Make a claim

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How much does it cost to make a claim?

There’s no fee to make a claim to the Tribunal.

How to apply

Make sure you follow the correct procedure before you make a claim to the Tribunal.

Human Rights Act 1993

If you’re making a claim under the Human Rights Act 1993, you must first provide evidence that you have made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

If you’ve complained to the Human Rights Commission and still want to make a claim to the Tribunal, fill in this form and return it to us:

Statement of Claim – Human Rights Act 1993 [PDF, 536 KB]

Privacy Act 2020

If you’re making a claim under the Privacy Act 2020:

  • you must first have your complaint investigated by the Privacy Commissioner and
  • a notice under section 98 of the Act must have been issued by the Privacy Commissioner or by the Director of the Human Rights Proceedings.

If the Privacy Commissioner has investigated your complaint and given you such notice and you still want to make a claim to the Tribunal, fill in the appropriate form and return it to us with a copy of the section 98 notice and any certificate of investigation issued by the Privacy Commissioner:

Statement of Claim – Privacy Act 2020 [PDF, 297 KB]

Separate forms are for use if you are:

Health & Disability Commissioner Act 1994

If you’re making a claim under the Health & Disability Commissioner Act 1994, you must first:

  • have your complaint investigated by the Health and Disability Commissioner and a breach of the Code must have been found and
  • the Commissioner decided not to refer the matter to the Director of Proceedings or
  • the Director declined or failed to take proceedings. 

If the Health and Disability Commissioner has investigated your complaint and found the Code has been breached, and has decided not to refer the matter to the Director of Proceedings or the Director has declined or failed to take proceedings and you still want to make a claim to the Tribunal, fill in this form and return it to us:

Statement of Claim – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 [PDF, 422 KB]

Guide to filing a claim

This guide has general information about the Tribunal including how to file a claim and what happens afterwards.

Guide to filing a claim [PDF, 890 KB]

Important tips

If you're making a claim, you're known as the plaintiff.

Your Statement of claim must include:

  1. your full name, physical address, occupation, postal address, telephone number and email address. Please add your physical address (if different from your address for service) to your Statement of Claim
  2. the full name, physical address, telephone number, email address and occupation of the person (or organisation) you are making a claim against (the defendant)
  3. the sections of the relevant Act(s) that you claim have been breached by the defendant(s)
  4. a brief statement to describe what has happened, and why you think the person or organisation has breached the Act your claim relates to. This should make clear:
    • what your claim is about
    • who was involved
    • what happened, when and where - or what should have happened and didn't
    • what action, aside from the claim in the Tribunal, has been taken so far
    • what the defendant has said or done, or not said or done, about your complaint
    • what harm or damage you have suffered
  5. explain what you seek from the Tribunal if your claim is successful
    1. If your complaint was investigated by the Health and Disability Commissioner, attach a copy of the Commissioner's final opinion to your Statement of Claim
    2. If your complaint was investigated by the Privacy Commissioner, attach a copy of the certificate of investigation to your Statement of Claim.
    3. If your complaint was investigated by the Human Rights Commission, attach proof that you have been to the Commission with your complaint to your Statement of Claim.

You must sign and date your Statement of Claim.

Representation

You don’t need to have a lawyer or a representative to bring a claim to the Tribunal. However, it's highly recommended that you are represented by someone with experience in dealing with the type of claim you want to make.  

If your representative is not a lawyer - both of you will need to fill in this form:

Authority to Act [PDF, 451 KB]

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