How to complain about a doctor or hospital in New Zealand

Last updated 4 July 2026. This is general information, not legal or medical advice.

In a hurry? Complaining is free, you do not need a lawyer, and the easiest place to start is the free advocacy service on 0800 555 050.

Being let down by medical care is upsetting, and the maze of agencies can feel as daunting as the complaint itself. The good news is that the system is designed to be used by ordinary people, it costs nothing, you do not need a lawyer, and free help exists to guide you. New Zealanders lodge more than 3,600 complaints with the Health and Disability Commissioner a year, so you are far from alone. This guide explains your rights, which body to go to for which outcome, and how to complain well.

Your rights as a patient

Every person receiving health or disability services in New Zealand is protected by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, which sets out ten rights. They include the right to be treated with respect, the right to services provided with reasonable care and skill and of an appropriate standard, the right to effective communication, the right to be fully informed, the right to make an informed choice and give informed consent, and the right to complain. The Code applies to every provider, a GP, a hospital, a nurse, a dentist, a physio, a rest home, whether public or private. When care falls short of these rights, you have grounds to complain.

Which body does what

The single most confusing thing about health complaints is that different bodies deliver different outcomes, and picking the wrong one wastes months. Match what you want to where you go:

What you want	Where to go
An explanation or apology, a change in practice	The provider directly, or the advocacy service
A formal finding that your rights were breached	The Health and Disability Commissioner
The practitioner’s conduct or competence reviewed	The relevant council, such as the Medical Council or Nursing Council
Compensation for harm caused by treatment	ACC, as a treatment injury claim
The cause of a death examined	The Coroner

These are not either-or. A serious case can involve an HDC complaint, an ACC claim and a council referral all at once, and the Commissioner can itself refer a matter on. But knowing that the Commissioner delivers findings, the councils deliver discipline, and ACC delivers money saves you from expecting the wrong thing from the wrong door.

The free advocacy service

Most people have never heard of the service that helps most, the Nationwide Health and Disability Advocacy Service. It is free, and genuinely independent, it does not work for the providers or for the Commissioner. An advocate will help you understand your rights, work out what you want, write your complaint, and support you in raising it directly with the provider, which resolves many complaints without them ever going further. Call 0800 555 050, 8.30am to 5pm on weekdays, and start here before anything else.

How the HDC process works

You can complain to the Health and Disability Commissioner in writing, online, or with an advocate’s help, at no cost and without a lawyer. The Commissioner assesses every complaint and can take a range of steps, from taking no further action on a minor matter, to referring it back to the provider to resolve, to a low-level or facilitated resolution, up to a formal investigation for the most serious cases.

An investigation can end in a formal finding that a provider breached the Code, along with recommendations for change, and the most serious matters can be referred to the Director of Proceedings, who may take a case to a tribunal. It is worth being clear about the limits, though, because it saves disappointment. The Commissioner cannot order the provider to pay you compensation, and cannot itself strike off or suspend a doctor. What it delivers is accountability, a finding, an apology, and changes that protect the next patient, which for many complainants is exactly the point.

Compensation and the ACC route

If you were physically harmed by your treatment, the route to compensation is almost always ACC, through a treatment injury claim, not the complaints system. New Zealand’s no-fault scheme covers injury caused by treatment, and in return it bars most lawsuits over the same harm, which is why the courts are rarely the answer. You do not usually lodge the claim yourself, any treatment provider, your GP or a specialist, can lodge it for you, and it is normally made within 12 months, though later is possible with good reason.

Because the two systems do different jobs, many people run both, an ACC claim for the compensation and an HDC complaint for the accountability. If ACC declines a treatment injury claim, our guide to challenging an ACC decline covers the review and appeal process.

Get your health records first

Before you write a word of complaint, ask for your health records. Under the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code, you have the right to the personal health information a provider holds about you, and they must respond as soon as practicable and within 20 working days. Public hospitals cannot charge you, and GPs generally cannot either, except in limited cases like a repeat request within a year or copies of scan images.

Your records turn a vague sense that something went wrong into specifics, dates, decisions, what was and was not done. With them in hand, write a clear timeline of what happened, state plainly what outcome you are seeking, an explanation, an apology, a change, and you have a complaint that is far harder to brush off. There is no strict deadline for an HDC complaint, but memories and records fade, so sooner is better.

Rest homes, aged care and mental health

The same Code and the same avenues cover rest homes, aged residential care and mental health services, so everything above applies. For aged care you can also raise concerns with the provider’s management and, for contracted services, with Health New Zealand, which oversees the aged-care contracts, and Age Concern can support families through it. If a concern is about someone’s immediate safety, raise it urgently with the provider and, if needed, emergency services, rather than waiting on a formal complaint. For care and welfare decisions when someone can no longer decide for themselves, our guide to enduring powers of attorney is the companion piece.

Common questions

How do I complain about a doctor in NZ

Start by raising it with the provider or calling the free advocacy service on 0800 555 050. If that does not resolve it, or the matter is serious, complain to the Health and Disability Commissioner, which is free and needs no lawyer. For the doctor’s conduct or competence, the Medical Council is the body, and for compensation it is ACC.

Is an HDC complaint free

Yes, completely free, and you do not need a lawyer to make one. The advocacy service that can help you prepare it is free too.

Can the HDC discipline a doctor or give me compensation

No to both directly. The Commissioner can make a finding that your rights were breached and refer serious cases on, but it does not itself discipline practitioners, that is the professional councils, or award compensation, which comes through ACC.

How long does an HDC complaint take

It varies widely with the complexity. A matter resolved with the provider or through advocacy can take weeks, while a formal investigation of a serious case can take many months. The Commissioner will keep you informed of progress.

Can I complain on behalf of a family member

Yes. You can complain for a family member, including someone who has died or who cannot complain themselves. The advocacy service can help you do it.

What if my complaint is about a rest home

The same Code and complaint avenues apply. Raise it with the rest home’s management and the advocacy service or the Commissioner, and for contracted aged care you can also raise it with Health New Zealand. Urgent safety concerns should be acted on immediately, not left to a formal process.

Where to get free help

Have you complained about your care, and how did it go? Which door did you use, and what would you tell someone starting out? Share your experience in the comments, it could help another family find the right path.