Tai Chi for Health Community NZ Inc.

Complaints Policy & Procedure

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide you (the client, student, participant or other) with information on our complaints process. If you have a complaint about a current Member of the Tai chi for Health Community New Zealand Inc. (“TCHC NZ Inc.”) it is your right to make a complaint, and all complaints will be taken seriously and dealt with in accordance with this policy following the principles of natural justice.

Both the complainant and the complainee (collectively “the parties”) will be treated with procedural fairness in a transparent and impartial manner. If needed, a mediator can facilitate resolution between the parties. The complaint and the process will be confidential to the parties and the designated TCHC NZ Inc. Executive Committee. 

Complainant is the person that brings a complaint against another; the complainee is one who is complained about; the subject of a complaint.

Step 1: Before laying a complaint with TCHC NZ Inc.

If you wish to make a complaint about a current Tai Chi for Health Community New Zealand Inc. Member (from here on referred to as “Member”), we recommend that the first step you take is to complain directly to the Member concerned, especially if your complaint relates to customer service. If the Member does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can escalate to Step 2.

 

Step 2: Laying a complaint with TCHC NZ Inc. – Complaints Procedure

If, after Step 1, you are not satisfied with our Member’s response you are able to lay a complaint with TCHC NZ Inc. by following the process below. All complaints must be in writing, and we will provide you with an acknowledgement receipt within 15 days. At any point of the complaints process, all parties have the right to be supported by their supervisors and/or advocate and/or whanau/family.

 

Who:

If you have a complaint about one of our current Members you are entitled to lay a complaint with us, and we will deal with it according to this Complaints Policy.

 

What:

This Complaints Policy applies to instances of a more serious nature (harassment, unprofessional behaviour etc.), and to instances where the above Step 1 did not lead to a satisfactory outcome.
Should you want to let us know any other feedback about tai chi and our tai chi instructors please do not hesitate to use our regular contact form on our website (https://taichiforhealthcommunity.org.nz/contact).

 

How:

The process will be as follows:

In most cases, where there is a complaint about a Member, we require you to first contact the Member concerned to outline your issue and what you would like the outcome to be (unless such a complaint would be unwise or unsafe for you to do, in which case you complain directly to us at TCHC NZ Inc.). This first contact, and the response from the Member should be included in your complaint to us.

Where the matter you wish to complain about is of a serious criminal nature, we recommend you contact the respective statutory body, such as Police, the Offices of Human Rights Commissioner, Health and Disability Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner directly.

Please include in your complaint what you want as the outcome of your complaint, this will help us deal quickly and effectively with your complaint.

Complaints may be made anonymously. The complaint will be investigated as per our Complaints Policy, but the investigation may be limited as we would not be able to contact you.

In all other cases all details of the complaint will be disclosed to the complainee along with your name to give them the ability to respond in full. Should you wish to not have your name shared with the complainee do let us know, and be aware that this may limit the extent of the investigation.

All complaints received will be investigated; TCHC NZ Inc. will endeavour to do so in a fair and transparent manner and remain impartial at all times.

If the complaint is related to an alleged breach of the law and there is a statutory body that deals with this, we will refer the complainant to this body for determination first.

 

Checklist for you:

  • The name and location of the complainee
  • What is the nature of the complaint?
  • What outcome would you like as a result?
  • Your details (full name, address, email and mobile number)

 

Contact

Please send your complaint to TCHC NZ Inc. by email to either the chair at chair@taichforhealthcommunity.org.nz or to the vice chair at vicechair@taichiforhealthcommunity.org.nz. Please write in your email’s subject line the word “COMPLAINT”.

If you prefer to post your complaint, please contact us via email to request a mailing address.

This Complaints Policy & Procedure was updated on 24th of February 2023