In the event of an applicant, Certified Company or any interested party, wishing to contest any decision of AQC, he shall, within 14 days after having been officially informed of such a decision, give notice in writing to AQC of his desire to appeal against the decision. The receipt of the appeal is acknowledged and the applicant is informed of the progress made and the out come.
On receipt of such an appeal, the CEO, shall advise the Board of Directors and the Experts Committee of the details of the appeal received. The Board of Directors will proceed to constitute an independent Appeals Panel in each case in consultation with the Experts Committee. The Appeals Panel will comprise of a Chairman who will be assisted by two members of the Experts Committee representing the area of technical expertise related to the nature of the appellant's activities under certification. The appellant will have the right to object against the inclusion of any person in the Appeals Panel. All members chosen to form the Appeals Panel shall not have been previously involved in the decision appealed against. |
The meeting of the Appeal Panel shall be held within 30 days of the receipt of notification from the appellant and the appellant will be provided with at least 7 clear days of written notice of the time and place of the Appeals Panel Meeting. Prior to the meeting of the Appeals Panel the existing decision of AQC is to remain in force.
At the Appeals Panel meeting of both the appellant and the appropriate representative from AQC shall be entitled to be heard in confidence and majority decision of the Appeals Panel shall be final.
The CEO shall ensure that the appellant is advised in writing of the decision of the Appeals Panel within 7 days of the decision. The CEO shall record details of the appeal in the Register of Appeals and implement the decision of the appeals panel, as required.
On conclusion of the appeal, the CEO will also review the grounds of appeal and evaluate if any possible improvements to AQC's control systems are required. A description of the appeals handling process is available on AQC website to made it Public ally accessible.
The CEO shall ensure that the submission, investigation and decision on Appeals shall not result in any discriminatory actions against the appellant that any appropriate correction and corrective action are taken. The certification body shall give formal notice to the appellant at the end of the appeals handling process.
COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURE :
Any complaint received by AQC in writing or by e-mail or telephone in respect of its functions as a certification body or a company certified by it, shall be fully reviewed by the CEO and shall be recorded in the complaint register with its nature ans shall be closed within 45 days of recievig the complaint.
| • If the complaint relates to the certified client,: | |
| (a) CEO must ensure that the effectiveness of the certified management system is checked by competent auditor(s), who were not involved with the client previously. (b) The letter in question is sent to certified client within 14 days of receiving of complaint and recorded in the complaint register. |
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| • If the complaint is about certified client management system: | |
(a) The CEO ensures that the effectiveness of the certified management system is checked by competent auditor(s)/person(s) who were not involved with the client previously. • If the complaint is against an officer of AQC including CEO then it will be investigated by the chairman of the Expert committee |
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| • Escalation of complaints: | |
(i) if a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the AQC’s complaints handling process, the complainant may refer the complaint to JAS-ANZ directly ; |
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