Make a complaint about the SFO

If you feel we haven’t treated you fairly, you can make a complaint.

Please note, the information on this page is for people who wish to make a complaint about the SFO. If you think you have been a victim of fraud and would like to make a report, please click here.

How to make a complaint about the SFO

You can make a complaint by emailing us at sfo@sfo.govt.nz

To help get your complaint to the right person, please include:

  • The word ‘complaint’ in the subject line
  • The case name, if there is one
  • If your complaint is about an active investigation or prosecution, you can address it to the Manager Investigation and Prosecution
  • If your complaint is about a decision not to investigate an allegation of fraud or corruption, you can address it to the Manager Detection and Prevention

If you are involved in an active SFO case, you can also contact the Principal Investigator involved in your case to make a complaint. They will be able to:

  • Answer any questions or concerns you have
  • Help to address your complaint

 What you can make a complaint about:

We can investigate complaints about:

  • How we have handled a case you are involved in
  • How we have handled a report of fraud or corruption
  • How staff treated or spoke to you
  • Any other case where you feel you haven’t been treated fairly by our staff or services

If we can’t help you resolve a complaint, we will let you know who you can get in touch with next.

If you have questions or are unsure about whether SFO can help you, you can:

How we handle complaints about the SFO

Complaints about the decision not to investigate an allegation of fraud or corruption

If a complaint is made about how we have handled your report of fraud or corruption, we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days
  • Review the following:
    • Whether proper steps were taken to assess your report
    • Whether your report was evaluated by someone with sufficient financial crime expertise
    • Whether the SFO’s investigation criteria was properly applied
    • Whether you were properly informed of the reason for our decision not to investigate
    • This review will be carried out by a senior member of staff who was not involved in the original assessment.
  • Provide you with a written outcome to your complaint within 20 working days.  Some cases may take longer and, if so, we will let you know how much more time we will need.

If our review finds that your report was properly assessed:

  • We will uphold our decision not to investigate
  • We will confirm the reason that we will not be carrying out an investigation or prosecution
  • No further actions will be taken by the SFO

If the review finds that your report was not properly assessed:

  • We will let you know in writing what the review found
  • Your matter may be evaluated again
  • We may take other appropriate steps to respond to your report
  • We may take steps to improve our processes and procedures, as needed

 

Complaints about other matters

If a complaint is made about another matter, we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of your complaint
  • Investigate your complaint, with oversight from an appropriate senior leader
  • Provide you with a written outcome to your complaint within 20 working days.  Some cases may take longer and, if so, we will let you know how much more time we will need.

If you are unhappy with how your complaint has been handled

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint or how we have responded, you can contact the Ombudsman(external link).

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