The National Conservative Party is committed to the essential elements of an effective complaints handling process and shall, as a minimum, satisfy the following criteria:

• Commitment to efficient and fair resolution of complaints by people in the organisation at all levels;
• Fairness of the complaint handling process;
• Adequate resources for complaints handling;
• Complaints handling process should be visible to members and staff;
• Complaints handling process should be accessible and readily available to members and staff;
• Assistance shall be available to formalise and lodge a complaint;
• Responsiveness – a complaint shall be dealt with quickly and professionally at no charge to the complainant;
• The process should be able to identify and rectify systemic and recurring issues;
• Have accountability and appropriately documented performance standards;
• Reviews conducted on a regular basis to ensure efficient delivering and effective outcomes.

The terms “complaints” and “disputes” should be considered as interchangeable. Not all complaints are disputes. Many are simply the result of poor communication and can be easily resolved. However, members will not differentiate when it comes to serious complaints they are prepared to lodge formally. These are the issues that as a Party, we need to monitor and handle. It is difficult to define what is a complaint, however, it can be any expression of dissatisfaction, whether oral or written, and whether justified or not, about a service of activity relating to the Party services offered, provided or withheld.