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73: Procedure on receipt of complaint
or “What happens when you make a privacy complaint”
You could also call this:

“The Privacy Commissioner can refuse to look into your complaint for various reasons”

The Commissioner can choose not to investigate your complaint for several reasons. You might not have tried hard enough to solve the problem with the agency first. There might be another way to fix the issue because the agency is part of a special job or industry group. You might have a better way to fix the problem, like appealing to someone else (but not by writing to Parliament or an Ombudsman). If there’s a special set of rules with its own way to complain, you need to try that first. The Commissioner might not investigate if you knew about the problem for more than a year before complaining, or if too much time has passed since the problem happened. They also might not investigate if you don’t want them to, if the complaint isn’t really about you, if it’s not important enough, or if you’re just trying to cause trouble.

Even if none of these reasons apply, the Commissioner can still decide not to investigate if they think it’s not needed after looking at everything about your case.

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Next up: 75: Referral of complaint to another person

or “When the Privacy Commissioner may send your complaint to another authority”
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Part 5 Complaints, investigations, and proceedings
Complaints

74Commissioner may decide not to investigate complaint

  1. The Commissioner may decide not to investigate a complaint if, in the Commissioner’s opinion,—

  2. the complainant has not made reasonable efforts to resolve the complaint directly with the agency concerned; or
    1. there is an alternative dispute resolution process available to resolve the complaint because of the agency’s membership of a particular profession or industry; or
      1. there is an adequate remedy or right of appeal, other than the right to petition the House of Representatives or to make a complaint to an Ombudsman, that it would be reasonable for the complainant to pursue; or
        1. the complaint relates to a matter in respect of which a code of practice has been issued that includes a complaints procedure, and the complainant has not taken reasonable steps to pursue, or fully pursue, the redress available under that procedure; or
          1. the aggrieved individual or aggrieved individuals knew about the action that is the subject of the complaint for 12 months or more before the complaint was made; or
            1. the time that has elapsed between the date on which the subject of the complaint arose and the date on which the complaint was made is such that an investigation of the complaint is no longer practicable or desirable; or
              1. the aggrieved individual or aggrieved individuals do not want the complaint pursued; or
                1. the complainant does not have a sufficient personal interest in the subject of the complaint; or
                  1. the subject of the complaint is trivial; or
                    1. the complaint is frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith.

                      1. Despite anything in subsection (1), the Commissioner may, in the Commissioner’s discretion, decide not to investigate a complaint if it appears to the Commissioner that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, an investigation is unnecessary.

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