Product Overview

Summary: This SOP provides a clear, end‑to‑end process for capturing, assessing and resolving member feedback, complaints and compliments across your organisation. It helps Australian businesses respond consistently and fairly, meet regulatory expectations, and turn member issues into practical service improvements.

Members expect to be heard, taken seriously and treated fairly when they provide feedback or lodge a complaint. Without a structured process, issues can be mishandled, responses become inconsistent, and valuable insights are lost. This Member Feedback and Resolution Standard Operating Procedure gives your organisation a clear, practical framework for receiving, recording, triaging and resolving all types of member feedback – from informal comments and suggestions through to escalated complaints and disputes.

Tailored for Australian organisations, this SOP supports compliance with key regulatory expectations around complaint handling, fairness and transparency, particularly in regulated sectors such as financial services, health, community services and membership-based associations. It defines roles, service standards and communication templates so your team can respond promptly, manage expectations, and keep accurate records. Importantly, it also builds a feedback loop into your management system, ensuring recurring issues are analysed, reported and addressed, supporting continuous improvement and better member experience over time.

Key Benefits

• Standardise how member feedback and complaints are received, assessed and resolved across all channels.
• Improve member satisfaction and trust by providing clear timeframes, communication standards and escalation pathways.
• Reduce regulatory and reputational risk by aligning with Australian complaint-handling expectations and record-keeping requirements.
• Strengthen governance by capturing feedback data for trend analysis, management reporting and continuous improvement.
• Empower frontline staff with clear guidance, scripts and decision points to handle difficult conversations confidently and fairly.

Who is this for?

• Customer Service Managers
• Member Services Team Leaders
• Contact Centre Managers
• Quality and Compliance Managers
• WHS and HR Managers
• Operations Managers
• Practice Managers (Health and Community Services)
• Club and Association Managers
• Financial Services Product Owners
• Risk and Governance Managers

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions (Feedback, Enquiry, Complaint, Dispute, Escalation)
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities
• 4.0 Types and Sources of Member Feedback
• 5.0 Receiving and Acknowledging Feedback
• 6.0 Logging and Record-Keeping Requirements
• 7.0 Triage, Risk Assessment and Prioritisation
• 8.0 Investigation and Resolution Process
• 9.0 Communication Standards and Response Timeframes
• 10.0 Escalation Pathways and Internal Dispute Resolution
• 11.0 External Review Bodies and Referral (e.g. Ombudsman schemes)
• 12.0 Managing Sensitive Issues and Vulnerable Members
• 13.0 Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Security
• 14.0 Monitoring, Reporting and Trend Analysis
• 15.0 Continuous Improvement and Corrective Actions
• 16.0 Training, Induction and Competency Requirements
• 17.0 Document Control and Review

Legislation & References

• AS/NZS 10002:2014 Guidelines for complaint management in organizations
• Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010)
• ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 – Internal dispute resolution (for applicable financial services organisations)
• APRA Prudential Standard CPS 515 – Strategic Planning, Management and Reporting (for applicable APRA‑regulated entities)
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) regarding handling of personal information
• Relevant industry Codes of Practice or Codes of Conduct (e.g. financial services, health, community services, clubs and associations)