How to make a complaint

In some cases, your complaint may not be covered by us or there may be more appropriate agencies to deal with your complaint. Before submitting a complaint, please check the types of complaints we handle and other relevant organisations.

Who is making the complaint

Before making a complaint, it’s important to decide who will make it. It could be you or someone else, depending on the rules about who can complain.

Prepare information

Gather information before you make your complaint. Make sure it includes:

• what happened
• when and where it happened
• who was involved
• why you believe it was discrimination or a human rights issue.

Format and documents

Your complaint must be in writing. You can write in:

• English
• your native language.

It must also:

• be under 20 pages (including attachments)
• not include zip files, internet or file-sharing links (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
• include your your name and contact details so we can reach you.

You do not need to include lengthy documents or evidence when making a complaint. Keeping your complaint as brief as possible will speed up the assessment process, reducing the time it takes to determine whether we can deal with it.

Simply explain what happened and why you believe the behaviour is unlawful under the

• Anti-Discrimination Act
• Human Rights Act.

We assess your complaint based on the basis that you may be able to provide evidence to support your claim, but you do not need to include proof when you make the complaint.

Transparency

We do not accept anonymous complaints. We will share your name, address and contact details with the person or organisation you are complaining about.

If you wish to keep your home address private, you can use:

• an email address
• a PO Box
• the address of your lawyer, organisation, or another trusted person.

We only use and disclose all personal information provided according to our privacy policy.

Processing and withdrawing

Once you submit your complaint, we will assess it to determine whether we can deal with it under the Anti-Discrimination Act or the Human Rights Act.

If both Acts apply, we will only deal with it under one Act. Even if we deal with your complaint under the Anti-Discrimination Act, we still consider your human rights.

You can withdraw a complaint at any stage by telling us in writing that you want to withdraw it. A 28-day cooling off period applies if you withdraw a complaint under the Anti-Discrimination Act.