A9.5 Commissioners and INZ (29/08/2012)

An individual or group may make complaints about INZ to the Office of the Ombudsmen, Privacy Commissioner and other commissioners (including the Human Rights Commissioner and the Race Relations Conciliator) and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, or investigations may originate from within these organisations themselves.

A9.5.1 Enquiries relating to investigations by commissioners

1. If a person enquires about an investigation that an Ombudsman is currently conducting (following a complaint under the Ombudsmen Act 1975, or the Official Information Act 1982) they must be advised to approach the Office of the Ombudsmen about the matter.
2. It is a long established principle that the parties to a complaint should remain "at arm's length" while the matter is under investigation.
3. Nothing at paragraphs a. and b. above prevents a complainant from approaching INZ to:
   • make an enquiry
   • make a visa application
   • make a request for a visa under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009.

In such cases INZ may as appropriate, communicate directly with the complainant.

A9.5.5 Procedures relating to correspondence from commissioners

1. The General Counsel, Legal is responsible for answering all correspondence from commissioners concerning complaints made about INZ under their legislative powers or other mandates.
2. Any other office approached about a case that is the subject of a commissioner’s investigation must refer details to the Resolutions team, National Office, which independently reviews the issues and prepares a report to the Ombudsmen for the General Counsel, Legal to sign.
3. All correspondence to INZ from commissioners must be channelled through the Chief Executive and copied to the General Counsel, Legal, who is responsible for keeping an overview of the volume and nature of complaints.

Effective 29/08/2012