VCEA exists to advance the mission of Catholic education in Victoria, in the service of students, families and the broader community.
We assure the compliance of Victorian Catholic schools and boarding premises with the Minimum Standards. Complaints can identify when the minimum standards are breached. Investigations can help fix the problems.
Any member of the public can complain to us at no cost.
Sometimes we’re asked by government agencies like the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority or the Commission for Children and Young People to investigate a complaint.
Here’s how we investigate:
- we generally refer you to the school or the school’s proprietor if you haven’t been through their complaints processes already (but we reserve the right to investigate the complaint directly in some circumstances).
- If you have, we ask the school’s proprietor to show us how they and the school handled your complaint.
- We assess the information. We look for breaches of the Minimum Standards and determine if your complaint was managed fairly and in accordance with the school’s complaints policy.
Submit an online complaint
Submit your online complaint here.
What complaints can VCEA investigate?
| We can investigate | We can’t investigate |
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For example:
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For example:
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How do I make a complaint?
Please make your complaint in writing by either completing our online form or via sending a letter.
If you are unable to make a written complaint, you can call us on 03 8417 9300
| Online – | Click here
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| Mail – | Manager, Integrity and Assurance Victorian Catholic Education Authority Ltd PO Box 4220 Fitzroy VIC 3065 |
We ask you to:
- Provide complete and relevant information – to help us process your complaint.
- Understand that complex complaints take time to assess, manage and resolve
- Maintain realistic expectations about the outcomes of your complaint – VCEA can’t provide compensation or direct, alter or reverse an operational decision made by a school or school proprietor.
Provide as much information as you can, including the outcome you want.
We will acknowledge your complaint within five business days.
We can make findings regarding a school’s compliance with the Minimum Standards and identify opportunities to improve the school’s policies, procedures and practices.
What happens after I have made a complaint?
| Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |
| Assess | Investigate | Outcome |
| We will assess whether your complaint: · relates to the Minimum Standards · has first been to the school and proprietor. We will let you know if the complaint falls outside our scope. If the complaint is within our scope, we may request further information from you, the school or the proprietor.
| If we investigate, we may: · refer your complaint to the school or proprietor · request and review additional documentation from the proprietor, within 2 weeks. The VCEA can investigate directly, without referral to the school or proprietor.
| We will let you and the school proprietor know the outcome of our investigation. In some cases, once the complaint case is closed, we may arrange for a general review of the school’s compliance with the Minimum Standards. We aim to close 80 per cent of complaints within 45 days.
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Please see here for a full copy of VCEA’s School Complaint Handling Policy.
Questions?
My complaint was referred. Why?
Your school is best placed to work with you regarding your concerns. The complaints process follows this order:
- Speak to your school
Schools are required to have complaint handling processes. You can usually find it on their website.
If you have raised your concerns with your child’s teacher and are not satisfied, you may take your complaint to the principal.
If your concern is about a principal, and you do not want to raise it directly with the principal, contact your school proprietor.
- Speak to your school proprietor
Catholic school proprietors are responsible for the governance and operation of schools. If you can’t resolve the complaint with the school, or the complaint relates to a principal, you should contact the proprietor.
- Speak to us
If you have not been able to resolve your complaint with the school or school proprietor, then you should speak to us if it relates to the Minimum Standards.
How will VCEA manage my personal information?
VCEA manages complaints in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles. For a copy of VCEA’s Privacy Policy, please see here.
When handling your complaint, we will:
- only collect, use and disclose personal information where it is necessary to do so, or where authorised or required by law
- secure any personal information we collect to prevent loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.
When you make a complaint, you do not have to disclose sensitive health information about your child. If you do, VCEA will only keep personal information and health information for as long as needed for its purposes, or to comply with a law that requires some information to be retained for certain periods of time. When VCEA no longer requires this information, it will ensure that it is securely destroyed or de-identified.
When you make a complaint to the VCEA, your information will be kept confidential and recorded on a secure register. In most cases, we will need to talk to the school or school proprietor that your complaint relates to. This is so we can be fair to everyone involved. Remember, you have a right to complain, and a school or proprietor can not treat you unfairly because you have complained about them.
What outcomes can I expect from VCEA?
You can expect us to look at whether:
- a school has policies and procedures in place which reflect the Minimum Standards
- a school’s actions are consistent with their policies and procedures
- your complaint was handled with procedural fairness.
We may identify opportunities for the school to improve its policies, procedures and practices.
VCEA can’t provide compensation or direct, alter or reverse an operational decision made by a school or school proprietor.
Who else can I contact for help
If we can’t help, you may wish to contact one of the following organisations.
| Complaint type | Contact |
| About other schools: · Government schools · Independent schools | |
| Refunds, fees and charges | Consumer Affairs Victoria |
| Occupational health and safety breaches | WorkSafe Advisory Service |
| Discrimination (based on disability or any characteristics protected in the Equal Opportunity Act), sexual harassment, racial or religious vilification and victimisation | Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission |
| Child protection and welfare | Department of Families, Fairness and Housing |