Ref: 214195
Wednesday, 2 February 2022

Sean Marshall
[FYI request #18063 email]
Tēnā koe Sean,
Response to your request for Official Information
On 21 December 2021, you requested the following information from the Human
Rights Commission (“the Commission”):
1.
Whether the Commission has made any inquiry into or otherwise
reported on discrimination by public and private sector organisations
refusing to include diacritics in the names of customers/clients.

After some investigation, we have established that the omission of diacritics is not an
area in which the Commission is currently working, nor have we found any evidence
that  we  have  worked  on  this  topic  in  the  past.  We  do  however  recognise  the
importance of this to  the people it effects and the impact this type of omission may
have.

The  Commission  offers  a  free  complaints  service.  This  allows  a  person  who  has
experienced discrimination to contact us for information and support or to utilise our
free dispute resolution service.

Should  you  or  someone  you  know  wish  to  complain  about  how  their  names  are
recorded, you can contact us. You can find out more information at the following link:-
https://www.hrc.co.nz/complaint-form/.
Alternative avenues
If you are unhappy with this response, under the Official Information Act you are
entitled to complain to the Ombudsman’s Office. Information about how to make a
complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or on freephone 0800 802
602.
If you have any further queries about this response, please feel free to contact me
directly.
Nāku noa, nā

Madelaine Cullen
Data Analyst and Data Steward | Kaitātari me te Kaitiaki Raraunga
Infoline Toll free 0800 496 877 / TTY [Human Rights Commission request email]  www.hrc.co.nz

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