How to make a complaint about the Assisted Dying Service.
You can make a complaint about your or someone else’s experience when using the assisted dying service.
Raising your concerns with the practitioner
If you feel comfortable to do so, you are encouraged to first raise your concerns directly with the medical or nurse practitioner providing assisted dying services. It is best if you can do this as soon as possible after you become unhappy with your, or someone else’s, care.
Making a complaint to the Secretariat
If this does not resolve your complaint, or you do not want to raise your concerns directly, you can contact the Assisted Dying Secretariat. You can make a complaint to the Secretariat by:
- emailing Assisted[email protected] or phoning 0800 223 852. When emailing, please provide an outline of the complaint and a contact phone number.
- filling in the online complaints form. You do not need to register or log-in to make a complaint.
The Secretariat will let you know when your complaint has been received and may ask for further details to help resolve it.
Your complaint will be considered by the Registrar (assisted dying) or the Manager for Regulatory Assurance. Who considers your complaint depends on what it is about.
The Registrar (assisted dying) is responsible for overseeing all complaints about the Assisted Dying Service. The Registrar may also refer your complaint to an appropriate authority should that be required. This may include Medical and Nursing Councils, the Health and Disability Commissioner, or the New Zealand Police.
You will be contacted with the outcome once your complaint has been considered (and referred, if required).
The Health and Disability Commissioner
People choosing to receive assisted dying services are protected by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights and can complain to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) if they feel they have not received quality care or that their rights have been breached.
Please note, the law (the End of Life Choice Act 2019) changes some rights in the Code in key areas. These include how information about assisted dying should be provided and people’s ability to make decisions about their care.
For more information, visit the HDC website.