Canterbury Institute of Management (CIM) is committed to developing and maintaining an effective, timely, fair and equitable grievance handling system, academic or administrative in nature, which is easily accessible to all current students including international students.

CIM aims to:

• Develop​ a culture that views grievances as an opportunity to continuously improve the policies, programs, procedures and services of organisation
• Set in place a grievance handling system that is client focussed and helps CIM to prevent grievances from recurring
• Ensure that any grievances are resolved promptly, objectively and with sensitivity and in complete confidentiality
• Ensure that the views of each student and respondent are respected, not discriminated against or victimised
• Ensure that there is a consistent response to grievances

Formal Grievance Management Procedure (As per CIM “Student Grievance Management Policy”)

Formal Grievance Management – Internal

1. All grievances or complaints must be submitted by the student to the Student Support Manager by completing Student Grievance Form.
2. This must be done within ten (10) working days of when the incident occurred or within ten working days of trying to resolve in an unofficial capacity.
3. The Student Support Manager informs the student in writing of receipt of the grievance or complaint and what are the next steps and estimated timeframe for resolving. There must be assurance to the student and genuine intent to resolve the grievance in an unbiased and timely manner.
4. The Student Support Manager endeavors to resolve the issue. If the issue involves other parties (such as awarding bodies) or requires clarification or intervention of other parties, then the Student Support Manager in liaison with Program Director must communicate the grievances to the Dean. The Dean communicates the matter to the relevant party/parties in a timely manner.
5. The Student Support Manager provides updates to the student on the progress of resolution or upon receipt of a final response or action on the complaint. Where applicable, evidence of the outcome or reason for the outcome must be provided to the student.
6. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of their formal grievance, they may appeal in writing to the Dean. They must provide all relevant details and documentary evidence to the Dean within ten (10) working days of the response to their initial grievance.
7. The Dean consults with the complainant and other relevant parties within ten (10) working days of the appeal having been received.
8. Where possible such consultations should take the form of face-to-face interviews. The complainant or the respondent may ask a support person to accompany him or her to these interviews. This support person should not be a legal
9. Following the consultation, the Dean provides a written report to the complainant advising of further steps taken to address the grievance, including the reason for the decision, within ten (10) working days of consultation having concluded.
10. The report further advises the complainant of his or her right to access the external appeal process where the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the internal appeal.

Formal Grievance Management – External

• Commonwealth Ombudsman

Students may make a complaint via the Commonwealth Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the outcomes of CIM internal grievance process. This service is free.

Business Hours: 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday

Phone: 1300 362 072

Website: http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/making-a-complaint/overseas-students

• Other external appeal avenues

CIM makes specific arrangements for independent review of complaints about issues not covered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) or the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The complainant may not be satisfied with the outcome of the internal processes of CIM and is entitled to proceed to an external authority. Students are eligible for an application to one of these services listed below on a once-off basis, free of charge:

1. an academic member of staff who can mediate or arbitrate based in a local university in the country in which the student resides;
2. a mediator service such as Resolution Institute;

• The Office of Fair Trading.

CIM subscribes to an external mediator service from The Office of Fair Trading. Contact details are:

Address: Level 1 and 2, 13-15 Bridge Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

Phone: + 61 2 9251 3366

Fax: + 61 2 9251 3733

Email: infoaus@resolution.institute

Website: www.resolution.institute

• Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)

Students have the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of a reviewable decision. The list of reviewable decisions is downloadable from https://www.aat.gov.au/resources/legislation-and-jurisdiction.

Phone: 1800 228 333

Level 6 83 Clarence St Sydney NSW 2000

Costs for lodging an appeal are determined by the AAT. The approximate costs for a standard application fee are $962. Students can pay a reduced fee of $100 instead of the full standard fee if they meet the Concessional Fee eligibility.

For further details, please refer to the Student Grievance Management Policy.