ‘In-house eQuote’.
For further information about the content of this program, please contact LGA Training on 8224 2000 or at training@lga.sa.gov.au.
Please understand that by registering, you are accepting our policy conditions. For a copy of our policies, please click here.
