What do the decisions of the Complaints Board and Complaints Appeal Board mean?

No Grounds to Proceed/No Further Action: This means the Chair of the Complaints Board has reviewed the complaint and has ruled a Code has not been breached, and no further action is required. This outcome may occur when a complaint is based on extreme interpretation or is trivial or vexatious, or if there is a precedent decision that relates to the same or similar advertising.

 

Upheld: This means the Complaints Board agreed with the issues raised by the complainant and the advertiser is asked to amend or remove the advertisement.

 

Settled: When an advertiser either withdraws an advertisement or makes immediate changes (that the Chair considers satisfactory) to address the issues raised by the complainant the complaint can be settled by the Chair.  A settled decision achieves the same outcome as an upheld decision – removal or amendment of the advertisement.

 

Not Upheld: This means the Complaints Board does not find the advertisement in breach of the Advertising Codes in relation to the Complainant’s concerns.

 

No Jurisdiction: Sometimes a complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the ASA. The ASA deals with complaints about any advertisement that is targeted at NZ audiences. Matters of law or complaints about advertisements from outside of NZ, which are not targeting NZ consumers, are outside the ASA’s jurisdiction.

Category: About Complaints