Service charter

This service charter sets out the standard of service you can expect to receive from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Our charter:

applies to everyone who interacts with us
states what you can expect when you interact with us
asks how you can assist us to provide you with an excellent service
outlines the steps you can take if you want to provide feedback or make a complaint about our services.

Our role

We are a statutory authority established under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 (AMSA Act), with the primary role to:

promote maritime safety and protection of the marine environment
prevent and combat ship-sourced pollution in the marine environment
provide infrastructure to support safe navigation in Australian waters
provide a national search and rescue service to the maritime and aviation sectors
provide, on request, services to the maritime industry on a commercial basis
provide, on request, services of a maritime nature on a commercial basis to the Commonwealth and/or states and territories.

Our service commitment

We will:

treat you with courtesy and respect
invest in innovative and digital solutions to allow you to access our services at a time, place and on a device convenient to you
be fair, open, and reasonable in all that we do
give you clear, accurate and timely information or help you to find it
collect, store, use and disclose your personal information
protect and handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy.

Your responsibilities

You can:

work with us to resolve your enquiry
understand your requirements and gather information specific to your enquiry
comply with Australian Government requirements relevant to your enquiry
be honest, fair, courteous and respectful towards our staff
give us relevant, accurate and complete information, and where possible supporting documentation, in a timely manner
inform us, as soon as possible, of any changes to your circumstances
let us know if you have specific requirement. We can arrange for an interpreter service or other assistance to help you understand or access our services
not offer us gifts, money, or other favours
report corruption, misconduct and behaviour that is unethical or lacking in integrity.

Our service standards

We aim to provide a consistent and reliable service.

We will strive to:

acknowledge receipt of enquiries, feedback and complaints within 2 working days
resolve your enquiry or complaint as soon as we can and within 20 working days. If it takes longer, we will keep you updated on our progress until your enquiry is resolved.
process your application within the legislated timeframe.

Once you have received our response or solution, please let us know within 5 working days if you’re not satisfied with the outcome. Otherwise, we will assume you are satisfied.

Please note: Working days do not include public holidays, weekends and Christmas shut down period.

Complaints

Feedback and complaint handling process

We welcome your complaints and feedback. Your feedback is used as an indicator of our performance against our service standards and helps us to improve the way we do things.

It is important to know what works well. By telling us when you have received excellent customer service and what we got right helps us to recognise the efforts of our people and to ensure we replicate best practice across AMSA.

We will aim to resolve all complaints within 20 working days, however depending upon the nature of the complaint response times may vary. All complaints will be managed in a confidential manner, and you will be provided with updates during the investigation of your complaint.

You can provide all other written feedback and complaints by sending an email to feedbackandcomplaints@amsa.gov.au.

We have dedicated forms for complaints or feedback relating to the following areas:

Accredited marine surveyor

How we treat your complaint

Once we acknowledge receipt of your complaint:

a staff member will be assigned to your complaint and will aim to contact you within 5 working days.
the staff member may need to speak to you to confirm your identity if they need to access and discuss your personal information.
the staff member will work closely with you and may request you to provide further details to finalise the complaint.
the staff member will aim to resolve your complaint within 20 working days.

You can call AMSA Connect and we will direct you to the staff member managing your complaint.

During the complaint resolution process, the staff member will:

keep you informed of the progress of your complaint
allow you to provide additional information or comments before finalising the complaint
provide you with a clear and concise explanation of the action taken to resolve the complaint and the reasons for the decision
provide further information about further rights of review, including approaching other agencies such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint.

If you are not happy with the complaint resolution:

Contact the staff member you have been dealing with. If you are not satisfied, please ask to speak with their supervisor or manager
If you remained dissatisfied after taking these steps, you can write to:

Chief Executive Officer
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
GPO Box 2181
CANBERRA ACT 2601

send an email to feedbackandcomplaints@amsa.gov.au

Finally, if you are not satisfied with the response provided by the AMSA CEO or the way we have handled your complaint, contact:

Commonwealth Ombudsman
GPO Box 442
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: 02 6276 0111
Toll Free: 1300 362 072

Need help contacting us?

If you need help interacting with us, you can access telephone interpreting services through the Translating and Interpreting Service by calling 13 14 50.

Administrative decisions and Freedom of Information

This service charter deals with the quality of service that we provide to you, our clients. If you are not satisfied with an administrative decision that affects you, you may have the right to seek review of that decision. We notify you of your rights of review and appeal when delivering an administrative decision. The public also are entitled to apply for access to documents that fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.