How To Lodge a Complaint


Complaints against practitioners should be made in writing and be sufficiently detailed.  It is a requirement of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (the Act) that all complaints received by the Board be referred, as soon as received, to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC).  The Board therefore requests that if you wish to make a complaint against a Chiropractor that you send it to the Health and Disability Commissioner, PO Box 1791, Auckland.

Patients who wish to make a complaint about a Chiropractor, whether to the HDC or the Board, must provide sufficient information so that an investigation can be carried out and it can be determined that the complaint is genuine.

Information which must be provided includes:
  • The names of all of the people involved, including any witnesses;
  • The date(s) that the incident(s) occurred;
  • The place(s) where the incident(s) occurred;
  • A description of what happened including the particular factors that led you to complain;
  • Whether you let the practitioner know of your complaint and if so his/her response;
  • Any additional information that will assist an investigation.

Please note:  Anonymous complaints are very difficult to respond to, given that the investigating body is unable to confirm or clarify the course of events with the practitioner concerned and therefore it is unlikely that such complaints would be able to be investigated.

The Complaint Process
As mentioned above there are two ways in which the Board can be notified of a complaint, the first being directly by the affected health consumer, the second being by referral from the HDC.

If the Board receives a referral from the HDC, it has several avenues open to it for investigation which include:

  • a low level investigation whereby it retains the services of a chiropractic expert to investigate the issues raised and report back to it;
  • the establishment of a Competence Review Committee (CRC) to investigate the issues raised and report back to it;
  • the establishment of a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) to investigate the issues raised and report back to it;
  • determination that the issues raised do not warrant investigation and subsequently close the matter.

PCC’s can make various determinations and recommendations, some of which include:

  • that the Board counsels the practitioner;
  • that the Board reviews the competence of the health practitioner;
  • that the Board reviews the practitioner's scope of practice;
  • that a charge be brought against the health practitioner in the Health Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT); or
  • that no further action be taken.

When forming CRC’s and PCC’s, the Board chooses appropriately qualified persons from an established ‘pool’ of members.  CRC’s and PCC’s consist of 2 registered Chiropractors and 1 layperson.

Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
The Act has established a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal to hear and determine charges brought before it for any health practitioner covered by the Act.  The Tribunal is a separate body from the Board.  The Tribunal considers only the most serious of complaints.

The Tribunal membership is composed of the Chairperson (Barrister or Solicitor of the High Court), or a deputy Chairperson and four others, three of whom must be professional peers of the health practitioner and one of whom must be a lay person.

The source of charges before the Tribunal is either the Director of Proceedings (Health and Disability Commissioners Office) or a Board appointed PCC.
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