ICANZ is committed to providing quality services to all prospective adoptive parents that we assist, while maintaining the paramountcy of the welfare of the children we serve and respecting the cultures we work with overseas. If our service or practice does not meet our standards we want to hear about it, to have an opportunity to resolve your concerns so that we avoid similar issues in the future.

You should first contact the member of staff you are dealing with, as complaints are generally best resolved directly with those concerned. If the matter needs more action, you may contact the ICANZ Director, or the ICANZ Board, via the ICANZ email, snail mail, or telephone contacts. We are happy to deal with lower level informal complaints and feedback verbally, but for other matters it is helpful if you put the matter in writing , by email or letter.  To process a complaint we need to receive the following information:

• your name and contact details

• the key points of your complaint

• any actions you have already taken to resolve this informally with the staff member concerned

• how you would like to see this resolved

You can expect to have your complaint:

• acknowledged in writing (by email, or mail) within 10 working days

• considered by the Board of ICANZ at the next Board meeting, within two months of receiving the complaint. Often it will be considered earlier.

• assessed as ‘upheld’ or ‘not upheld’ with notification of any actions to be taken by ICANZ.

You can expect to receive an outline of the reasons for any decisions we make and the actions we propose to take. Some complaints are complex and the work related to the complaint may take time. If we need more time to resolve your complaint, we'll tell you how much extra time we need. If you're still unhappy about the matter, you can take your complaint to the New Zealand Central Authority for Adoption.