Appeals policy
This is a human-readable summary of the full policy enlisted below:
• In writing- Appeals must be put in writing
• Timing- Appeals must be submitted within 5 business days
• Process- Talk first with the trainer, then escalate as required1 Purpose of appeals
In accordance with SNR 5.7 Complaint and appeals process, MR. SHUM offers appeals in accordance with this policy. The purpose of the appeals process is to ensure learner appeals can be addressed effectively and efficiently. Effective means to achieve fairness, and equity, in dealing with administrative decisions at MR. SHUM. Efficiency means that students can have their appeal dealt with within a time frame that is expeditious, and conducive for the student's requirements, such as time constraints that the the student may be facing, in completing a qualification. Where a student is dissatisfied with a decision, such as competency assessment or skills recognition, made by MR. SHUM, he/she has the right to complain and/or appeal, without fear of reprisal or victimization. The student should also expect dealings with appeals in accordance with this policy.
2 Scope of appeals
Appeal requests can be lodged by all students currently enrolled or receiving services from MR. SHUM. The extent of "administrative decisions" ranges from client dissatisfaction with decisions MR. SHUM makes as a Registered Training Organization (RTO), to other decisions, such as exclusion from a program. Students must make a formal application in writing to appeal decisions relating to assessments within five (5) business days from the issuance of assessment results.
3 Recognition of third party mediators
MR. SHUM will acknowledge most third party mediators elected by the student, but in doing so, do at their own cost. Acknowledgement is made of the appropriation of external and independent mediators, to allow parties to formally present their cases independently.
4 Archiving of appeals
Appeals, including all submissions by students and responses by the organization, are archived for audit purposes.
5 Grievance and appeals process
The process students are suggested to take to file an appeal are as follows:
a) The student should confer the appeal/issue with the trainer directly to see if it can be amicably resolved.
b) If a resolution cannot be met, the student should put in writing personally identifiable information, date of assessment, append the assessment, and include comments desired for consideration. This will be reviewed with an appropriate response within 5 business days, to ensure appeals are efficiently dealt with.
c) Should the issue still be unresolved to the student's satisfaction, the student can opt to elect an independent external mediator or arbitrator to resolve the issue. This should take no longer than 21 days, to ensure appeals are dealt with efficiently. All parties will receive written statement of outcomes, including a ratio decendi.
d) If the student is still unhappy following external mediation, their complaint can be forwarded to the Australian Skills Quality Authority.
From the outset, and throughout the process, the desired outcome of the student is considered, and all effort is made to settle the outcome amicably wherever practicable.
6 Justiciability
Sometimes, earlier steps of the process will be skipped if the organization believes, on reasonable grounds, there are no rights of appeal. As such, these processes are only permitted if the appelant has "justiciability", which means that they can, on reasonable grounds, state:
• The judgment was made incorrectly
• The judgment was not made in accordance with policy, statutory or other requirements
