The Commission is a public body and has a policy of transparency and accountability. A high standard of conduct is expected of our staff. To ensure prompt handling of any complaints from members of the public against our staff and to facilitate effective follow-up action, we have established a complaints handling procedure.

A complaint is a statement of dissatisfaction regarding the way in which Commission staff have carried out or failed to carry out their duties. This includes genuine complaints about unprofessional or unacceptable conduct, incompetence or carelessness in the performance of their duties, unreasonable delay and biased treatment. Some complaints are not covered under our complaints handling procedure, including:-

• Any complaint about the propriety or appropriateness of administrative or operational decisions made by the Commission or our staff in respect of which you may appeal or seek a review under the Securities and Futures Ordinance or otherwise;
• Any complaint against the Commission or our staff which is, or has been, the subject of investigation by another public body, e.g. the Ombudsman or the ICAC;
• Any complaint raising issues or matters which are, or are likely to be, the subject of a civil claim against the Commission and/or any of our staff.

Any person who is directly affected by the way in which Commission staff have carried out (or failed to carry out) their duties may lodge a complaint.

You should make your complaint in writing addressed to the Commission Secretary (or to the Chief Operating Officer if the complaint is about the Commission Secretary), setting out the name of the employee involved and the circumstances of the alleged conduct. If you do not make your complaint in writing, we may produce a written summary of the complaint and ask you to confirm that it is accurate.

Complaints that are made anonymously will only be considered at the discretion of Chief Operating Officer (or the Chief Executive Officer if the complaint is about the Chief Operating Officer) who will take into account the seriousness of the complaint, the credibility of the complainant and the likelihood of confirming the complaint from sources that can be verified.

We will normally only investigate complaints if you raise them within 12 months of the date on which you became aware of the circumstances of the complaint. We will only investigate complaints made later than this if you have a good reason for the delay.

Within 7 working days of receiving your complaint, we will write acknowledging receipt and informing you whether or not it can be dealt with under our complaints handling procedure. (If you did not make the complaint in writing, you may be asked for written confirmation that our understanding of your complaint is accurate before we proceed further.)

If your complaint can be dealt with under our complaints handling procedure, it will be entered on our central complaints register. It will then be referred to one or more Executive or Non-Executive Directors (the Decision Maker) for further consideration. The Decision Maker will be a person who has not been involved in the matter you have complained about and, to the extent practicable, has not had any previous dealings with you.

The Decision Maker will determine the type of investigation that needs to be carried out in respect of your complaint and appoint one or more senior employees to carry out the investigation (the Investigator). An Investigator will not have been involved in the matter you have complained about and, to the extent practicable, should not have had any previous dealings with you.

The Investigator will write to you to explain briefly the procedure, to ask you to provide any additional information and/or supporting documents in respect of your complaint and to seek clarification in respect of any part of your complaint which is unclear. The employee about whom you have complained will be provided with a copy of your complaint and supporting documents and given a chance to make written submissions in respect of your complaint. The Investigator may ask you or the employee concerned to attend an interview for the purposes of clarifying the complaint or the submissions made in response. The Investigator may also interview witnesses as part of the investigation of your complaint if considered necessary.

The Investigator will prepare a report for the consideration of the Decision Maker. The Decision Maker will consider the investigation report (including whether any further investigation needs to be carried out) and make a decision regarding the complaint, deciding whether it is found to be substantiated, not substantiated or partially substantiated. Our aim is to complete the investigation and make a decision within 8 weeks from the time your complaint is entered on the central complaints register, although this will depend on various factors including the complexity of your complaint and availability of personnel.

We will notify you in writing of our decision regarding your complaint and provide a brief summary of the reasons for our decision. If your complaint has been found to be substantiated, we will inform you of the proposed remedy or outcome.

Where it is found that a complainant's allegations were false or misleading and were made maliciously, frivolously or in order to be vexatious, the Commission reserves the right to take appropriate action.

The decision of the Decision Maker is final. If you are not satisfied with the decision, you may refer the matter to the Ombudsman for review.