Feedback and complaints

The AFP welcomes positive feedback and supports your right to complain.

The role of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is to investigate and prevent crimes against the Commonwealth and to protect Commonwealth and national interests in Australia and overseas. This includes performing a community policing role in the ACT.

Professional and personal values are pivotal to the AFP’s business. These values are integrity, commitment, excellence, accountability, fairness, trust and respect.

Additionally, all appointees must adhere to the AFP Code of Conduct which describes the Commissioner’s clear expectations regarding professional behaviour.

Your right to complain

The AFP supports your right to complain. You can complain about:

the conduct or actions of individual AFP appointees, or
the practices and procedures of the AFP.

A complaint can be made even in circumstances where:

the conduct or actions of the appointee occurred outside of Australia
the appointee was off-duty and their conduct breaches the AFP professional standards, or
the complainant cannot fully identify the AFP appointee concerned.

How to complain

A complaint must be lodged directly with the AFP. A complaint (excluding procurement-related complaints) can be lodged by:

completing an online form
attending or telephoning any AFP police station or office, or
contacting or writing to Australian Federal Police

Provide feedback to the AFP →

For information on procurement-related complaints see section entitled 'Procurement-related complaints' below.

The AFP recognises the community communicates in a range of ways. For those who require assistance in making a complaint to the AFP, the following services may be of use:

Help with translating and interpreting

The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) is an interpreting service to help people who do not speak English in their daily lives, and for agencies and businesses to communicate with their non-English speaking clients.

Contact TIS National on 131 450 (within Australia) or for more information, please visit the Translating and Interpreting Service website.

Help making a telephone call

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us through the National Relay Service.

Text telephone (TTY) or modem callers can contact the National Relay Service (NRS) on 133 677 (within Australia).

If it is hard for you to understand on the telephone you can use the Speech to Speech Relay (SSR) via the NRS on 1300 555 727 (within Australia).

NRS Chat (Internet Relay) users connect to the National Relay Service and ask for (02) 5126 8323.

What happens when you make a complaint?

Upon receipt, your complaint will undergo initial assessment by the AFP Workplace Issues and Complaints Resolution team. The AFP may contact you to seek further information or clarification regarding your complaint.

Minor misconduct complaints are referred for formal investigation by the Resolution Administrative Investigators. While Complaints regarding more serious misconduct will be referred to AFP Professional Standards.

Complaints relating to Corruption Issues are also referred to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI).

Where your complaint is not accepted, you will receive correspondence from us providing a reason for our decision.

Where your complaint is accepted for investigation, you can expect to be provided with an overview of the complaint process, and to be kept updated as to the progress and approximate time frames associated with the management of your complaint.

Feedback about the Australian Federal Police (English) (PDF, 1MB)

Claiming compensation from us

If the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has made an error that has caused you a financial loss or some other detriment, you might be able to make a claim for compensation.

Online forms

These online forms may be used to lodge a complaint about the conduct or actions of individual AFP appointees, or the practices and procedures of the AFP.

Provide feedback to the AFP →

It is important to ensure that all fields are completed with as much information as possible to avoid any unnecessary delay in processing your form.

If you have difficulties completing the forms, or for more information please contact the AFP Workplace Issues and Complaints Resolution team on the details below.

Contact

Workplace Issues Complaints Resolution Team
PO Box 401
Canberra City ACT 2601
Ph: (02) 5126 8323*
* This is an answering service only.

It is an offence under the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (CTH) to knowingly make a false complaint.

Procurement-related complaints

In accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) the AFP will apply timely, equitable and non-discriminatory procurement complaint management procedures.

The AFP will aim to resolve all matters internally by working directly with the complainant, where possible, through communication and conciliation.

All procurement-related complaints in relation to AFP procurement activities, in the first instance, should be raised with the AFP. This does not include contractual disputes which should be directed to the AFP Contract Manager as per the terms of the executed contract.

Formal procurement complaints must to be lodged by email addressed to the AFP Procurement Complaints Officer.

To assist the AFP in resolving complaints in a timely manner the emailed complaint should include the following information:

Procurement-related complaint checklist

Complainant contact details
Company name (registered name and trading name/s)*
ABN/ACN*
Registered address*
Telephone number/s*
E-mail address/es*
Complainant representative name and contact details (email address and phone number/s)*
Information on the procurement
AusTender ID (ATM ID/CN ID/SON ID)*
Estimated contract value
Product or service being procured*
UNSPSC code
Relevant times and dates (i.e. issuance of tender, tender closing, and contract award)
Complaint particulars
Detailed statement of all relevant events and facts in support of complaint*
Relevant times and dates*
Provisions of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules that have allegedly been breached*
Statement of form of relief requested
Remedy being sought*
Complaint costs and/or tender preparation costs, if applicable*
Postponement of contract award, if applicable*
Attachments
Any other information which will be of benefit to resolve the complaint including any correspondence or other evidence

*Mandatory information for those procurement-related complaints which fall within the scope of the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (the Act).

Further information on procurement-related complaints refer to Department of Finance website.

Identifying and Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct

You have a right to complain about perceived failings or issues that affect you which arise from dealings with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The AFP welcomes and values your feedback but will not accept unreasonable complainant conduct.

Unreasonable complainant conduct occurs when the conduct raises substantial health, safety, resource or equity issues for the AFP, its staff and/or clients. Behaviours that may constitute unreasonable complainant conduct include:

Aggressive or abusive language
Threats of violence and harm against individuals and property, including threats of self-harm
Malicious complaints made to damage a person’s career or reputation
Vexatious complaints made without substantive evidence
Unreasonable demands for action which falls outside of the scope and standards of this policy
Unreasonable persistence including refusal to accept an outcome, resolution and/or pursuing a closed complaint without any new information.

Further, section 40YB of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth) makes it an offence for a person to give information relating to a conduct or practice issue which they know to be false.

In the event that you make threatening or abusive statements which indicate a risk of harm or violence, the AFP reserves its right to deal with such conduct within its jurisdiction or report your conduct to the appropriate state or territory authorities, including relevant state and territory police/law enforcement.

If satisfied that you are otherwise acting unreasonably, the AFP may take steps to minimise or control staff dealings with you by:

Responding with advice that your feedback will not be assigned to the responsible business area, and an invitation to re-submit your feedback without the use of inappropriate language or sentiment.

Public interest certificates

Under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 the AFP must publish all Public Interest Certificates (PICs) issued against relevant covered procurement activities.

A schedule (and copies) of PICs issued by the AFP for the current financial year can be found here.

Positive feedback

Use this form to provide positive feedback in relation to an AFP appointee. Alternatively you may attend or telephone any AFP police station or office, or write to the AFP Workplace Issues Complaints Resolution Team.