Challenging decisions and conduct of government agencies
Help from officials overseeing specific areas
Specialist commissioners and authorities that can help
There are a number of specialist bodies or officials that have been appointed under an Act to oversee and hear complaints about particular areas of life or particular types of misconduct. You can complain to the:
- Privacy Commissioner’s office – for complaints about breaches of the privacy and information rules in the Privacy Act. For example, if a government agency won’t tell you what information they hold about you or give you access to it, or if you’re unhappy with how the agency went about collecting information from you (see: “Privacy Act requests: getting access to information that’s about you”)
- Human Rights Commission – for complaints if you think you’ve been discriminated against by a government agency or other public body. The Human Rights Commission provides a mediation service for resolving complaints. If mediation doesn’t work, you can take your complaint to the Office of Human Rights Proceedings (OHRP), which can in turn decide to take your complaint to the Human Rights Review Tribunal (see: “Discrimination”).
- Health and Disability Commissioner – for complaints about a public health or disability service, like how you were dealt with in the emergency department of a public hospital (see: “Disability rights”).
- Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) – for complaints about police conduct or how the police have treated you (see: “Complaining about the police”).
