Grievance Policy

Grievances can be lodged through our Feedback Form or by contacting the Managing Director, Nick Crowther through our office.

At Freerange Future, we are committed to fostering respectful, ethical and accountable relationships with all our stakeholders — including clients, partners, collaborators, and community members. We take concerns and grievances seriously and handle them with fairness, transparency and care.

We welcome feedback and grievances as opportunities to improve. Freerange Future has an obligation to treat all complaints of misconduct, discrimination, harassment, breaches of contract or ethical concerns seriously. All grievances will be handled confidentially and impartially, investigated promptly, and where appropriate, remedial action will be taken.

The process for managing stakeholder grievances is as follows:

• A grievance can be submitted to Nick Crowther, Managing Director at Freerange Future.
• A grievance does not have to be in writing, though written records are encouraged to assist the process.
• The grievance will be managed fairly and in line with the principles of natural justice.
• Natural justice includes the right to be heard, the right to a fair and unbiased decision, and the right to respond to allegations.
• There will be no adverse action taken against a stakeholder for lodging a grievance in good faith.
• The grievance will be handled confidentially. The person managing the grievance will be independent and impartial from any party involved. This may be the Managing Director, or an external party where appropriate.
• All parties have the right to nominate a support person to be involved.
• Any party requiring an Auslan or language interpreter will be provided with a professional interpreter.
• Grievances will be treated with urgency and handled according to the following steps:
• The person managing the grievance will contact the complainant to acknowledge receipt and begin discussion, typically within 2 working days of receipt.
• The individual or team involved in the grievance will be informed of the concern and given a fair opportunity to respond.
• Relevant information and evidence, including witness statements if applicable, will be gathered.
• The initial investigation process will generally be completed within 10 working days.
• A report documenting the investigation process, findings and recommendations will be prepared and reviewed by the Managing Director.
• Based on the findings and relevant factors, the Managing Director will determine appropriate actions to resolve the grievance.
• The parties involved will be informed of the outcome and next steps. If a stakeholder is not satisfied with the outcome, an appeal may be lodged within 3 working days to the Managing Director for further review.
• The Managing Director will implement any agreed resolutions, monitor grievance outcomes and take action to prevent recurrence of similar issues.
• A grievance may also be escalated to an appropriate external body (e.g., an ombudsman, regulatory body, or legal entity), and doing so will not prevent Freerange Future from continuing its internal grievance process if appropriate.