Complaints process

Complaints (known as 'specific instances') examine allegations of non-observance or corporate misconduct as it relates to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidelines).

The AusNCP only considers complaints if they relate to the conduct of:

  • any multinational enterprise legally registered in Australia, or
  • any Australian multinational enterprises operating in another country, irrespective of that country’s OECD member status.
Read the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (2023 edition).  

Read the AusNCP’s note on transitional arrangements for the 2023 edition of the OECD Guidelines.

Process overview

Diagram: AusNCP complaints procedure

Diagram: complaints process with 4 phases: initial assessment, dispute resolution, final statement, and follow-up. Link to text description follows image

Text description

*A procedural review may be requested within six weeks from receipt of completed final statement.

Submit a complaint

Before you submit a complaint to the AusNCP read the the AusNCP procedural guidance.

The procedures explain the AusNCP’s processes for considering cases.

They are based on procedural guidance in the OECD Guidelines.

Submit a complaint

AusNCP procedural guidance

Current

AusNCP procedures – updated April 2024 [PDF 699KB | DOCX 358KB]

What’s changed in the 2024 AusNCP complaint procedures?

AusNCP procedures – comparison of the 2024 and 2022 versions [PDF 328KB | PPTX 205KB]

Past

AusNCP procedures – updated July 2022 [PDF 2.4MB | DOCX 286KB]

AusNCP procedures – September 2019 to July 2022 [PDF 2.4MB | DOCX 267KB]

AusNCP procedures – July 2018 to August 2019 [PDF 274KB | DOCX 459KB]

AusNCP procedures – prior to July 2018 [PDF 376KB | DOCX 46KB]

Enquiries

You can direct your enquiries to the AusNCP Secretariat:

Text description of diagram

A diagram of the complaints process, with four phases: initial assessment, dispute resolution, final statement, and follow-up.

Note – all timeframes are indicative.

Phase 1: Initial assessment

This phase lasts for approximately 3 months.

  1. A person or organisation, called a notifier, complains to AusNCP that a multinational enterprise has breached the OECD Guidelines.
  2. An AusNCP examiner conducts an initial assessment to decide if the complaint merits further investigation.
    • If yes, the examiner publishes their reasons in an initial assessment statement and the process moves to phase 2 dispute resolution.
    • If no, the examiner publishes their reasons for rejecting the complaint in the final statement – go to phase 3 final statement.

Phase 2: Dispute resolution

This phase is also known as ‘good offices’ and lasts for approximately 6 to 12 months.

  1. The AusNCP offers dispute resolution services to the notifier and enterprise.
    • If the notifier and enterprise agree to resolve the dispute, the outcomes are published in the final statement – go to phase 3 final statement.
    • If not, the examiner decides whether the enterprise has breached the OECD guidelines and may make recommendations to parties involved in the complaint. This process is called an examination.

Phase 3: Final statement

This phase lasts for approximately 3 months.

  1. The AusNCP sends a final statement of the complaint outcomes to the notifier and enterprise and publishes the statement.
  2. The notifier or enterprise may request a procedural review within six weeks of receiving the completed final statement.

Phase 4: Follow-up

  1. Approximately 12 months after the final statement is published, the examiner checks if the recommendations have been implemented and whether further AusNCP engagement is needed.
  2. The examiner publishes their findings in a follow-up statement.

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