If you'd like to ask a question or give us feedback, please email us at the address below and we'll respond as soon as possible:

contactus@justice.govt.nz

Ministry of Justice Customer Charter

Here at the Ministry of Justice, our purpose is to deliver people-centred services to provide access to justice for all. A big part of how we do this involves the commitment of our people to provide great service to the public every day.

Our Ministry’s Customer Charter sets out what people can expect when they interact with us.

View our Ministry’s Customer Charter [PDF, 2.8 MB](external link)

There are some complaints we can't help with

Please note there are some complaints our Ministry doesn’t deal with.

These are complaints about:

  • decisions related to the time taken to set down a hearing, or for a trial to be heard.

If you write to us about any of the above we cannot directly help you, we are only able to advise you of the steps you may take to resolve your complaint.

If you believe a crime has been committed please contact New Zealand police; they can be reached online at How to report a crime or incident | New Zealand Police(external link)

Get in touch with us if you have any concerns

If you’re unhappy with the service you’ve received from our Ministry, we want to know so we can work with you to resolve your concerns.

If you’ve been dealing directly with a Ministry of Justice staff member, we suggest you get in touch with them first. You can find their contact details on letters or emails you’ve received from them. The staff member will try to resolve the matter straight away. If they can’t, they may refer your concerns to the responsible Ministry Business Unit to consider.

How to make a formal complaint

If after talking with us you still have concerns, you can make a complaint:

National Office
Ministry of Justice SX10088
Wellington

Please include the following information with your complaint:

  • Your first and last name (including company name if relevant)
  • Your email address
  • The details of your complaint. Please include the date of the incident and any other relevant information.
  • If your complaint is regarding a phone call with one of our call centres please include the phone number that you called us from, or that we called you on and the date and time of the call.

We may contact you if we need more information from you to progress your complaint.

The information you provide with your feedback or a complaint will be passed to the appropriate Ministry Business Unit for action, if appropriate. For more information, see:

Ministry of Justice Privacy Statement(external link)

What happens after you've made a complaint

Once we receive your complaint, we’ll send you an email or letter confirming we’ve received it. If you complain by email, you will receive an automatic reply from the mailbox letting you know we received it, and that we’ll be in touch to confirm that we received it within 2 working days (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays)

We’ll investigate your complaint and contact you if we need more information. You should expect a response within 20 working days from the date we received your complaint.

If we need more information or the matter you’ve raised is very detailed or complex, we might need more time to make a decision. If we do need more time, we’ll let you know.

If you're unhappy with the outcome of your complaint

If you’re unhappy with our decision regarding your complaint, you have the right to raise your concerns with the Ombudsman.

Office of the Ombudsman contact details:

Freephone: 0800 802 602
Email: info@ombudsman.parliament.nz

Postal address:
PO Box 10152
Wellington 6143

The Ombudsman can consider complaints about the administrative acts and decisions of state sector agencies. The Ombudsman will ask you if you have first tried to resolve the matter with us directly and will consider whether you have any other remedy available.

The Ombudsman may consider your complaint and make a recommendation to us about the concern(s) you’ve raised. 

 
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