Number of public complaints reported
Complaint categories | Sub-categories | Example | Number of complaints |
Communication | Communication quality | Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer | 41 |
Service delivery | Process | Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive | 48 |
Service quality | Access to information | Incorrect, incomplete, out-dated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose. Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met | 19 |
Professional behaviour | Staff attitude | Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency | 1 |
Policy | Policy application | Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given | 2 |
No case to answer | No case to answer | Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate | 74 |
Total | 185 |
Additional metrics | Total |
|---|---|
Number of positive feedback comments | 38 |
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes | 86% |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/organization/attorney-general-s-dept (external site)
Service improvements
The Public Trustee continued its commitment to listening to customers through the annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. The survey collected feedback from customers across Wills, Estate Administration, Documents Revoked, Financial Administration and Trust Services, with 711 responses received in 2026, an increase from 448 responses in 2025.
In 2026, additional telephone interviewing was introduced for Financial Administration customers to improve the overall response rate and strengthen representation within this service group.
The strongest satisfaction result was recorded for Wills Services, which achieved a mean satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5. Customers using Wills Services reported very high levels of satisfaction with staff professionalism, timely service, clear explanations and the overall experience. Trust Services also recorded an improved result from the previous year.
Customers continued to provide positive feedback about the professionalism, knowledge, respectfulness and helpfulness of Public Trustee staff. Across service areas, customers frequently recognised staff for being polite, caring, respectful and willing to assist, particularly where information was explained clearly and customers felt supported through important personal, financial or estate planning decisions.
The survey also identified areas where customers want improvement, particularly more regular progress updates, faster responses to calls and emails, clearer explanations of fees and charges, better information about timeframes and decisions, and stronger service continuity when staff change. The Public Trustee will use this feedback to guide ongoing service improvement, with a focus on communication, responsiveness, transparency and consistency of customer experience.
Work has continued on improvements to our call management processes for web-based telephony solution, CXone. The improvements implemented serve to enhance responsiveness and the customer experience by utilising modern call queuing and call back options.
Complaints are tracked throughout the year to determine common trends and improvement opportunities. The information from each of these sources, along with the initiative’s customer services branches have developed to address the trends, is considered at a quarterly Customer Experience Committee forum and Audit Risk Management Committee.