Making a Complaint About an Immigration Adviser form

Immigration 

Advisers Authority 

Making a Complaint About 

an Immigration Adviser 

Table of Contents 

About us 1 

Part A: Making a Complaint About a Licensed Immigration Adviser 2 

Licensed Immigration Adviser Code of Conduct 2010 10 

Part B: Making a Complaint About an Unlicensed Immigration Adviser 13 

DOL 10746 JUNE 12

About us 

The Immigration Advisers Authority 

We are responsible for: 

• receiving complaints about immigration advisers and 

referring these to the Immigration Advisers Complaints and 

Disciplinary Tribunal. 

• investigating and taking action against those breaching the 

Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. 

Contact us 

Freephone (New Zealand only): 0508 IAA IAA (0508 422 422) 

Phone (outside New Zealand): +64 9 925 3838 

Email info@iaa.govt.nz 

Web www.iaa.govt.nz 

Postal FREEPOST 241013 

Immigration Advisers Authority 

PO Box 6222 

Wellesley Street 

Auckland 1141 

NEW ZEALAND 

Licensed or unlicensed? 

Find out whether the immigration adviser you are 

complaining about is licensed or not by checking our online 

register or contacting us. 

If the adviser is licensed or has been licensed in the last two 

years, read and complete Section A (page 2). 

If the adviser is not licensed, read and complete Section B 

(page 13). 

1 | Making a Complaint About an Immigration Adviser

A 

Making a Complaint About a Licensed Immigration Adviser 

The Immigration Advisers Complaints and 

Disciplinary Tribunal 

On receiving a complaint, the Registrar of Immigration 

Advisers (the Registrar) who heads the Immigration 

Advisers Authority (the Authority) may refer the 

complaint to the Immigration Advisers Complaints 

and Disciplinary Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal 

makes decisions about complaints against licensed 

immigration advisers. 

After hearing a complaint, the Tribunal may: 

• Dismiss the complaint 

• Uphold the complaint but take no further action 

• Uphold the complaint and impose one or more sanctions 

Making a complaint 

Any person may make a complaint about a licensed 

immigration adviser or someone who has been a 

licensed immigration adviser in the last two years. 

They do not need to have received immigration advice 

directly from the adviser themselves. Any person can 

make a complaint on another person’s behalf. 

Grounds for complaint 

We can only deal with complaints about: 

Negligence – A person who behaves negligently is 

a person who is not doing what a reasonable person 

would do in a situation where that person owes a duty 

of care. 

Incompetence – When a licence is granted, the adviser is 

assessed against the Immigration Advisers Competency 

Standards and must maintain them. An adviser who is 

incompetent is not meeting those standards. 

Incapacity – A person who is incapable is a person 

who is not able to deal with something properly. In this 

context, incapacity relates to the licensed immigration 

adviser’s conduct in providing immigration advice. 

Dishonest and misleading behaviour – A person who is 

dishonest is a person who does not tell the truth or does 

not tell the complete truth. A person who behaves in a 

misleading way is a person that leads another person to 

have an incorrect impression or belief. 

We assess each complaint and those that meet the 

criteria are referred to the Tribunal. 

If you are not sure whether you can complain, contact 

us. If the complaint is complex, we may suggest that you 

get independent legal advice to help with making the 

complaint. 

We do not deal with complaints about Immigration New 

Zealand, immigration lawyers, citizens advice bureau 

staff and other exempt persons*. 

*Exempt persons include: 

• lawyers 

• persons who provide immigration advice in an informal or 

family context only, so long as the advice is not provided 

systematically or for a fee 

• members of Parliament, and members of their staff who 

provide immigration advice within the scope of their 

employment agreement 

• foreign diplomats and consular staff accorded protection 

as such under the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities 

Act 1968 or the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 

1971 

• employees of the public service who provide immigration 

advice within the scope of their employment agreement 

• persons employed by or working as volunteers for 

Community Law Centres (as defined in section 6 of the 

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006), where at least 1 

lawyer 

(i) is on the employing body of the community law 

centre; or 

(ii) is employed by or working as a volunteer for the 

community law centre in a supervisory capacity 

• persons employed by or working as volunteers for 

Citizens Advice Bureaux 

• persons who provide immigration advice offshore in 

relation to applications or potential applications for 

student visas only 

• persons exempted by regulations made under section 12. 

A breach of the Code of Conduct – The Licensed 

Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct (code of 

conduct) sets out professional and ethical standards of 

behaviour (see page 10). You can complain if you think 

your adviser has not adhered to the code of conduct. 


A 


Complaints must: 

• be made in writing 

• specify the ground or grounds that form the basis of the 

complaint 

• state whether or not you have attempted to resolve 

the complaint using the immigration adviser’s own 

complaints procedure, and the outcome (if any) of that 

process 

• be accompanied by copies of any supporting 

documentation 

• not be made anonymously 

First steps 

1. Talk to the adviser. There may have been a 

misunderstanding that can be worked out. 

2. Complain to the adviser. Licensed immigration advisers 

are required to have an internal process for dealing with 

complaints. 

3. Write to us. If talking to the adviser and going through 

their internal complaints process does not resolve the 

issue, consider making a written complaint to us. 

The complaint must be written in English. You can use 

the attached form on page 5 or you can type a letter or 

email explaining the details. 

The complaint cannot be anonymous. 

It is very important that you provide as much evidence 

as possible to support your complaint. This is because 

we need to investigate your complaint before referring it 

to the Tribunal to make a decision. 

Remember: 

• Act quickly. The sooner you write it all down, the clearer 

the facts will be. 

• Stick to the facts. Avoid making emotional or irrelevant 

comments. Tell us exactly what the adviser promised to 

do and what they did. 

• There is no charge for complaining. 

4. We provide a copy of the complaint to the adviser and 

give him or her the opportunity to comment. 

5. We refer the complaint to the Tribunal. 

Tribunal decisions 

The Tribunal will formally acknowledge receipt of your 

complaint and keep you updated until a decision 

is made. 

After hearing your complaint, the Tribunal may either: 

• dismiss your complaint 

• uphold your complaint but take no further action against 

the adviser; or 

• uphold your complaint and take further action against 

the adviser. 

If the complaint is upheld, the Tribunal could do one or 

more of the following: 

• take no action 

• caution or censure the adviser 

• require the adviser to undertake specified training or 

otherwise remedy any deficiency 

• cancel or suspend the adviser’s licence 

• make an order preventing the adviser from reapplying 

for a licence for up to two years or until the person meets 

specific conditions 

• make an order that the adviser refund your fees, pay costs, 

a penalty and/or compensation. 

How long the complaints process takes depends on 

how complicated the complaint is, how many questions 

we or the Tribunal has and how long these take to be 

answered. If the adviser appeals the Tribunal’s decision 

to impose a sanction, the process can take longer as the 

appeal will go to the District Court. 

The Immigration Advisers Authority complaints 

process 

1. We will formally acknowledge your complaint. 

2. We may seek additional information about your 

complaint if required. 

3. The complaint is assessed to see if it meets the grounds 

for complaint and is a matter we can deal with. We can 

reject your complaint if it is not made in the correct 

way, is trivial or inconsequential. The Registrar may 

also request you to use the adviser’s own complaints 

process. 


A 


The Immigration Advisers Authority 

complaints process 

Start 

Attempt to resolve 

complaint with adviser. Refer to adviser’s 

internal complaints process 

Complaint resolution achieved? 

Yes 

No 

Complaint resolved no 

further action 

Complaint sent to Immigration Advisers 

Authority on Complaint Form or by letter 

End 

Complaint reviewed by Registrar 

Complaint 

accepted by 

Registrar 


rejected by 

Registrar with 

reasons 

Adviser provided opportunity to respond 

Appeal rights directly to Tribunal in 

some circumstances 

Referral to Immigration Advisers 

Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal 

End 

Tribunal determines complaints on the 

papers but can request witnesses to appear 

Decision: 


dismissed 

Tribunal sends Minute on preliminary 

findings. Opportunity for both the adviser 

and complainant to respond 

End 

Decision: 


upheld 

Opportunity for submissions to be 

made on sanctions 

End 


upheld. No 

further action 

against the 

adviser 


upheld. Adviser 

informed of 

sanctions 

imposed 

End of process. 

Right of appeal on 

sanctions imposed 

for adviser only. 

End 


A 


A copy of this Complaint Form will be sent to the adviser. 

The information below is collected by the Authority and held at 52 Symonds Street, Grafton, Auckland. 

Privacy Act 1993 

a) The information provided by you on this form will be used for the purposes of investigating a complaint under 

the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. 

b) Upon receipt of this completed form the Immigration Advisers Authority may make any necessary enquiries 

about the contents of this form, so that decisions can be made regarding this complaint. 

c) This may include the necessary disclosure of this information to third parties. 

Under the Privacy Act 1993 you may access and request a correction of any personal information. 

Please complete this form in English. 

Section 1 

Personal details 

Name 

Date of birth 

Day Month Year 

Address 

Street name and number 

Suburb 

Town/City 

Area/State 

Postcode 

Country 

Daytime phone number 

+ 

Email 

(+country code - area code - local number) 


A 


Have you used the adviser’s own complaints procedures? 

Yes 

No 

If yes, provide details. If no, explain why not. 

Have you complained about this adviser to any other agency? 

Yes 

No 

If yes, please provide details. 

Section 2 

The licensed immigration adviser’s details 

Name 

Company (if relevant): 

Adviser Number (available online at www.iaa.govt.nz/adviser-register): 

Is this person still your adviser? 

Yes 

No 

If not, on what date did this person cease to represent you? 



A 


Section 3 

The complaint 

What is the complaint about? 

You may select more than one 

1. Negligence 

2. Incompetence 

3. Incapacity 

4. Dishonest or misleading behaviour 

5. Breach of Code of Conduct (page 10) 

The complaint must fit into one or more of the five categories explained above. Describe exactly what you are 

unhappy about and why, adding a separate page if necessary. If you are unsure how the complaint fits into 

these categories, please contact us. 

Below give full details of the complaint. Set out what happened, in date order, attaching relevant documents. 

Date 

What happened 


A 


Resolution 

What do you want to see happen as a result of the complaint? 

Supporting documents 

It is very useful to have copies of any documents that support your allegation. For example, written 

agreements, invoices, receipts or other correspondence from the adviser. 

Witnesses 

Please tell us if there are any witnesses who can provide direct, independent evidence that will help us deal 

with the complaint. 

Names of witnesses 

Contact details of witnesses 

Declaration 

I understand that a copy of my complaint and supporting evidence will be sent to the adviser concerned, and 

may be used by the Tribunal in evidence. 

I consent to the above named licensed immigration adviser (or former licensed immigration adviser) 

providing information to the Authority or the Tribunal by way of response to this complaint. 

Signed 

Date 


Printed Name 


A 


How did you hear about the Immigration Advisers Authority? 

Returning the form 

Once you have completed the Complaints Form, you can send it to us by: 

Email: info@iaa.govt.nz 

Postal: FREEPOST 241013 


Attention: Complaints 

PO Box 6222 



NEW ZEALAND 

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint. 


Licensed Immigration Adviser Code of Conduct 2010 

Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of 

Conduct 2010 

1. Obligations to clients 

1.1 Care, respect, diligence and professionalism 

A licensed immigration adviser must, with due care, 

diligence, respect and professionalism: 

a) perform his or her services; and 

b) carry out the lawful informed instructions of 

clients; and 

c) take reasonable steps to ensure clients’ interests 

are represented if the adviser cannot for any 

reason continue as a representative; and 

d) work in a manner that does not unnecessarily 

increase costs; and 

e) acknowledge the cultural norms and values of 

clients; and 

f ) 

facilitate the provision of interpreters and 

translators where appropriate; and 

g) when requested, assist clients to access 

information about the Treaty of Waitangi and 

tikanga (Maori customs and traditions). 

1.2 Confidentiality 

A licensed immigration adviser: 

a) must preserve the confidentiality of clients; and 

b) must not disclose confidential information, 

other than for the purposes of the administration 

of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, 

the promotion of the immigration interests of 

clients to Immigration New Zealand, as required 

by law, or otherwise without the client’s prior 

consent. 

1.3 Document security 

A licensed immigration adviser must: 

a) ensure any personal documents belonging to or 

relating to clients are held securely whilst in the 

adviser’s possession; and 

b) return passports and other personal documents 

to clients, on request, without delay and in a 

secure manner. 

1.4 Code of conduct 


a) explain to and provide clients with a copy of the 

Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2010 

before any agreement is entered into; and 

b) display the Licensed Immigration Advisers Code 

of Conduct 2010 in a prominent place at the adviser’s 

place of business at all times. 

1.5 Written agreements 

A licensed immigration adviser must ensure that: 

a) before any agreement is entered into, clients are 

made aware, in writing and in plain language, 

of the terms of the agreement and all significant 

matters relating to it; and 

b) agreements contain a full description of the 

services to be provided by the adviser; and 

c) clients are advised that they are entitled to seek 

independent legal advice before entering into 

agreements; and 

d) clients confirm in writing that they accept the 

terms of agreements; and 

e) changes to the terms of agreements are 

recorded and agreed in writing. 

1.6 Work within limits of knowledge and skills 

A licensed immigration adviser must work within the scope 

of his or her individual knowledge and skills. 

2. Obligations to the Minister of Immigration, the 

Department handling immigration matters, the 

Immigration Advisers Authority and the Immigration 

and Protection Tribunal 

2.1 Legislation and operating requirements 

A licensed immigration adviser must, at all times: 

a) act in accordance with New Zealand laws 

and the laws of other jurisdictions if working and 

living offshore; and 

b) act in accordance with immigration legislation, 

including the Immigration Act 2009 and 

regulations made under it, the Immigration 

Advisers Licensing Act 2007, and applicable 

international obligations; and 

c) comply with the operating requirements of 

Immigration New Zealand; and 

d) comply with the operating requirements of the 

Registrar of Immigration Advisers; and 

e) meet the procedural and operating requirements 

for managing appeals and appearing before the 

Immigration and Protection Tribunal; and 

f ) 

uphold the integrity of New Zealand’s 

immigration system and the Immigration 

Advisers Authority; and 

g) maintain respectful and professional 

relationships; and 

h) hold written authority from clients to act on their 

behalf; and 

i) take all reasonable steps to submit applications 

in a timely manner to ensure that clients 

maintain lawful immigration status. 



2.2 Vexatious applications, appeals, requests and claims 

If a proposed application, appeal, request or claim is 

vexatious or grossly unfounded (for example, it has no 

hope of success) a licensed immigration adviser must: 

a) encourage the client not to lodge it; and 

b) advise the client in writing that, in the adviser’s 

opinion, it is vexatious or grossly unfounded; and 

c) if the client still wishes to lodge it, seek written 

acknowledgement from the client that he 

or she has been advised not to. 

3. Business management 

A licensed immigration adviser must maintain professional 

business practices relating to finances, records, documents, 

contracts and staff management, including: 

a) confirming in writing to clients when 

applications have been lodged, with ongoing 

timely updates; and 

b) confirming in writing to clients when work 

ceases part way through the immigration 

process on clients’ instructions or by the action of 

the adviser; and 

c) obtaining agreement in writing to any material 

increase in costs as soon as the increase is 

known to the adviser; and 

d) providing any refunds payable upon completing 

or ceasing a contract for services; and 

e) maintaining complete client records that track 

all transactions for a period of seven years and 

making those records available for inspection on 

request by the Authority; and 

f ) 

confirming in writing the details of material 

discussions with clients; and 

g) maintaining correct and up to date business 

contact details. 

4. Client funds 


a) establish and maintain a separate clients’ bank 

account for holding all clients’ funds paid in 

advance for fees and/or disbursements; and 

b) withdraw funds held on behalf of clients only 

when payments for fees and/or disbursements 

fall due; and 

c) use funds held on behalf of clients only for the 

purpose for which they were paid to the adviser. 

5. Misrepresentation 

5.1 Advisers 

A licensed immigration adviser must not, in a false, 

fraudulent or deceptive manner, misrepresent or promote: 

a) himself or herself; or 

b) his or her business; or 

c) his or her clients or the clients’ immigration 

opportunities; or 

d) New Zealand’s immigration requirements. 

5.2 Applications 

A licensed immigration adviser must not knowingly 

provide false or misleading documentation with any 

application, appeal, request, claim or other representation, 

or conceal relevant information relating to any application, 

appeal, request, claim or other representation. 

6. Conflicts of interest 

Unless the client agrees in writing to representation or 

the arrangement subsequent to the adviser disclosing 

the potential conflict, a licensed immigration adviser, in 

relation to immigration matters, must not: 

a) represent a client who has potentially conflicting 

interests with another client of the adviser; or 

b) represent a client with whom he or she has a 

potential conflict of interest; or 

c) enter into an arrangement with a client other 

than for the provision of immigration advice 

if the arrangement creates a potential conflict of 

interest. 

7. Disclosure 

A licensed immigration adviser must disclose: 

a) to clients - any financial and non-financial 

interests in goods or services recommended or 

supplied to clients; 

b) to the Immigration Advisers Authority – any 

information that would have a material effect 

on the adviser’s licence; 

c) to Immigration New Zealand – any relevant 

change in circumstances relating to the 

representation of clients or to clients’ 

immigration applications; 

d) to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal – any 

change in circumstances relating to the 

representation of clients or to the factual 

circumstances relating to a matter before the 

Tribunal. 



8. Fees 


a) set fees that are fair and reasonable in the 

circumstances; and 

b) before commencing work incurring costs, set out 

the fees and disbursements (including 

Immigration New Zealand fees and charges) to 

be charged, including the hourly rate and the 

estimate of the time it will take to perform the 

services, or the fixed cost for the services; and 

c) set out payment terms and conditions; and 

d) ensure that fees, disbursements and payment 

terms and conditions are provided to clients in 

writing prior to the signing of any written agreement; 

and 

e) each time a fee is payable, provide clients with an 

invoice containing a full description of the services 

that the invoice relates to. 

9. Provision of complaints procedures 


a) develop and maintain internal procedures for the 

resolution of complaints; and 

b) explain to and provide clients with a copy of the 

adviser’s internal complaints procedure before any 

agreement is entered into; and 

c) explain to, and provide clients with, the details of 

the complaints and disciplinary procedures that are 

outlined in the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 

2007; and 

d) where complaints have been received by the Registrar 

of Immigration Advisers, provide timely responses to 

requests by the Registrar, as required by the Registrar’s 

operating requirements. 

10. Display of licence 


a) display the adviser’s licence in a prominent place in 

the adviser’s place of business at all times; and 

b) provide evidence of being licensed to clients on 

request. 


B 

Making a Complaint About an Unlicensed Immigration Adviser 

Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act, it is an offence to give immigration advice about a New Zealand 

immigration matter when not licensed or exempt. The Authority encourages you to bring these situations to our 

attention to enable us to take action. The actions that we take may include an investigation which may lead to a criminal 

prosecution. As part of the investigation you may be contacted by an Investigator from the Authority. 

For more information please see our website www.iaa.govt.nz/enforcement 

Tell us below about someone who has given immigration advice about New Zealand when not licensed or exempt. 

The information below is collected by the Authority and held at 52 Symonds Street, Grafton, Auckland. 

Privacy Act 1993 

a) The information provided by you on this form will be used for the purposes of investigating a complaint under the 


b) Upon receipt of this completed form the Immigration Advisers Authority may make any necessary enquiries about the 

contents of this form, so that decisions can be made regarding this complaint. 

c) This may include the necessary disclosure of this information to third parties. 

Under the Privacy Act 1993 you may access and request a correction of any personal information. 

Please complete this form in English. 

Section 1 

Personal details 

Name 

Date of birth 


Address 

Street name and number 

Suburb 

Town/City 

Area/State 

Postcode 

Country 

Daytime phone number 

+ 

Email 

(+country code - area code - local number) 


B 


Is your complaint about a licensed immigration adviser? 

Find out with our online register at www.iaa.govt.nz/adviser-register. 

If your immigration adviser is licensed, read and complete section A starting on page 2. Do not complete the 

form below. 

If your immigration adviser is not licensed or exempt continue below. 

Section 2 

The unlicensed immigration adviser’s details 

Name 

Company (if relevant) 

Is this person still your adviser? 

Yes 

No 

If not, on what date did this person cease to represent you? 


Section 3 

The complaint 

What happened 

Please give full details of your case, adding additional pages if necessary. Set out what happened, in date 

order, attaching relevant documents. 

Describe exactly what you are unhappy about and why, using a separate page if necessary. If you are unsure 

how to complete this form, please contact us. 

Date 

What happened 


B 


Witnesses 

Please tell us if there are any witnesses who can provide direct, independent evidence that will help us deal 

with the complaint. 

Names of witnesses 

Contact details of witnesses 

Supporting documents 

It is very useful to have copies of any documents that support your allegation. For example, written 

agreements, invoices, receipts or other correspondence from the adviser. 

Providing evidence 

Would you be willing to provide evidence in court if this complaint resulted in a prosecution? 

Yes 

No 

Declaration 

I understand: 

(a) 

the information provided on this form will be used for the purposes of investigating a complaint under the 


b) upon receipt of this completed form the Immigration Advisers Authority may make any necessary enquiries about 

the contents of this form, so that decisions can be made regarding this complaint. 

c) this may include the necessary disclosure of this information to third parties. 

Signed 

Date 

Printed Name 


If you wish to make your complaint anonymously, you can do so. However, this may restrict the Authority’s ability to progress the matter further. 

How did you hear about the Immigration Advisers Authority? 

Returning the form 

Once you have completed the Complaint Form, you can send it to us by: 

Email: info@iaa.govt.nz 

Postal: FREEPOST 241013 


Attention: Complaints 

PO Box 6222 



NEW ZEALAND 

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint.

Making a Complaint About an Immigration Adviser form

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