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Human Rights Commission Act 2005
44Complaint to be in writing
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44 Complaint to be in writing
(1) A complaint must—
(a) be in writing; and
(b) if the complaint is made by an agent—state that it is made for an
aggrieved person and name the aggrieved person; and
(c) if the complaint is made by a person under section 43 (1) (f)—
name the aggrieved person; and
(d) state the complaint and the grounds on which it is based; and
(e) include the name and address of the complainant.
(2) For a discrimination complaint, the complaint need not state whether
the discrimination complained about is direct discrimination or
indirect discrimination.
Note Discrimination occurs when a person directly or indirectly discriminates
against someone (see Discrimination Act 1991, s 8).
(3) However, a person is entitled to reasonable assistance from the
commission to put the complaint into writing.
Examples of when assistance would be reasonable
1 if the person cannot put the complaint in writing
2 if the person has difficulty putting the complaint in writing
(4) Despite subsection (1) (a), a complaint may be made orally if the
commission is satisfied on reasonable grounds that exceptional
circumstances justify action without a written complaint.
Example—exceptional circumstances
Waiting until the complaint is put in writing would make action in response to the
complaint impossible or impractical.