Complaints

The AMC develops standards for medical education and training in all phases of medical education. In its processes for accreditation of programs of study, the AMC assesses education providers and their medical programs against the standards and monitors them to ensure they continue to meet the standards. 

From time to time, the AMC receives complaints about programs or providers it has accredited or is assessing for accreditation. 

Complaints usually fall into one or two categories: 

1. A personal complaint which the complainant seeks to have investigated and rectified so as to bring about a change to their personal situation. This would include, for example, matters such as selection, recognition of prior learning/experience, training post allocation, assessment outcomes, bullying, or dismissal from training.
   It is not the role of the AMC to investigate and manage personal complaints. The AMC’s accreditation standards require that providers have an effective process in place to handle such complaints. Applicants should use these processes. 
2. A systemic complaint which may evidence some systemic matter that could signify a failure of a program or provider to meet accreditation standards.

The AMC has developed comprehensive processes for managing systemic complaints. This includes distinguishing between: 

• Complaints received during the process of conducting an assessment for accreditation. During an assessment the AMC seeks comment and feedback from a range of people or organisations associated with the program or provider being assessed. Matters which might be characterised as complaints received during an assessment process will be treated as a part of the assessment process itself. 

• Complaints received outside a formal assessment process, which may be relevant to the AMC’s monitoring role. 

Further details on AMC’s complaints management processes in each of these situations can be found in the following process document.