[2019] NZIACDT 13 — INZ (Calder) v Horan (John Wiremu Horan)

Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal · decided 11 March 2019 · adviser: John Wiremu Horan

The tribunal's published summary

Unprofessional & disrespectful communications with INZ / adviser’s communications criticised INZ staff for being incompetent & threatened to raise complaint with government agency / INZ staff felt belittled, stressed, incompetent, upset & bullied by communications / adviser copied communications to lawyer & another adviser / INZ’s character concerns not brought to client’s attention / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl4a / adviser’s criticisms unprofessional & crossed disciplinary threshold / tone & text went beyond robust advocacy & amounted to unjustified personal attacks / communications not at upper end of being unprofessional / criticisms & threats unjustified but not offensive or intimidating in unlawful sense / adviser honestly believed clients wronged / adviser withheld information & failed to obtain client’s informed instructions / adviser breached client confidentiality / complaint upheld.

Read the full decision (PDF, Ministry of Justice)

This page reproduces the tribunal's own published summary as a fair report of public tribunal proceedings; the linked decision is the authoritative record. A decision is not itself a finding of wrongdoing — some complaints are dismissed. Complainants are anonymised by the tribunal. Complaints about advisers go to the Immigration Advisers Authority.