Decisions Ngā whakatau

If the BSA upholds a complaint and decides a broadcaster has breached standards, there are different orders it may make. See Outcomes & Remedies.

We don’t generally comment on whether we’ve received a complaint about a particular broadcast.

In most cases, complaints must go to the broadcaster first. You could ask the broadcaster if a programme has been complained about.

Once complaints are determined, we publish the decisions on our website.

The written decision will be sent to you and the broadcaster first. You’ll be asked to keep it confidential for a short time until it’s publicly released.

The decision is then published on the BSA website, and reported in the BSA Pānui/newsletter. Sometimes we issue a media release but we never release the contact details of complainants.

All decisions on complaints can be seen on our website here.

You can find out more about the number and types of complaints in our Annual Reports.

If the complainant or broadcaster doesn’t agree with our decision they can appeal to the High Court. 

This must be lodged within one month after the parties are notified of the decision. 

For further information and advice about filing an appeal, you can contact:

• a lawyer
• your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Community Law Centre
• the Registrar at the High Court.