Guidelines on attending the Complaints Committee

1. It is desirable for both the complainant and the publication to attend the meeting of the Complaints Committee where the complaint will be considered. If personal attendance is not convenient or feasible, the Council expects that either or both of the parties, as necessary, will make themselves available by teleconference.
    
2. You will be invited to the next available meeting of the committee. The Executive Secretary will tell you in good time when and where this is scheduled. Normally the committee meets in Sydney. Sometimes the committee visits other centres. Alternatively, and less frequently, an assessment panel may be convened or an assessor appointed. (No guarantee can be made that a meeting will be held in a location nominated by either party.)
    
3. Discussions of complaints by the committee are informal.
    
4. Legal representation is not allowed. However, by arrangement with the Executive Secretary, a party may attend with a supportive friend or friends, or, if s/he cannot attend, arrange to send someone else.
    
5. No new material will be admitted or may be tabled.
    
6. The discussion opens with the complainant and publication representative being introduced to the committee. The Chair normally then invites the complainant, and the publication representative, in order, if either wishes, to briefly summarise the main points of the complaint. The committee will have read the file carefully, so it is best to speak directly to the point. No more than five minutes is allowed for opening comments by each party. It is usually better for complainants and respondents to speak to committee members informally than to read prepared statements.
    
7. The Chair then invites members of the committee in turn to ask any questions they think relevant to the issues in the complaint. Answers should be directed to the committee, not to the other party.
    
8. After this discussion is concluded, the publication representative and the complainant are able, if either wishes, to sum up their case or make any clarifying comments, each to speak for no more than two minutes.
    
9. After the parties leave, the committee drafts an adjudication that it recommends to the Council, which usually meets the next day.