Making a complaint

A complaint about a Member must be made in writing and sent to our “Complaints Officer” at
complaints@elinz.org.nz.

The Complaints Officer may be the Secretary or any other person on the Executive Committee whom the
President or Vice President has delegated.

The complaint must include the name of the Member that the complaint is about, details of the specific
concerns, and when they were alleged to have occurred. Ideally, the Complainant will also identify which
rule/rules of the ELINZ” Code of Conduct” the Complainant alleges the Member has breached.

A copy of the Code of Conduct can be found on the ELINZ website: https://elinz.org.nz/elinz-code-ofconduct/

Upon receipt of a complaint, an automated acknowledgment will be sent to confirm the complaint is
received, which states a further update will be sent within fourteen business days of the complaint being
made.

The Complaints Officer will review complaints in consultation with the President or Vice-President (and
Secretary if they are not the person receiving) to ensure the complaint relates to a current Member and
that the complaint includes sufficient details to understand the concerns.

The Complaints Officer reserves the right to ask the Complainant for more and/or specific information
about the complaint and, if necessary, to also ask the Complainant to review the ELINZ Code of Conduct
and specify the relevant clauses.

As membership of ELINZ is an individual membership and the obligations apply to the individual
Member, we cannot investigate complaints about a company or organisation.

The Complaints Officer has the discretion to forward the complaint to the Respondent Member and to
seek preliminary information from them before deciding whether formal action needs to be taken. The
Complaints Officer should provide the Member with a timeframe for when they can expect a reply.

Upon subsequent receipt of information from the Member, the Complaints Officer reserves the right to
make a recommendation to the President or Vice President as to whether formal action should be taken
or if the preliminary matter can be closed.

The President or Vice President reserves the right to make this decision without referring to the
“Complaints Review Committee” (CRC) or the Executive Committee.

• If the matter can be closed, the Complaints Officer will email the Complainant and Member to
  advise of such.
• If formal action should be taken, the President should forward the matter to the Complaints
  Review Committee.
  • At this point, the matter should also be communicated to the ELINZ Executive Committee.
    This can be done by emailing the Secretary and asking them to agenda the matters at the
    next Executive meeting.
    • In this instance, the Complaints Officer will email the Complainant and Member to
      advise of such.

Membership of the Complaints Review Committee

After the complaint has been considered by the Complaints Officer and the President or Vice President,
the matter should be forwarded by the Complaints Officer to the standing Complaints Review
Committee.

The CRC will consist of three or more members, with up to a maximum of five. One Member of the CRC
will be appointed as the Chair and will be the liaison between the CRC, the Complainant, and the
Member.

The CRC must be made up of at least two Executive Committee members and may include an ELINZ
Member of good standing.

Process

Upon receiving a complaint, the CRC may, in its discretion:

(a) Inquire further into the complaint from both the Complainant and/or Member;
(b) Seek information from potential witnesses;
(c) Encourage the parties to explore the possibility of resolving the complaint through dialogue and/or
negotiation.
(d) Decide to take no action on the complaint.

Inquiry into the complaint

If the CRC decides to inquire into a complaint, the Member concerned will be notified in writing that the
complaint is being progressed, and the Complainant and the Member will be told what will happen next.

The CRC should provide a brief Terms of Reference (ToR) to accompany their response.

If any members of the CRC are conflicted with the matter (e.g. they know the Member to the extent they
feel they may not be able to be impartial), they shall disclose the conflict, and if in the opinion of the CRC
the member is indeed considered to be conflicted to that extent, they shall remove themselves from the
matter.

The CRC will set reasonable deadlines for the Member to respond to the complaint.

The response will be provided in writing, but if the Member would prefer, a meeting may be arranged.
Given the geographical spread of ELINZ members, this may occur via video conferencing. Any cultural considerations will be taken into account, but the Member must advise the CRC as soon as possible so
that suitable arrangements can be made.

The Complainant will be given the opportunity to comment on any explanation the responding Member
provides.

The CRC will deal with complaints as fairly, efficiently, and effectively as possible. Their investigation is
impartial and must not give legal advice to either the Complainant or the Member.

An appointed representative of the CRC may contact the Complainant and the Member involved to
clarify issues.

An appointed representative of the CRC may contact any potential witnesses involved to clarify issues.

When the investigation is complete, the CRC considers all the information and recommends to the
Executive Committee as to what should happen. This may be communicated by the CRC Chair (at the
next Executive meeting) or via other discussion platforms and methods as deemed appropriate.

The Complainant and the Member are to be kept informed of progress along the way by the CRC Chair
or other delegated CRC member.

Investigation Report

The CRC will produce a written report of its findings and make recommendations to the Executive
Committee. Before completing its written report, the CRC should consider all the information available to
it. Such assessment should be completed consistently with the rules of natural justice.

The assessment is to be made on the balance of probabilities, which means the conduct was more
probable than not and must include:

(a) The identification of the rule that has been breached;
(b) The nature and gravity of the Member’s conduct including:

i. whether there are multiple breaches;
ii. the nature of the rule and its importance in maintaining high standards;
iii. whether the conduct was repeated or prolonged;
iv. whether the conduct was intentional, reckless, negligent or the result of a genuine mistake;
v. the impact of the conduct (was there any harm or loss caused by the conduct);
vi. whether dishonesty was involved.

This list is not exhaustive.

The written report will remain confidential except where the Executive Committee decides publication is
necessary or desirable in the public interest or to uphold the standards of the profession.

ELINZ is not required to share the written report with the Member, Complainant, or Witnesses. However,
at the President’s sole discretion, a summary may be provided to these relevant parties.

The Executive Committee may decide that the facts of a complaint and its outcome be published. The
identity of the Complainant and Member will remain confidential and not subject to publication.

Recommendations by the Complaints Review Committee

The CRC may recommend no further action if the investigation indicates that further action is
unnecessary or inappropriate.

The CRC may recommend other actions be taken, including but not limited to:

i. the Member completing specific upskilling or education
ii. to provide an apology to the Complainant
iii. to make a public or private correction
iv. to cease a particular behaviour
v. to provide an undertaking that the particular behaviours will not be repeated
vi. to temporarily suspend the Members ELINZ membership
vii. that future membership to ELINZ be denied for a specified period
viii. to cancel the Members ELINZ membership.

This list is not exhaustive.

If the Executive Committee decides to suspend or cancel a Members ELINZ membership, there shall be
no entitlement to any reimbursement of fees paid.

If a member resigns from ELINZ after a complaint has been made, then the CRC may choose to
complete the investigation and make findings and recommendations, irrespective of that person’s
subsequent membership status. The Complainant should be kept informed of any change in the
Members membership status.

The Executive Committee will decide whether to accept any or all of the CRC’s recommendation(s). If
the Executive Committee decides to take no action, the Complainant and the Member will be told the
reasons. The Executive Committee’s decision is final.

Any proposed outcome will be communicated to the parties, and parties will be provided an opportunity
to comment before it is finalised.

Sanctions

Consistency of actions to address unsatisfactory conduct of a Member is important. Any
recommendations made by the CRC to the Executive Committee should be comparable to those in
previous cases for similar conduct, considering the nature and gravity of the conduct and the personal
circumstances of the Member.

Encourage the parties to explore the possibility of resolving the complaint through dialogue
and/or negotiation.

If the CRC decides that it is most appropriate to encourage the parties to first explore possible resolution
together, the CRC will outline this in writing, providing the reasons why the CRC recommends this
approach.

If the parties do not agree, or if this is not successful, the Complainant can refer the matter back to the
CRC to reconsider the complaint and take the appropriate next steps. The next steps could include
inquiring into the complaint or not taking any further action.

While the parties seek alternative resolutions, the complaint will be placed on hold, and no further action
will be taken. It is the responsibility of the Complainant to notify the CRC if the matter has not been
resolved and they wish to continue with the complaint.

If the CRC is not provided an update by the Complainant within three (3) months of the complaint being
made, the complaint will be considered withdrawn.

Decide to take no action on the complaint.

Upon reviewing a complaint, the CRC may recommend that no action be taken on a complaint. This
could be because:

(a) The complaint has been made so long after the issues arose that the CRC determines it is not
practical or desirable to investigate it.
(b) The CRC strongly believes the complaint is trivial, frivolous, or vexatious or was not made in good
faith.
(c) The person affected does not want the complaint to proceed.
(d) The person who makes the complaint does not have sufficient personal interest in it.
(e) Some other alternate remedies are available.

If the complaint does not proceed, this will be confirmed in writing to the Complainant, and no further
action will be taken.

Revision
1
Title
Complaints Policy
Print Date
11 July 2024
Prepared By
Jaime Rose-Peacock, Secretary/Treasurer
Date Approved
8 July 2024
Reviewed By
ELINZ Board
Effective Date
8 July 2024
Approved By
ELINZ Board
Review Date
8 July 2025