Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

Complaints and investigations - Referral of complaints to agencies, persons, statutory officers, or advocates

36: Referrals of complaints to certain statutory officers

You could also call this:

"When you complain, the Commissioner checks if another officer should help, and tells you what happens next."

Illustration for Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

If you make a complaint, the Commissioner will look at it first. They will check if your complaint is about something that another officer should deal with. The Commissioner must talk to that officer to decide what to do with your complaint. You will be told what action has been taken with your complaint. The Commissioner might send your complaint to the Chief Commissioner under the Human Rights Act 1993, the Chief Ombudsman, or the Privacy Commissioner. The Commissioner will let you and the health care provider know what they have decided to do with your complaint.

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This page was last updated on 6 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM333967.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Healthcare servicesRights and equality > Anti-discriminationRights and equality > Privacy

35: Agencies or persons to keep Commissioner informed about referred complaints, or

"Telling the Commissioner about complaints that are sent to agencies or people"

37: Commissioner may refer complaint to advocate, or

"The Commissioner can send your complaint to a helper to try to resolve the issue."

Part 4Complaints and investigations
Referral of complaints to agencies, persons, statutory officers, or advocates

36Referrals of complaints to certain statutory officers

If, at any time after completing a preliminary assessment of a complaint, the Commissioner considers that the complaint relates, in whole or in part, to a matter that is more properly within the scope of the functions of one of the statutory officers specified in subsection (4), the Commissioner must promptly consult with that officer in order to determine the appropriate means of dealing with the complaint.
As soon as reasonably practicable after consulting with the officer concerned, the Commissioner must determine whether the complaint should be dealt with, in whole or in part, under this Act.
If the Commissioner determines that the complaint should be dealt with, in whole or in part, by one of the officers specified in subsection (4), the Commissioner must promptly—
refer the complaint or, as the case requires, the appropriate part of the complaint to that officer; and
notify the complainant and the health care provider or the disability services provider to whom the complaint relates of the action that has been taken.

The statutory officers referred to in subsection (1) are—
the Chief Commissioner under the Human Rights Act 1993:
the Chief Ombudsman:
the Privacy Commissioner.

Notes

Section 36: substituted, on 18 September 2004, by section 9 of the Health and Disability Commissioner Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 49).