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How we can help
The Department of Health addresses complaints related to services we provide, fund, or regulate. This includes hospitals, community health, aged care, patient transport, cemeteries/crematoria, GP and primary care.
Examples of complaints we handle include:
- Access to services - long wait times, appointment delays, referral issues
- Health and safety concerns - infections, medication errors, unsafe equipment
- Respect and care - rough handling, discrimination, neglect of personal needs
- Communication - rudeness, lack of updates, not being involved in decisions
- Privacy breaches - unauthorised access or sharing of records
- Poor complaint handling - poor or delayed responses from providers
If your complaint relates to any of these, or to how we’ve handled a previous complaint, you can contact us directly.
If your complaint relates to something else, check the list of complaints we don't manage or accept for more information.
To make a complaint about the care or treatment you received at a public hospital or private health service, you should first contact them directly. This is often the fastest way to resolve it.
Submit a complaint
Choose one of the following ways to submit your complaint:
- Email: health.feedback@health.vic.gov.au
- Post: Health Feedback, GPO Box 4057, Melbourne VIC 3000
- Online: via our online form
We are currently unable to receive complaints by telephone.
More information
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You can choose to remain anonymous with your complaint. However, please note:
- We may not be able to investigate your complaint fully without certain information.
- We won’t be able to contact you with updates or outcomes.
If you choose to make an anonymous complaint, try to include as much detail as possible.
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When you make a complaint to us, the information you provide may be shared with relevant areas of the Department of Health so we can follow up appropriately. This includes any personal or health details.
We may need to:
- investigate your concerns in more detail, and
- collect information or documents from others to better understand your experience.
In some cases, we may also need to involve a third party, such as the health service where you received care. If this happens, we may need to share relevant personal or health information with them to support the investigation.
If you do not consent to your information being shared with relevant areas or third parties, it may limit our ability to help resolve your complaint.
We may also need to contact you to request further information.
For more details on how we collect, use and protect your personal and health information, read our privacy policy.
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We aim to acknowledge complaints within 3 business days. Most straightforward complaints are resolved within 30 days. If it takes longer, we will update you and explain why.
During investigation, we may:
- contact you for more details or consent to access health records
- contact the relevant service provider
- discuss the outcome with you before finalising.
You will normally receive a written response with reasons for decisions and contact details for further questions.
If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can request a review. If you’re still unhappy, we will explain external options.
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We welcome positive feedback and will share compliments with the relevant staff or service.
You can send this to us with the same way you submit a complaint.
Reviewed 06 October 2025