Complaints

Arotahi/Develop Together recog­nises the impor­tance and value of lis­ten­ing and respond­ing to con­cerns and complaints.

The purpose of the Com­plaints Han­dling Policy is to guide a fair, clear, timely and doc­u­mented pro­ce­dure through which stake­hold­ers may express a concern, provide feed­back or make a com­plaint about Arotahi or our inter­na­tional devel­op­ment and aid activ­i­ties through Develop Together.

We can receive com­plaints orally (in person to a New Zealand based or global team member) or by any of the means below;
Post/In Person: Arotahi Office, 473 Great South Road, Penrose, Auck­land 1061
Tele­phone: +64 9 526 8444
Email: complaints@arotahi.org.nz
Online: arotahi.org.nz/complaints
Gov­er­nance contact: chair@arotahi.org.nz

Com­plaints may be made by a friend or advo­cate of the com­plainant on their behalf. We recog­nise that in some cir­cum­stances, com­plainants may wish to remain anony­mous. However, it may not be pos­si­ble to provide a remedy to an anony­mous individual.

Com­plaints han­dling is expected of all Arotahi/Develop Together staff and vol­un­teers, with the Chair­per­son respon­si­ble for over­see­ing sub­se­quent investigations.

We will ensure that a com­plainant is not required to express their com­plaint to a person impli­cated in their com­plaint. We will also ensure that a person impli­cated in a com­plaint is not involved in any way with the han­dling of that complaint.

The full Com­plaints Han­dling Policy can be viewed:

Arotahi/Develop Together recog­nises the impor­tance and value of lis­ten­ing and respond­ing to con­cerns and com­plaints. The purpose of this policy is to guide a fair, clear, timely and doc­u­mented pro­ce­dure through which stake­hold­ers may express a concern, provide feed­back or make a com­plaint about Arotahi or our inter­na­tional devel­op­ment activ­i­ties through Develop Together.

Com­plaints han­dling is expected of all staff and vol­un­teers, with the Chair­per­son respon­si­ble for over­see­ing sub­se­quent investigations.

Anyone impli­cated in the com­plaint will not be involved in the record­ing and assess­ment process.

Poli­cies 10.1 and 10.2 from Develop Together Finance and Oper­a­tions Manual

10.1 Com­plaints

• If Develop Together or the Imple­men­ta­tion Partner receive com­plaints about their own organ­i­sa­tion and activ­i­ties, or the partner organ­i­sa­tion and activ­i­ties, all efforts will be made in good-faith to resolve the com­plaint, as follows:
  All com­plaints are treated in con­fi­dence and care will be taken to assure con­fi­den­tial­ity and pro­tec­tion as appro­pri­ate and nec­es­sary for the safety of the com­plainant and other parties involved. At some point in the com­plaint res­o­lu­tion process, the com­plainants iden­tity may need to be made known. If this is not pos­si­ble, the com­plaint may remain unre­solved. Res­o­lu­tion may require relo­ca­tion of the com­plainant or other parties.
• All com­plaints will be acknowl­edged when received and the com­plainant will be kept informed of the progress of investigation.
• Com­plaints within Develop Together will be raised firstly with the Manager or General Direc­tor. All efforts will be made in good-faith to resolve the com­plaint. Where nec­es­sary exter­nal medi­a­tion may be sought.
• Com­plaints within the Develop Together and Imple­men­ta­tion Partner project part­ner­ship will be raised firstly with the Manager or General Direc­tor of both organ­i­sa­tions. All efforts will be made in good-faith to resolve the com­plaint. Where nec­es­sary exter­nal medi­a­tion may be sought. Evi­dence of uneth­i­cal activ­ity could lead to the part­ner­ship being reviewed and / or suspended.
• Develop Together encour­ages Imple­men­ta­tion Part­ners, Donors, Sup­port­ers and the Public to directly contact Develop Together to make any com­plaints. This is pub­li­cised in public rela­tions mate­ri­als — digital and paper based. Contact details include the website, phone, email, post address and phys­i­cal address. Com­plaints will be inves­ti­gated and responded to firstly by the Manager or General Direc­tor. All efforts will be made in good-faith to resolve the com­plaint. Where nec­es­sary the Develop Together Board may be requested to assist. Where nec­es­sary exter­nal medi­a­tion may be sought.

10.2 Dis­ci­pli­nary Action
If Develop Together receives a com­plaint about a staff member con­cern­ing serious mis­con­duct, the fol­low­ing actions will be taken:

• The General Direc­tor will inves­ti­gate the com­plaint in line with ‘Section 10.1: Complaints’.
• If the com­plaint of serious mis­con­duct is upheld, the General Direc­tor will report to the Develop Together Board and where appro­pri­ate legal authorities.
• The staff member will be invited to explain his / her behav­iour and / or actions to the Develop Together Board.
• The staff member and the General Direc­tor shall be enti­tled to an expla­na­tion of the other’s per­spec­tive, con­cerns, inves­ti­ga­tion direc­tion and outcomes.
• The Develop Together Board will make a deci­sion as to whether any dis­ci­pli­nary action is appro­pri­ate or not.
• The Develop Together Board rep­re­sen­ta­tives will imple­ment the decision.

If the com­plainant believes that Develop Together has breached the Code of Conduct of the council for Inter­na­tional
Devel­op­ment: https://www.cid.org.nz/code-of-conduct/about/

Com­plaints can be made here:
https://www.cid.org.nz/make-a-complaint/