Right 10 Complaint Timeframes: Managing a Complaint at Practice Level

What Right 10 actually requires

Right 10 is the right to complain in the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, a regulation made under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994. Our practitioner's guide to the Code of Rights explains all ten rights; this article stays with Right 10 and turns it into something a practice can run on a Tuesday morning. If you are new to the New Zealand framework, the New Zealand hub shows how the Code sits alongside the HPCA Act and the Health Information Privacy Code, and our fitness to practise hub covers what happens when a complaint moves beyond the practice to HDC, a responsible authority or a professional conduct committee.

Right 10 has eight clauses. The first five apply to every provider. Clause 6 sets out what a complaints procedure must do, and clauses 7 and 8 set the decision and communication steps. Here is each duty with its deadline and the mistake practices most often make with it.

Who has to have a complaints procedure

Right 10(6) applies to "every provider, unless an employee of a provider". In practice that means:

• Practice owners and incorporated practices (general practice, dental, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology and so on) must have a written procedure that meets clauses 6 to 8.
• Self-employed and contracting practitioners, such as a sole-trader physiotherapist, a self-employed midwife or a locum working under their own company, are providers in their own right and need their own procedure, or a clear written arrangement to use the clinic's.
• Employed clinicians, such as a practice nurse or an employed pharmacist, do not need a separate procedure. They work within the employer's. They are still providers, so the duties in clauses 1 to 5 to facilitate fair, speedy resolution, keep the consumer updated and respect their other rights still apply to them.

The Code covers health and disability providers generally, not only registered health practitioners, so reception, administration and unregistered staff need to know the procedure too. A complaint made to the receptionist is still a complaint to the practice.

Counting working days correctly

Neither the Code nor the Health and Disability Commissioner Act defines "working day" or "month". HDC's Fact Sheet 3 tells providers to use the general interpretation statute. The fact sheet still cites the Interpretation Act 1999, which has since been replaced by the Legislation Act 2019. The current definition, in section 13 of the 2019 Act, is the one to build your calendar on.

Three counting rules that settle most arguments

1. Do not count the day of receipt

   Section 54 of the Legislation Act 2019 says a period described as "within" a number of days of an event does not include the day of the event. A complaint received on Monday has Tuesday as working day 1.

2. The decision clock starts from the acknowledgement, not the complaint

   Right 10(7) runs "within 10 working days of giving written acknowledgement". Acknowledge on day 2 and your decision is due 10 working days after day 2. Acknowledging early brings the decision deadline forward, which is a good reason to acknowledge promptly and plan the investigation at the same time.

3. Months are calendar months and ignore holidays

   HDC's fact sheet treats a month as a calendar month, so 8 October to 8 November. The one-month update interval keeps running through the summer shutdown. Section 55 of the Legislation Act lets something due on a non-working day be done on the next working day, but for the monthly update the safer habit is to send it before a weekend or closure date, not after.

Worked examples using real 2026–27 dates

The dates below apply the Legislation Act definition to the 2026 public holidays published by Employment New Zealand and the Matariki dates fixed in the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022. Each one has a trap in it.

The practice workflow, step by step

The diagram shows the whole Right 10 timeline on one page. The steps underneath add what each stage looks like inside a busy practice.

1. Recognise it and log it the same day

   Anyone who hears dissatisfaction, whether at the front desk, on the phone, in a Google review reply or a portal message, passes it to the complaints officer that day. Log the date and channel of receipt, because that date starts the 5-working-day clock. HDC's guide for general practice asks whether staff can recognise signs of dissatisfaction and whether the concern can be settled through honest, open conversation. Often it can, and that is the first thing to try.

2. Make early contact

   A phone call from the complaints officer or the clinician (if appropriate) within a day or two does more than any letter. HDC's provider tips: let the complainant speak first and without interruption, reassure them that complaining will not affect their care, check whether they need an interpreter or cultural support, and do not be defensive.

3. Send the written acknowledgement

   By working day 5 at the latest. Name the person handling it, say what happens next and when, and include the Advocacy Service and HDC details required by Right 10(6)(b). If the matter was fully resolved to the consumer's satisfaction in that first conversation, the written acknowledgement is not required, but you must still document what happened.

4. Plan the investigation the same day

   Pull the clinical record, appointment log, phone notes and any messages. Ask the staff involved for factual accounts while memories are fresh. Decide whether you can make a decision within 10 working days of the acknowledgement or will need longer. If the complaint is about the complaints officer, an alternative officer handles it, as the RNZCGP Foundation Standard requires.

5. Decide within 10 working days of the acknowledgement

   The decision is binary under Right 10(7)(a): you accept the complaint is justified, or you do not. Partly justified is a common honest answer; say which parts you accept. If you cannot decide yet, decide how much more time you need, and if that is more than 20 working days, tell the consumer and explain why.

6. Communicate the outcome

   As soon as practicable after the decision, give the reasons, any actions you propose and any appeal or review process you offer. Many practices offer a meeting first and confirm in writing afterwards. If the consumer remains unhappy, HDC's guidance is to tell them they can take their concerns to HDC.

7. Close and learn

   Record the outcome, reasons and any improvement in the register, share de-identified lessons with the team and follow up on any action you promised. Ask the complainant how the process felt; HDC's general practice guide suggests seeking feedback on the complaints process itself.

Model wording for each letter

The wording below is original model text written for this article, not an HDC or college template. Adapt it to your practice, your voice and the complaint in front of you. Keep sentences short, avoid clinical jargon and write the way you would speak to the person. Put the letters in the complainant's preferred language and format where you can.

Where the complaint is about harm from care, the decision letter is often part of a wider open disclosure conversation rather than a substitute for it. Our open disclosure course covers that conversation in depth.

Verbal complaints and complaints made for someone else

Verbal and informal complaints

Right 10(1) lets consumers complain "in any form appropriate to the consumer", so a complaint said at the counter, over the phone or in a text message is a complaint. The RNZCGP Foundation Standard also expects general practices to provide ways to complain for patients who cannot come in, such as phone, video, writing, email or text.

The practical question is when an expression of dissatisfaction becomes something that triggers the Right 10 process. A sensible test: if the person is unhappy with the service and wants something done about it, treat it as a complaint and log it. Two outcomes are then possible:

• Resolved on the spot to their satisfaction within 5 working days: no written acknowledgement is required by Right 10(6)(a), but record the concern, what was done and that the person was satisfied. A short note in the register is enough.
• Not resolved, or you are unsure: run the full process. Summarise the verbal complaint in your acknowledgement letter and ask the person to correct it if you have misunderstood, so both of you are working from the same list of concerns.

Complaints on behalf of someone else

HDC tells consumers they have the right to complain for themselves or on behalf of someone else, so expect complaints from partners, adult children, whānau, parents and support workers. Two separate questions arise:

1. Can you engage with the complaint?

   Yes. Listen, acknowledge and look into it. A concern about care is worth investigating whoever raises it, and an acknowledgement that confirms receipt without disclosing health information discloses nothing.

2. What can you tell them?

   That depends on authority. For Right 10, "consumer" includes a person entitled to give consent on the consumer's behalf, such as a parent of a young child or an attorney under an activated enduring power of attorney. Otherwise, sharing the patient's health information with the complainant is a disclosure governed by rule 11 of the Health Information Privacy Code, which generally needs the patient's or their representative's authorisation unless an exception applies. HDC itself says a complaint made for someone else may need that person's consent, or the legal right to act for them, to progress.

In practice: acknowledge within 5 working days as normal, explain that you need the patient's consent (or evidence of authority) before you can discuss their care in detail, and offer to contact the patient directly. If the patient cannot consent, the rules on representatives and near relatives in our Health Information Privacy Code guide set out what you can share.

Privacy inside the complaint process

• Right 10(6)(d) requires the consumer to receive all information you hold that is or may be relevant to the complaint. Offer it, rather than waiting to be asked.
• If the consumer makes a formal request for their own health information, rule 6 of the Health Information Privacy Code applies in parallel: the Privacy Commissioner expects a decision as soon as possible and within 20 working days.
• Check records for information about other people (other patients, family members who gave confidential information, staff personal details) before release, and remove what the consumer is not entitled to.
• Share the complaint with the team on a need-to-know basis. Use de-identified versions for team learning sessions and peer review groups.
• Never add to or change clinical notes after a complaint arrives except as a clearly dated, signed later entry. Altered records can turn a service complaint into a conduct matter.

Your complaints procedure and register

Right 10(6) requires the procedure itself. The standards you are audited or certified against then say what that procedure should contain.

The Ministry of Health's sector guidance for Ngā Paerewa adds that people should be able to complain at any time and through varied channels, can involve an independent support person, should be told the outcome of internal investigations, and that providers should consider under-reporting of complaints by Māori. The guidance is not mandatory and is not audited against, but it explains how providers can meet the criteria. For pharmacies, dental and allied practices not covered by either standard, the same elements make a sound procedure and line up with your regulator's code of conduct expectations, compared in our codes of conduct guide.

Complaints register checklist

The RNZCGP describes the register as a chronological record of dates, details, actions, outcomes, reasons and improvements. A register that also proves your Right 10 timeframes needs these fields:

Add a simple tracker for the clocks: a shared calendar entry for the acknowledgement due date, the decision due date and a recurring monthly reminder for open complaints. Most practice management systems can hold this as a task with a due date.

When to call your MDO, and how HDC fits in

Signs you should get advice before replying

HDC notes that your professional association can advise on responding to complaints, and many practitioners also turn to their indemnity insurer or medical defence organisation. Most practice-level complaints do not need outside advice, but get it early, ideally before the decision letter, when:

• the complaint alleges serious harm, a death or a significant missed diagnosis
• it mentions HDC, a lawyer, the media or your responsible authority
• it asks for compensation or a refund beyond a simple fee adjustment
• it involves a possible privacy breach, which has its own notification rules
• it raises concerns about a colleague's competence, conduct or health
• you are personally the subject of a serious allegation, including boundary or sexual misconduct concerns

Advice does not pause the Right 10 clocks. Acknowledge on time, then get advice on the substance. Check your own indemnity policy for how early it expects to hear from you.

If the complaint goes to HDC

Right 10(2) lets the consumer go straight to HDC or an advocate without coming to you first, though HDC recommends they speak to the provider first because that is often quickest. When HDC receives a complaint it may ask you to respond, refer the complaint back to you or to the Advocacy Service to resolve directly, refer it to another agency, close it, or in a small number of cases investigate formally. HDC's provider FAQ says about 30% of complaints are resolved directly between the provider and the person who complained, after HDC refers them to the provider or the Advocacy Service, with a report-back to HDC on the outcome.

Health and Disability Commissioner, annual report 2024/25 announcement, January 2026.

When HDC asks for your side, your practice file becomes the backbone of it: the register entry, acknowledgement, updates and decision letter show HDC you met Right 10 and tried to resolve the concern. HDC's provider guidance notes that people are most satisfied when concerns are resolved directly by the provider, and advises keeping detailed records of every communication and action taken to resolve the complaint. How to write that response is covered in our guide to responding to an HDC complaint, and if the matter proceeds to a formal investigation, our guide to HDC provisional opinions explains the next stage. Concerns about a practitioner's competence that surface through a complaint can also lead to a notification, covered in when your employer notifies your responsible authority.

Turning complaints into improvement

HDC's general practice guide frames complaints as a quality tool: log them consistently, collate numbers and outcomes, look for trends, share learning with peer groups or the PHO, give the team regular complaints data and recognise positive feedback too. The RNZCGP standard requires the procedure to say how the practice learns from complaints. A short quarterly review is enough for most practices:

1. Count and theme

   How many complaints, through which channels, and which themes recur (results follow-up, access, cost, communication, attitude).

2. Check the clocks

   What proportion were acknowledged within 5 working days and decided within 10 working days of acknowledgement? Did any open complaint go more than a month without an update?

3. Check the actions

   Were promised changes made, and did they work? Close or re-open each one.

4. Feed it back

   Share de-identified cases at a team meeting and record the discussion. For individual clinicians, a reflection on a complaint is useful evidence for a professional development plan.

Self-check: would your practice get these right?

Frequently asked questions