Victoria Police

What types of complaints can you make?

You can make a complaint if you’ve had a negative experience with a Victoria Police officer or Protective Services Officer (PSO). This could be about how you were treated, how a situation was handled, or something more serious like misconduct or discrimination. This includes:

• Poor treatment or service: If police were rude, dismissive, didn’t act on a report, or took too long to respond.
• Misconduct or abuse of power: If police used excessive force, behaved aggressively, acted unlawfully, or broke ethical standards.
• Unlawful arrest or detention: If you were arrested or held without a valid reason or proper legal process.
• Discrimination or harassment: If you were treated unfairly because of your race, gender, disability, or other personal attributes.
• Sexual misconduct: If a police officer made sexual comments, touched you inappropriately, or acted in a sexually threatening way.
• Threats, bullying or intimidation: If a police officer scared or pressured you using threats, abuse, or unfair behaviour.
• Privacy breaches: If a police officer accessed or shared your private information without a good reason.
• Corruption or criminal conduct: If you believe a police officer broke the law (like stealing, lying in a report, or taking bribes).
• Family violence by a police officer: If a police officer is abusing their partner or family member.
• Failure to act properly: If police ignored a serious issue or didn’t investigate properly.
• Improper search or entry: If police searched you or your property without following legal steps.
• No interpreter or accessibility support: If police didn’t offer an interpreter or support for your disability or health condition.
• Retaliation for making a complaint: If you were harassed or unfairly treated after making a complaint.

Who can complain, and when?

You can make a complaint if the issue involves a Victoria Police officer or PSO, even if it happened outside a station, on the street, or in custody. It must relate to police conduct or behaviour in Victoria.

There’s no formal time limit, but it’s best to complain as soon as possible. Delays can:

• Make it harder to gather evidence
• Affect how seriously your complaint is taken
• Be used against you in court if you’re facing charges
• Make police less likely to act or investigate thoroughly

If you wait, you should record why and gather evidence early to improve your chances of being believed.

How complaints are handled:

Victoria Police decides how to handle your complaint based on how serious it is:

• Serious matters like corruption, criminal conduct, or abuse must be formally investigated.
• Less serious matters may be handled through advice, feedback, or internal review - not a formal investigation.

If the complaint involves criminal behaviour, it may be referred to IBAC (the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission) instead of Victoria Police.

You can’t complain to Victoria Police about the following:

• Court decisions: decisions made by judges or magistrates
• Fines or infringements: like parking tickets or speeding fines (separate appeals process)
• Matters before the courts: if the issue is already part of a court case, police won’t investigate until it’s over
• Complaints about other departments: like Centrelink, local councils or Corrections
• Private disputes: like neighbour issues or business disagreements that don’t involve police misconduct
• Anonymous complaints with no detail: police need enough information to take action
• Complaints about execution of warrants: you generally can’t sue or complain unless you’ve first asked to see a copy of the warrant and waited six days, or been refused
• Delayed complaints: while allowed, may be seen as less credible unless reasons and evidence are clearly provided

Who can you make a complaint against?

You can make a complaint about either individual police staff or Victoria Police as an organisation, depending on what happened.

• ‍Individuals: You can complain about any person employed by Victoria Police, including:
  
  • Police officers
  • Protective Services Officers (PSOs)
  • Police Custody Officers (PCOs)
  • Other Victoria Police employees (e.g. staff at a station)

• Victoria Police as an organisation: You can also complain about broader issues involving the systems, processes, or decisions of Victoria Police, especially if multiple staff or a whole unit was involved.

Victoria Police can’t accept complaints about:

• People who don’t work for Victoria Police:
  
  • Public transport officers (e.g. Authorised Officers on trains)
  • Prison or corrections staff
  • Court workers or magistrates
  • Local council rangers
  • Centrelink or other government agency staff
  • Private security guards (even if at a hospital or government site)

• Fines, speed cameras, and infringements:
  
  • Parking tickets, speeding fines, or red-light camera penalties
  • Disputes about where cameras are located
  • Requests to have a fine reviewed or cancelled

Other information:

If your complaint involves serious corruption or criminal behaviour (especially by senior officers) it may be referred to IBAC (Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission).

You can make complaints to both Victoria Police and IBAC at the same time if you’re unsure who should handle it.

Are you eligible to make a complaint?

Who can make a complaint?

• ‍Anyone can make a complaint if they’ve had any interaction with a member of Victoria Police.
• You don’t need to be arrested or charged. Even a conversation or incident at a train station, protest, or police station can be enough.

Do you need to take any steps first?

No, there are no pre-conditions. You don’t need to try and resolve the issue before making a complaint.

But your complaint must be about serious or improper conduct. Under the law, this includes:

• Actions that could be a criminal offence (punishable by jail)
• Behaviour that could damage public trust in Victoria Police
• Conduct that is disgraceful, improper, or brings the force into disrepute

This can include both on-duty and off-duty behaviour by police officers.‍

Can you complain on behalf of someone else?

• Yes, you can complain on someone’s behalf.
• But you’ll need to fill out a short Authority to Act form together.  Download the form here‍
• If submitting your complaint online:
  → You’ll need the reference number from your submission before filling out the form.
• If submitting in person or by post:
  → You’ll be prompted to complete the form when you lodge the complaint.

Are there time limits?

There’s no official time limit. You can still lodge a complaint after weeks or months. But be aware:

• The longer you wait, the harder it might be to gather evidence
• Investigators may see delays as a reason to doubt your complaint
• If you were also charged in the incident, they may treat your complaint more cautiously

If you do delay, it’s important to write down why, and keep good records.

Tips before you submit:

To help your complaint be taken seriously:

• Write down everything you remember as soon as you can
• Save any evidence: emails, photos, medical records, video, etc.
• If others witnessed the event, ask if they’ll provide a statement or footage

Even small details can help support your account later.

What can this body do to help?

If Victoria Police agrees with your complaint, a range of outcomes are possible. They will depend on how serious the behaviour was, and what needs to be done to prevent it happening again. This includes:

Disciplinary or Individual Action: These remedies focus on the officer(s) involved:

• Formal discipline: The officer may be warned, suspended, demoted, or even dismissed in serious cases.
• Caution or further training: For less serious issues (like rudeness or delay), the officer may receive extra training, supervision, or a caution.
• Managerial intervention: Their manager may step in to set clear expectations, adjust duties, or monitor future conduct.
• Professional Conduct Resolution: For lower-level issues, this might involve a structured conversation between the officer and their manager, aimed at improving behaviour and accountability.

Organisational or Systemic Action: These focus on fixing bigger problems inside Victoria Police:

• Internal policy change: If your complaint highlights poor systems or repeated issues, police may update their policies, training, or processes to prevent it happening again.
• Referral to IBAC: If the complaint involves serious misconduct (like corruption or criminal behaviour), Victoria Police may refer it to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) for investigation under public interest disclosure laws.

Apology, Acknowledgement, or Explanation:

• You may receive a written apology or formal acknowledgement from Victoria Police.
• This is common when the behaviour wasn’t serious enough for formal action but your experience is still recognised as valid.

Ex-Gratia Payment (in rare cases):

• In some cases, you can ask for a payment (known as an ex gratia payment).
• This is a gesture of goodwill and is not guaranteed. Victoria Police decides whether to offer it and how much.
• These payments usually occur only where serious harm or injustice has occurred.

No Further Action: Sometimes, Victoria Police may decide to take no action. This usually happens if:

• There’s not enough evidence
• The officer’s conduct didn’t break any rules or laws
• The complaint can’t be substantiated

Even if no action is taken, your complaint is still recorded and reviewed, and may inform broader training or policy changes.

How to prepare your complaint:

Before you submit your complaint, make sure it clearly explains what happened, who was involved, and why you’re concerned. You’ll need to fill out the Victoria Police Complaint Form (either online or by downloading a hard copy).

Here’s what to include:

• Your details: You can choose to remain anonymous. But if you want updates, you’ll need to include your name, address, date of birth, phone number, email, and whether you or the affected person is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. You can also ask for an interpreter.
• Who you’re complaining about: Say whether the complaint is about an individual officer (or staff member) or about Victoria Police policies, procedures, or systems. If possible, include the names of any officers involved.
• What happened: Be clear and specific. Include:
  • The date, time, and location
  • A detailed account of the incident
  • Names and contact details of any witnesses
  • Any evidence (photos, videos, penalty notices, documents)
  • Vehicle registration numbers (if a police car was involved)
• Previous complaints: Mention if you’ve already raised the issue with Victoria Police, IBAC, the Minister for Police, or any other body.

What not to include:

• Don’t use language that’s aggressive or exaggerated
• Don’t make false or misleading claims. This can undermine your complaint

Additional tips:

• If you’re submitting a complaint on someone else’s behalf, you’ll need to fill out an Authority to Act form within 5 days of lodging the complaint.
• If you’re in police custody, you don’t have to answer questions about whether you want to make a complaint, and you cannot be detained for refusing to answer.
• You can say “not yet” and lodge your complaint after release, especially if you want legal advice first.
• If making a complaint after custody, explain any delay clearly. This can help maintain your credibility.

Lodging your complaint and next steps:

Once your complaint is ready, here’s how to submit it, and what to expect after that.

Where to send your complaint:

• Online: Submit the complaint form
• Email: psc-policeconductunitcomplaintsandcompliments@police.vic.gov.au
• Post: Police Conduct Unit, GPO Box 913, Melbourne VIC 3001
• Phone: 1300 363 101 (for help or more information)
• In person: You can lodge a complaint at any police station in Victoria

What happens after you submit your complaint:

• Confirmation: If you provided contact details, you’ll get a confirmation email.
• Investigation: Your complaint will likely be investigated by Victoria Police, even if you also submitted it to IBAC.
  • More serious complaints are usually prioritised.
  • Trivial or clearly unfounded complaints may be dismissed.
  • The process may include interviews with you and other witnesses, and could involve legal or expert advice.
• Timeframe: Most investigations take several months.
• Outcome: You’ll receive a letter with the result.
  • This may not explain the decision in detail.
  • Fitzroy Legal Service has a guide to interpreting common outcome terms.

Helpful reminders:

• Keep a copy of everything you submit
• Let the police know if your contact details or situation changes
• Try to give all the important facts upfront. Providing key information later on can slow things down or weaken your complaint

More information:

Refer to the factsheet provided below for more information.