What happens to complaints referred to the Commissioner?
Senior members of the Commissioner’s staff carefully review the complaint and the Commissioner decides the best way of dealing with it. This may include a referral to another appropriate body (eg, the Ministry of Health), advocacy, investigation, or no action.The Commissioner may decide to start a formal investigation. If this happens, an investigation officer will be appointed to the case. This person will contact all the parties involved to gather evidence and investigate the complaint.Once all the evidence has been gathered, the Commissioner may ask an expert in the area to review the information and advise whether the services provided met expected standards. The Commissioner will use this advice and the other evidence to decide whether the rights in the Code have been breached.The Commissioner must act impartially – like a judge – and not take sides.
