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FITLY

Complaints Policy

Version 3.3 · 20 October 2026 · Document ID FITLY-CP-3.3 · In force from 2 November 2026

Provided by Matthew Eric Totton (ABN 15 904 586 244), trading as FITLY Personal Training. In this document, FITLY, we, us and our mean Matthew Eric Totton (ABN 15 904 586 244) trading as FITLY Personal Training. Words with capital letters, such as Coaching, Consultation, Coached Session, Programmed Session and Guardian, mean what they mean in your Coaching Agreement. Session means a Coached Session or a Programmed Session. Client and Former Client mean what they mean in our Privacy Policy.

The short version

Anyone can complain to FITLY about anything to do with our service. You do not need an account, a form or any special words. Tell us in the app, by email, by message or in person, and we will write it down. We will confirm we have it within 3 business days. You can use another name, or none. You can also contact a regulator whenever you like, and you do not need our permission to do that. Some regulators will ask whether you have raised the matter with us first. They are listed, with how to reach them, below. We will not treat you any worse because you complained. Nothing here limits any right you have under Australian Consumer Law.

Who can complain, and what counts as a Complaint

Anyone can complain. You do not need to be a Client. This policy applies to you from the moment we offer you a Consultation, and it applies if you have never been offered one.

Complaints can come from:

  • a Client or a Former Client;
  • a Prospect, which means a person who has enquired about, booked or attended a Consultation, or answered the pre-consultation questions, and has not signed a Coaching Agreement;
  • a Guardian, whether or not they have signed a Parent or Guardian Agreement;
  • anyone acting for, or worried about, another person, whether or not that person is a Client;
  • anyone who has never used our app.

A Complaint is anything you tell us, in any way, that says you are unhappy with our service, with something Matthew did or did not do, with how your information was handled, with a charge, with how you were treated or whether your needs were met, or with how an earlier Complaint was handled. It does not matter whether you call it a complaint. Anything you write in the app, a text, a direct message, an email, or something you say at a Session counts. If you only want to know how a charge was worked out, ask and we will explain it. If you think a charge is wrong, that is a Complaint.

A business day is a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in Victoria.

Complaints about Coaching given to someone else. If you are complaining about Coaching given to another person, such as a family member, we take it, record it and answer it the same way as a Client's own Complaint. We may not be able to tell you about another person's health information, or about what happened in their Consultation or Sessions, unless that person agrees or the law allows it. If that person is 16 or 17, we talk with them first about what can be shared.

How to make a Complaint

Use whichever way is easiest for you. You do not need an account, a login, a signed document or proof of who you are.

  • In the app. Write to Matthew in the app.
  • By email. Write to hello@fitlyapp.net. For a Complaint about how your personal information was handled, you can also write to privacy@fitlyapp.net.
  • In person. Tell Matthew at a Session or at your Consultation.
  • By message. Any text or direct message to Matthew counts.

To send a photo or a document, use the app, or reply to our confirmation email.

You can also complain about how we handled an earlier Complaint.

Help to complain. If writing is hard, say so. Matthew will write down what you tell him and send it back to you to check. If you need an interpreter to contact any body listed in this policy, TIS National is on 131 450. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, the National Relay Service can help. You can have this policy in large print, as audio or in plain text if you ask. Tell us what else would help you take part, and we will work out reasonable adjustments with you.

Using another name, or none. You can complain under any name you like, or none. If you want a reply, we need some way to reach you, such as an email address that does not show your name. We may not be able to look into a Complaint about what happened in one person's Consultation or Session unless we can tell which one it was, and we cannot discuss any person's information with someone we cannot confirm is entitled to it. Coaching itself needs your real details (Privacy Policy, section 3).

What we do with your Complaint, and when

Matthew reads every Complaint himself. These are the steps.

  1. We record it in your words. We keep a Complaints Register, kept separate from any Client Record or other health information we hold, and kept confidential. We record every Complaint, however small and however it reaches us. A message that is a Complaint but was not sent as one is recorded as one.
  2. We confirm we have it within 3 business days, if you gave us a way to reach you. We use the same way you contacted us. The confirmation says that we have it, the date we received it and what happens next. It does not describe or comment on what you told us.
  3. We ask early what you would like to happen.
  4. We tell you what happens next, and when you will next hear from us, and we keep you updated until it is finished. If a date changes, we tell you why.
  5. Matthew looks into it. He writes down what he finds out from the records and from you.
  6. You see the proposed response before it is final, and you can comment on it.
  7. You get a written response. It says what was looked at, what the facts are, and what Matthew is doing. It gives the reasons for the outcome, including when the answer is no. It sets out facts and decisions. It does not give an opinion on who is legally responsible for anything, because that is for a court or tribunal to decide. It says what else you can do, including contacting the Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria).
  8. We aim to finish within 90 days. That is an aim, not a promise. If your Complaint is not resolved after 3 months, you can take it to the Health Complaints Commissioner.
  9. When it is closed, we ask how we handled it. You do not have to answer.

Accepting a response from us does not stop you contacting any body listed below.

What the record says. The Complaints Register records what you told us, what was looked at, what was found, what was done and when. It records what happened. It does not record a guess about a cause, and it does not blame anyone.

How long we keep it. For a Client or Former Client, a Complaint record is kept for 12 years after the last session, like the other records that would help prove or answer a claim. For anyone else it is kept for 7 years after the Complaint is closed, or for 12 years from the event if an injury is alleged (Privacy Policy, section 10). You can ask for a copy of your Complaint record.

If your Complaint is about Matthew

Matthew Totton is the only person at FITLY, so he is also the person who receives a Complaint about himself. He says so in his first reply. He deals with it the same way as any other Complaint, and he gives you the Health Complaints Commissioner's details again.

If you do not want him to handle it, you can contact the Health Complaints Commissioner without waiting. The Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic) lets you do that if it would be unreasonable or inappropriate to complain to us first (section 5(2)(a)). If you ask, Matthew helps you contact it. You can bring a person to support you to any conversation with us about your Complaint.

There is nobody else at FITLY to review Matthew's response, so there is no internal appeal. The independent routes are the bodies listed below.

If something happens to you at a Session

If you are hurt, or something else happens to you, during a Session with Matthew in person, he gives first aid and calls 000 if emergency help is needed. If it happens while you train on your own, for example in Online Coaching, Matthew cannot give first aid: call 000 in an emergency, then tell Matthew when you can. Either way, Matthew tells you what he knows of what happened, as soon as he can, and writes down what was observed, when and where, who was there, what was done, and what you said you felt. He then takes steps to lower the risk of it happening again. If it is serious he reports it where the law requires. This is separate from a Complaint, and you can also make a Complaint about it. The Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic), Schedule 2, clause 5, requires these steps.

Complaints about your personal information

We deal with a Complaint about your personal information the same way as any other Complaint, with the same record and the same confirmation within 3 business days. Matthew answers in writing as soon as he can. If it will take longer than 30 days from the day we receive it, we tell you why and give you a date. The answer says what he found and the reasons, and what you can do next. Section 12 of the Privacy Policy sets out the same steps, and sections 11 and 12 explain how to see or correct your information.

The law adds a condition for two bodies. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) must not investigate a privacy complaint you have not first made to us, unless it considers it was not appropriate for you to complain to us first (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) s 40(1A)). The Health Complaints Commissioner may decline a health-privacy complaint you have not raised with us (Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) s 51(1)(c)). So for a privacy matter, tell us first.

Will it count against me if I complain

No. We do not threaten, pressure or disadvantage you, or anyone connected with you, because you made a Complaint, are thinking about making one, took part in a regulator's process, or shared an honest review of our service.

That means we do not suspend, end, restrict, refuse to rebook, or hold back a refund or your records because of a Complaint. If we suspend, end or change any of those things while a Complaint is open, or after you complained, we tell you the reason in writing, and the reason is not that you complained. No refund, outcome or continued Coaching depends on you dropping or withdrawing a Complaint, staying quiet or taking down a review. Dealing with a Complaint never involves a promise to stay quiet, to say nothing bad about us, or to give up a right. If a legal claim for money is later settled, the settlement may include the usual terms that end that claim, but it never stops you from contacting or helping a regulator, or from leaving an honest review.

This applies to every kind of Complaint, including about discrimination, harassment and access, and to Complaints to any regulator.

Discrimination, harassment and access

Tell us if you think you were treated unfairly because of your age, sex, pregnancy, disability, race or another protected attribute, if you were harassed, or if you did not get reasonable adjustments. That is a Complaint. It comes through the same route, with the same confirmation, record and written reasons. We do not turn it away because it is "not a health complaint". You can also contact the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (Victorian law) or the Australian Human Rights Commission (Commonwealth law).

Where else you can take it

You can contact any of these bodies whenever you like, to ask a question or to complain. They are free to contact, you do not need our permission, and you can use more than one. Some will ask whether you have raised the matter with us.

Contact details were last read on each body's own website on 7 October 2026.

Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria)

For Complaints about the Coaching itself, a person's conduct, something that happened in a Session, how a Complaint was handled, or how your health information was handled (Health Records Act 2001 (Vic)). It decides for itself whether it can deal with a Complaint. If you are not sure, ask it.

  • Phone: 1300 582 113, 9.30am to 3.00pm, Monday to Friday. If your matter is urgent, phone rather than using the form.
  • Online: hcc.vic.gov.au/make-complaint
  • Cost: it is free, and it is impartial.
  • Help: for an interpreter, call TIS National on 131 450. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, use the National Relay Service.

How it fits with us:

  • You can go to the Commissioner without complaining to us first if it would be unreasonable or inappropriate to complain to us (Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic) s 5(2)(a)).
  • You can go to it directly if you think we did not follow the General Code of Conduct (s 5(2)(b)).
  • You can go to it once 3 months have passed without your Complaint being resolved (s 5(2)(c)).
  • You can complain to it about how we handled your Complaint (s 5(2)(d)).
  • A Complaint to it must be made within 12 months of the service finishing, or, if the service was never provided, within 12 months of when you sought it. It may deal with a later one if the circumstances require it (s 8).
  • A Complaint to it about the service may be made orally or in writing (s 9).
  • A Complaint to it about how your health information was handled is made under the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and must be in writing (s 45(4)). The Commissioner must help you write it if you need help (s 45(6)). It may decline one made more than 12 months after you became aware of what happened (s 51(1)(d)), or one you have not first raised with us (s 51(1)(c)).

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

For personal information (Commonwealth law). A privacy Complaint to it must be in writing, and its staff must help you write one if you need help (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) s 36(3), (4)). It may decide not to investigate a Complaint made more than 12 months after you became aware of what happened (s 41(1)(c)).

  • Phone: 1300 363 992, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Thursday.
  • Online: oaic.gov.au

Consumer Affairs Victoria (Victorian law)

For money, billing, refunds, contract terms, misleading claims and your consumer rights.

  • Phone: 1300 55 81 81, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays).
  • Online: consumer.vic.gov.au

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (Victorian law)

For discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification and victimisation in Victoria.

  • Phone: 1300 292 153, weekdays 10am to 2pm.
  • Online: humanrights.vic.gov.au/complaints

Australian Human Rights Commission (Commonwealth law)

For discrimination and human rights Complaints under Commonwealth law.

  • Phone: 1300 656 419, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
  • Online: humanrights.gov.au/complaints

AUSactive, the industry association

Matthew is registered with AUSactive. AUSactive is not a regulator. You can read about how to raise a concern about a registered professional at ausactive.org.au, or on 1300 211 311. You do not have to go to AUSactive first, and every route above stays open.

Your own advice, a court or a tribunal

You can get your own legal advice, or take the matter to a court or tribunal. Nothing in this policy changes that.

The General Code of Conduct

Matthew works to the General Code of Conduct for general health services, which is Schedule 2 to the Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic). You can read it on our codes page, [the Codes page, not published yet], and the Commissioner publishes it at hcc.vic.gov.au.

If you live outside Victoria

Victorian and Commonwealth law apply to FITLY wherever you live. The place you live may add to that. The Coaching Agreement has a State Schedule for Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.

If you live in Western Australia (Western Australian law). The Fitness Industry Code of Practice 2021, Schedule 1 to the Fair Trading (Fitness Industry Code of Practice) Regulations 2020 (WA), clause 25, applies to us. This policy is how you lodge a Complaint with us. We make every reasonable effort to resolve it quickly and fairly. As soon as practicable after we receive it, we record it on file and tell you we have received it. You can read the Code free in electronic form, and we give you a paper copy on request at no cost (clauses 26 and 27).

If you live in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT law). You may contact the ACT Human Rights Commission's Health Services Commissioner (under the Human Rights Commission Act 2005 (ACT)) on (02) 6205 2222, or at hrc.act.gov.au/health, and the ACT Commissioner for Fair Trading through Access Canberra on 13 22 81. They will tell you whether they can deal with a Complaint about a Victorian business. If we cannot resolve your Complaint, we tell you that you may ask in writing for it to be dealt with by the ACT Commissioner for Fair Trading, and that, if it is about whether a health service was appropriate, you may ask for it to be referred to the Health Services Commissioner.

If you live in Queensland. The Fair Trading (Code of Practice, Fitness Industry) Regulation 2003 (Qld) adds no complaints step to this policy. You can use every route above.

If you live in another State or Territory. Your own State or Territory may also have a health complaints body or a fair trading regulator. If you ask, we help you find it.

The words on the form and in the confirmation

When you make a Complaint through the app or the website, you are asked:

  • What happened? This is the only box you have to fill in. Tell it however you want.
  • When did it happen? Optional. A date is enough.
  • What would you like to happen now? Optional. If you are not sure yet, leave it blank.
  • Who was the service for, if not you? Optional.
  • Your name, and how we can reply. Optional. Without a way to reply we cannot reply.

What you write is used to deal with your Complaint and keep a record of it. Matthew reads it. It may go to a regulator if you take the matter to one, or where the law requires it. The Privacy Policy explains the rest.

The confirmation you receive says:

We have what you sent us. We received it on [date received].

Matthew Totton will read it himself and look into what you have told us. You will next hear from us by [update date]. That is the date of your next update, not the date we will have finished. If it changes, we will tell you why.

If you have not already told us what you would like to happen, please tell us. You can reply to this message. You will see the proposed response before it is final, and you can comment on it.

You can contact the Health Complaints Commissioner (Victoria) whenever you like. It is free, and you do not need our permission. Phone 1300 582 113, 9.30am to 3.00pm, Monday to Friday. Online: hcc.vic.gov.au/make-complaint. We will not treat you any worse because you complained.

Matthew Totton, FITLY Personal Training, ABN 15 904 586 244

About this policy

This is version 3.3, dated 20 October 2026. It replaces versions 3.2 and 3.1 of the same day and the first draft, neither of which was published. We review this policy at least every 12 months, and after each Complaint is closed. If a change affects you, we show you the new version.

This policy describes what we do. It is not a contract, and you do not have to sign or accept it to make a Complaint. It does not add to or take away from your Coaching Agreement. Questions about it can go to hello@fitlyapp.net.