Who can complain to the IGIS
If you are a New Zealand citizen or you ordinarily live in New Zealand you may complain to the Inspector-General if you believe you have been, or may have been adversely affected any act, omission, practice, policy or procedures of NZSIS or the GCSB.
You may also complain to the IGIS if you are an employee of the NZSIS or GCSB and you have been through all internal processes at the organisation, or the Director-General of the organisation has agreed in writing. Note a complaint is different to a protected disclosure, by which a current or past employee can report serious wrongdoing in the organisation and gain some protection against retaliation. See Protected Disclosures.
How to make a complaint
You can complain in writing by post, email, phone, or in person. If you complain by phone or in person you need to put your complaint in writing as soon as you can. The office will work with you as necessary to understand and record your complaint. You can have a representative make a complaint on your behalf, such as a lawyer.
By email: enquiries@igis.govt.nz
By phone: +64 4 460 0030
By mail: Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, PO Box 5609, Wellington 6140
What the Inspector-General will do
1: Assess your complaint and decide if it requires investigation
Once your complaint has been received, the Inspector-General will decide as soon as practicable whether to inquire into it.
To made preliminary enquiries into your complaint, the Inspector-General may need to provide your identity and complaint to the relevant intelligence and security agency. This will not be done without your agreement. If you do not agree, the Inspector-General may be unable to proceed.
The Inspector-General will investigate any complaint that appears, on preliminary inquiry, to have substance. In some cases the Inspector-General may decide not to inquire, eg if:
- you have a right of appeal or there is another avenue for your complaint and it is reasonable in the circumstances for you to take it (eg you have an employment grievance for which the normal employment law processes are more appropriate; your complaint relates to an immigration decision that can be challenged through the immigration appeals process);
- your complaint relates to a decision that you have known about for more than 12 months;
- the subject matter of your complaint is trivial or the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith;
- you do not have a sufficient personal interest in the subject matter of the complaint (eg you are not personally affected); or
- in the circumstances, and following preliminary enquiries, an inquiry is unnecessary.
If the Inspector-General decides not to inquire into your complaint, you will be told in writing of the reasons for that. If you disagree you may provide your reasons for the Inspector-General’s further consideration.
2: Investigate as necessary
If the Inspector-General decides to inquire into your complaint, the Inspector-General must notify the Director-General of the relevant intelligence and security agency and provide a copy of the complaint.
Complaint investigations are conducted in private. This means the Inspector-General will not make public the fact that you have complained or disclose any information about you and your complaint, other than as necessary for the investigation.
The Inspector-General has direct access to the central records system of the intelligence and security agencies and extensive investigatory powers, eg to require documents and summon people to give evidence under oath.
You are entitled to be heard during the course of an inquiry. If you wish, you may be represented by a lawyer or someone else of your choice. You can also have people testify to your record, reliability and character.
If it appears to the Inspector-General that there might be grounds for a finding or recommendation that might adversely affect an agency or official, the affected party has a right to be heard.
3: Conclude and report
At the end of an investigation the Inspector-General will prepare a draft report setting out conclusions and recommendations. These may include recommendations for redress, including (for example) an apology or payment of compensation. It may be necessary to include classified information in the report. In that case it may not be possible to provide you with the full report, but the Inspector-General will share the findings and recommendations with you to the fullest extent possible.
A draft classified report must be provided to the relevant intelligence and security agency for comment. The Inspector-General aims for accuracy and fairness and considers the views of the agency, but forms an independent conclusion.
The final report is provided to you (omitting any classified information), the relevant agency, and the Minister responsible for the agency.
The Inspector-General’s recommendations are not binding on the agency, but are usually accepted.
The Inspector-General is required to publish an unclassified report on an inquiry into a complaint. This will omit any information identifying you as the complainant. Where classification and privacy considerations significantly limit what can be publicly reported the Inspector-General will report briefly in the IGIS Annual Report.
Courtesy and consideration
The Inspector-General expects courtesy and cooperation from complainants. Threats, abusive behavior or offensive comments may result in the Inspector-General declining to inquire into a complaint.