Once a complaint is submitted, the OIA will action next steps:


  • The OIA will write to the student who submitted the complaint (or their nominated representative) to acknowledge receipt of the complaint.


  • The OIA will then complete basic checks to ensure that the complaint is something they can look into (according to their own rules of the scheme). At this point, the OIA may contact the student or Higher Education provider for more information to help with this decision.
  • If the OIA decide the complaint made cannot be looked at according to their rules, they will write to the student (or representative) and explain why. If a student wants to, they can appeal this decision (but must do so within 14 days). 


  • If, after basic checks, the OIA decide they can look into a case, they will pass the complaint to a case handler that will look further into the case and its details. 


It is worth a student understanding that they OIA will likely contact the university about the complaint received, therefore it is important to keep information accurate and factual when submitting a complaint to the OIA.


For more information about the process of what the OIA consider once they receive a complaint from a student, and how they subsequently handle the case, please see their website.