A timely response

An individual who sent a complaint letter to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) came to us for help, saying they had been told the SIU had no formal complaint process or timeline for receiving a response. As a fairness best practice, we generally recommend that public bodies establish a clear timeline for responding to complaints, including a reasonable deadline for acknowledging receipt of the complaint.

Result: We shared these suggestions with the SIU, which told us it was in the process of redeveloping its existing policies and would be publicly posting a revised complaint policy in the coming months. In the meantime, the SIU posted its existing policy online, and apologized to the complainant for the delay.