Making a complaint
In the course of its work, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland will take a wide range of decisions.
Those decisions will include whether or not to register an organisation as a charity, decisions made in the course of providing information and advice to charitable organisations and decisions about how we deal with cases of suspected or alleged abuse or maladministration.
You may want to make different types of complaints to the Commission, for example about a charity or a decision we have made. More information on how you can do that is available below:
Please find below the Raising Concerns about the Commission policy (formerly known as whistleblowing policy)
If you would like more information on our complaints policy, including how to make a complaint about a service you have received from us, please read the guidance below.
If, having read the guidance, you wish to submit a complaint to the Commission, please complete our online Complaints about our service: form.
Complaints about our service: formForm of authority
When submitting a complaint about service to the Commission, you may wish to authorise someone else to deal with the Commission for you, such as an accountant, solicitor, friend or relative.
If you wish to appoint someone to act as your authorised representative in a complaint about service matter, please complete the form of authority below. Once completed, you may submit the form to the Commission by email to communications@charitycommissionni.org.uk or by post to The Complaints Co-ordinator at:
Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
Marlborough House
Central Way
Craigavon
BT64 1AD
In submitting the form, you will be authorising the Commission to share your personal data, in relation to the complaint, with your chosen representative.
Once this form has been received and processed, the Commission will correspond via your authorised representative regarding the particular matter only. The appointment will continue until the complaint about service has been closed by the Commission, for example on receipt of a final decision from the Commission on the complaint matter.
Please note that the Commission will only accept consent for authorised representatives to be submitted via the form and, if required, may also seek further confirmation of your identity. No communications relating to your affairs can take place unless authority to do so has been accepted and recorded on the Commission’s systems.
Raising concerns - a good practice guide for the public sector
Please find below Raising concerns - a good practice guide for the public sector, which includes a Northern Ireland Audit Office leaflet on raising concerns with them.