The Department of Health and Aged Care responded that complaints mechanisms being accountable is of importance in promoting community trust and use of such mechanisms. The level of public scrutiny varies according to the various tiers in the process. For example, the detail of individual consumer disputes and misconduct investigations are not usually made public. However, aggregated information concerning such matters should be reported. Consumer confidence and a perception of professional responsiveness is generated through transparency in complaints and discipline systems where the expectations, operations and procedures of parties are clearly communicated.
Transparency is the idea of open, candid and honest information.
For example, the Professional Standard Council's creation of its standards through a dissemination process, inviting public comment and participation in the drawing together of the elements, both essential and aspirational, and the publication of the final benchmark, illustrates the fundamental principal of a consumers right to know. The public can ascertain from the documents how a decision was reached and have a level of comfort that decisions will be made by reference to the consistent application of set of publicly available measures. Accountability and transparency require a degree of disclosure and exposure to the public. By way of the Professional Standards Council's website, the consumer will have online access to the information about the standards, professionals who are concerned about the continuous improvement of professional standards, and who wish to bolster the complaints and discipline system, will have access to the Professional Standards Council's resource. One of the concerns expressed by consumers is the veil of secrecy in which disciplinary proceedings in the professions are often conducted.