Phone: 0800 434 566
Overseas Calls: 00 64 3 962 2695
Our lines are open Monday to Friday - 8:30am to 5:00pm
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Auckland Office | Wellington Office |
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(09) 300 0400 |
(04) 472 9830 |
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Financial Markets Authority |
Financial Markets Authority |
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Financial Markets Authority |
New Zealand Relay (NZ Relay) is a telecommunication service for people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired, deafblind, or speech-impaired. You can use NZ Relay to make telephone calls to family, businesses and government ministries.
If you would like to use NZ Relay to communicate with the Financial Markets Authority, you can find out more by visiting the New Zealand Relay website.
Contact us if you have a query, concern or complaint about the financial markets and people we regulate, or about the services we provide.
Complaints are important to us and help us monitor whether financial markets are working as they should; detect and act on misconduct and gather information to determine where we should direct our attention and priorities.
Before you get in touch, please read the information below to ensure we are the right agency to help you with your issue. You can also read our Frequently Asked Questions.
If your complaint is about a social media post, please include a screenshot of the post with your complaint as these posts frequently change or may be removed.
Please note all calls are recorded.
We consider all information we receive, but we can't investigate each complaint.
If you are concerned about the need to protect your identity, please raise it with us when you make your complaint. Read our whistleblowing page for more information below.
You can provide information anonymously, however, this may limit our ability to investigate your complaint. If you can, please give us your contact details.
We investigate a range of complaints about the conduct of individuals and businesses that operate in our financial markets. We may be able to help you if your complaint is about:
We can look into your complaint to see if the financial service provider might have breached a law we enforce.
We investigate complaints about illegal investment offers. We publish warnings and alerts when we find organisations have made illegal investment offers or operated illegal investment schemes.
You should report other types of scams to the Consumer Protection’s Scamwatch.
We investigate complaints about financial service companies and limited partnerships that are incorporated in New Zealand but have no physical presence here. These are also known as ‘shell companies’.
These companies often offer online services such as margin foreign exchange trading and margin commodity trading. Their websites may imply they are regulated by the FMA, but many are not.
You can complain about misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to financial products or financial services. See what products and services are covered and how we work with the Commerce Commission on fair dealing matters.
IMPORTANT: New Zealand laws have changed. If your complaint is about misleading or deceptive conduct that occurred BEFORE 1 April 2014, please contact the Commerce Commission. If your complaint is about misleading or deceptive conduct for financial products or services that occurred AFTER 1 April 2014, please contact us. |
We investigate complaints about people and organisations that are not registered when they should be.
Everyone who provides financial service in New Zealand must be registered for that service. They must also be a member of a dispute resolution scheme if they provide financial services to retail clients. See our FAQs page for more information about dispute resolution schemes and how to check whether a financial service provider is registered.
We regulate advertisements of investments but media advertisements must also comply with the Advertising Standards Authority's Code of Practice for Financial Advertising.
You can make a complaint to the FMA that is about us rather than about any other organisation, firm or individual.
We will deal with any complaint about the way in which we have carried out, or failed to carry out, our role. This includes complaints about mistakes or lack of care, unreasonable delay, unprofessional behaviour, bias or lack of integrity by us or our staff. See more about how we deal with complaints below.
For information about any other kind of complaint you may have please check our FAQs and what we don't do and who else may be able to help first (below) – it may save you time. If you can’t find your answer there, please contact us.
We take complaints very seriously so when we receive your complaint, we'll send you an acknowledgement to confirm we have it.
We will record the details you've sent us and decide whether it's a matter that we should take further action on.
1. Assess the seriousness of your complaint
We consider all complaints we receive, but we can't investigate each one. In deciding whether to look further into a complaint, we take into account our compliance and enforcement priorities. We also look at whether the issue you have complained about could harm the market as a whole, such as how widespread the conduct appears to be.
2. Decide if we need more information and respond to your request
We will contact you if we need more information. We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days. We will provide an update about your complaint within 10 working days as to whether your complaint has been evaluated for further action, referred to another agency or will be closed.
General enquiries will be acknowledged within two working days, and then receive a response within 20 working days of receiving all relevant information.
3. Take action
If the issue potentially breaks one of the laws we enforce, we'll consider what action we should take. We have a broad range of powers and functions and may take action in a number of ways. Learn more about our enforcement policy.
4. No action
We may decide not to take action at this time, given our regulatory policies and resources. If this is the case, we'll let you know and close your complaint.
We rely on people in the market to help us to maintain market integrity.
We will take all possible steps to protect the identity of anyone who gives us information in good faith
Information provided to us in confidence is protected by the Financial Markets Conduct Act and remains confidential, except where the FMA Act permits its disclosure. If we need to disclose information that may reveal your identity, we will let you know first. The FMA may be legally required to disclose your identity, or disclosure may be necessary to successfully progress an investigation.
You can provide information anonymously, but this may limit our ability to investigate the matter further.
If you make a disclosure to the FMA, in certain cases the law will protect your identity and may protect you from any related legal action, as contained in the following Acts:
If the law does not provide specific whistleblower protection, we cannot guarantee you immunity from legal action in return for information. However, we will always take into account voluntary disclosures and other forms of cooperation when considering what action is appropriate.
We are committed to carrying out our functions and responsibilities in an open, transparent and accountable manner. We will publish OIA statistics and some responses to requests for information every quarter.
Your request should be as clear and specific as you can possibly make it. Before making a request to us, please check our website first as the information you are looking for could already be publicly available.
You can contact us in the ways noted below to request information:
Email: questions@fma.govt.nz
Post: Financial Markets Authority, PO Box 106 672, Auckland 1143, New Zealand
Telephone: 0800 434 566.
When you make your request please include the following details:
If you make a request by phone, we will confirm acknowledgement in writing or if we need to clarify anything, we may ask you to send your request in writing.
When will I get a response?
Your request will be acknowledged as soon as possible. We will respond to your request within 20 working days from the date we received it. The OIA allows for extensions in certain circumstances. If we require an extension we will contact you to let you know.
Note: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Queen’s Birthday, Waitangi Day, Labour Day, and any day from 25 December to 15 January inclusive are not working days for the purposes of the Official Information Act, so will not be included within the 20 working day timeframe.
What it costs?
We may invoice you for the costs of responding to your information request. Charges are for staff time and resources if your request requires considerable labour and materials or requires significant collation and research. These charges are set by the Government and are applied in line with the Ombudsman's charging guide.
We may decide to withhold the information for specific reasons. If this occurs, we will explain the reasons why. For more on why information can be withheld see sections 6, 9 and 18 of the OIA.
Reasons we are sometimes unable to disclose information include our obligations to protect personal privacy under the Privacy Act 2020, and our duty under the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011 (FMA Act) to maintain confidentiality about information supplied or disclosed to, or obtained by, us under the FMA Act and financial markets legislation.
The OIA schedule below summaries how we have responded to the requests we have recieved and whether we have disclosed information.
If you are unhappy with our response, you can make a complaint and have the decision reviewed by the Ombudsman.
More information
The Ombudsman provides a useful guide with tips about how to make an OIA request. It also includes information on the Official Information Act, and what agencies must do when they respond to a request.
We may decide to publish some or all of the information that we disclose in response to an OIA request. You can view the information we've published on the OIA publication schedule below.
The types of information request we would publish are those from news media organisations, businesses (where the requested information benefits other businesses) or individuals and from parliamentary parties.
Exceptions to publication
We won’t publish:
We reserve the right to decide which responses we will publish and why.
We may redact information or provide a summary or excerpt where appropriate.
Each quarter we publish our OIA statistics in the table below, setting out the number of requests we receive and our decision in relation to requests.
OIA statistics | |||
Period | Number of requests received | Percentage responded within statutory timeframes |
Response |
2020/2021 |
41 |
100% |
Released in full: 10 |
2019/2020 |
22 |
100% |
Released in full: 9 |
2018/2019 | 38 | 100% | Released in full: 25 Released in part: 7 Withheld: 2 Declined: 1 Transferred (full): 2 |
2017/2018 | 28 | 100% | Released in full: 8 Released in part: 6 Withheld: 10 Refused: 4 Transferred in part: 1 |
2016/2017 | 32 | 96% | Released in full: 12 Released in part: 6 Withheld: 10 Refused: 14 Transferred: 0 |
The information published on the OIA publication schedule was released in response to a specific request and was the information held by the FMA at the time of response.
OIA publication schedule | ||||
No. | Summary of request | Response | Date of response | Information |
40 | Request to assist in market research on the number of people in NZ working in the Financial Market of any description | Released | 26/5/2021 | OIAP Market research |
39 | Request from journalist in relation to costs incurred in an FMA/FADC case | Released | 24/5/2021 | OIAP Costs of FADC case |
38 | Request for recent KiwiSaver FUM (Funds under Management) forecast/projects | Declined | 30/4/2021 | OIAP KiwiSaver FUM Funds |
37 | Request from journalist for number of FMA cases, investigations and court cases, and reasons for decision whether or not to take cases further ie prosecute. | Partial: withheld some to protect maintenance of the law, legal privilege and free and frank opinions. | 12/11/2020 | OIAP Cases, investigations and court cases |
36 | Request for the total number of private AML/CFT warnings the FMA has issued | Released in full | 15/10/2020 | OIAP AML/CFT Private Warnings |
35 | Request from journalist in relation time spent on CBL Limited proceedings. | Released | 20/07/2020 | OIAP CBL Limited proceedings |
34 | Stats on Reporting Entities: # of requests by the FMA for Res to undergo an AML/CFT audit. The documents which identify the general business nature of those REs, deadline for response, and documents that contain FMA's policies, principles, rules and guidelines to determine the deadlines for response. | Released | 05/02/2020 | OIAP Reporting Entities |
33 | Following the release of the FMA Bank Culture and Conduct Report, a union asked for information about the implementation plans of the 11 banks, evidence the plans were implemented, and actions FMA would take if the plans were not adhered to. | Withheld | 18/12/2019 | OIAP First Union |
32 | Request from an individual for information on FMA’s participation in the October 2019 ACAMS conference. | Released | 22/10/2019 | OIAP ACAMS |
31 |
Request from an individual for conduct and culture reviews. |
Released: link to FMA website | 27/09/2019 | OIAP Conduct and Culture Review |
30 | Request for information about the FMA's use of psychometric testing between 1 July 2017 and 31 June 2019 and if used, the types of occasions used for and the associated costs | Released | 04/10/2019 | OIAP FMA's psychometric testing |
29 | Request for documents supporting the update to the 2013 Identity Verification Code of Practice | Refused: information does not exist | 01/08/2019 | OIAP Identity verification code of practice |
28 | Media request for details of the FMA’s investigation into interest rate swaps to rural customers between 2005 and 2009 | Part released: some information withheld due to privacy, confidentiality, commercial sensitivity, and free and frank exchange of opinions | 01/08/2019 | |
27 | Media request for the details of any payments made to social media influencers | Released: some information withheld to protect the privacy of individuals | 30/07/2019 | OIAP payments to social media influencers |
26 | Media request for the FMA's five most expensive trials | Released | 23/07/2019 | OIAP FMA's five most expensive trials (July 2019) |
25 | Request for investigations/inquiries into the ANZ rural growth fund in 2012 | Released | 15/07/2019 | OIAP investigation into the ANZ rural growth fund |
24 | Media request for instances where FMA staff have been given gifts by ANZ or its former chief executive David Hisco since 2010 | Released | 28/06/2019 | OIAP gifts from David Hisco |
23 | Media request on the FMA’s five most expensive trials | Released; note internal employee costs are represented by employee hours | 14/05/2019 | OIAP FMA's five most expensive trials (May 2019) |
22 | Media request for the FMA’s parental leave policies, procedure and arrangements | Released | 24/04/2019 | OIAP FMA's parental leave policies |
21 | Request for data on complaints made to the FMA against financial advisers and financial product providers | Released | 22/03/2019 | OIAP complaints against financial advisers |
20 | Media request for the amount spent on advertising, public awareness campaigns, and recruitment in the last 5 years | Released | 22/03/2019 | OIAP costs of public awareness campaigns |
19 | Media request for the costs of the Bublitz first trial | Released | 14/03/2019 | OIAP costs for Bublitz 1st trial |
18 | Media request for the costs of the Bublitz second trial | Released | 18/02/2019 | OIAP costs for Bublitz 2nd trial |
17 | Request for example cases where a financial adviser invested client funds poorly and without sufficiently explaining the process to the client and according to the advisers own bias | Released | 15/02/2019 | OIAP Financial Advisers Disciplinary Committee (FADC) decisions |
16 | Media request for information on gifts and hospitality received by FMA staff | Part released: some information refused as information not held | 15/02/2019 | OIAP Gifts and Hospitality Policy and statistics |
15 | Summary of remediation provided by banks under conduct and culture review | Released | 05/12/2018 | |
14 | Functions of the FMA and the FMA’s responsible Minister | Released | 21/11/2018 | |
13 | FMA costs on social media | Released | 18/10/2018 | |
12 | Litigation costs of E-road trial No 2 | Released | 08/10/2018 | OIAP re ERoad costs 2nd trial |
11 | The FMA’s response to the State Services Commission inquiry into state sector use of external security consultants | Proactive disclosure; not an OIA | 20/08/2018 | FMA response to SSC inquiry |
10 | Request for information about staff working on AMLCFT matters at the FMA | Released | 28/09/2018 | OIAP OIA re AMLCFT staff and restructuring |
9 | Reporting entity correspondence re AMLCFT Identity Verification Code of practice | Released | 23/08/2018 | OIAP OIA re AMLCFT opt out follow up |
8 | Media request about change management/reorganisation at FMA | Part released: some information withheld due to privacy | 14/08/2018 | OIAP OIA response on FMA change management |
7 | Media survey about sexual harassment at the agencies | Released | 09/07/2018 | OIAP OIA survey response re workplace sexual harassment |
6 | Request about gifts and hospitality (staff/members) | Released | 11/07/2018 | OIAP OIA re gifts policy |
5 | Media request about OIA requests that the FMA receives | Released | 19/07/2018 | OIAP OIA response on FMA OIA stats |
4 | All records of communications with AML/CFT entities about opting out of the Identity Verification Code of Practice | Part released: some information withheld due to privacy, confidentiality, commercial sensitivity, free and frank exchange of opinions | 26/07/2018 | |
3 | Copy of the FMA Board Conflicts Policy | Released | 21/05/2018 | |
2 | Litigation costs for an e-road trial | Released | 20/04/2018 | OIAP response eroad trial costs |
1 | Businesses who were warned by FMA under AML/CFT legislation | Part released: some information withheld for maintenance of the law | 05/04/2018 |