Act and Code Review consultation
Topic 4: Considering options for a right of appeal of HDC decisions
Issues
A petition to the Health Select Committee argued that there are limited options to challenge HDC decisions and that introducing a right to appeal HDC decisions would strengthen the promotion and protection of the rights of people accessing health and disability services. Considerations for assessing the value of an appeal include the potential costs and impacts of delay; the importance of reaching final resolution; and the expertise of the initial decision-maker.
What we’re doing already
Over the last few years, HDC has reviewed and improved our ‘closed file review’/internal review process and clarified decision-making guidance relating to taking no further action and notifying an investigation.
Suggestions
We seek feedback on the following suggestions for the Act to challenge HDC decisions.
Introduce a statutory requirement for review of HDC decisions
Currently, HDC can undertake internal reviews of decisions if requested. The Act could be amended to require such reviews. This option could include a requirement that the original decision-maker is not part of the review or that there is peer involvement. Another variation of this option could be for an entirely independent review panel or body.
Lower the threshold for access to the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT)
The HRRT considers breaches of rights concerning the Privacy Act 2020 and the Human Rights Act 1993 in addition to our Act. The threshold for accessing the HRRT is highest under our Act, which requires a breach decision by HDC to be made following an investigation.
The threshold could be lowered to the equivalent level of the Privacy Act, which generally requires a complaint to be investigated, or reduced further to the equivalent level as the Human Rights Act, which requires only that a complaint be made to the Human Rights Commissioner. Different thresholds would require different levels of resourcing for the HRRT.