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Outcomes of February Council Meeting
At its recent meeting the Council finalised consideration of a number of proposed improvements in its system for receiving, handling and adjudicating complaints, as well as for publishing information about complaints and outcomes.
The following key changes to the complaints process will take effect in March.
Information about contacting the Council
→ Each issue of a publication must include a notice, accompanied by the APC logo, stating that the publication is bound by the Council’s Standards of Practice and telling readers how to contact the Council if they believe the Standards have been breached.
Handling of complaints
→ It will no longer be necessary for complainants to permanently waive their right to take legal proceedings if they wish the Council to consider their complaint.
→ Special fast-track procedures will apply for complaints which the Council aims to finalise within less than 48 hrs.
→ The deadlines for responding promptly to Council inquiries will be abbreviated substantially in these fast-track cases. These and other deadlines for responses will be firmly applied.
→ The Council will publish quarterly details of the proportion of complaints which have been finalised within specified benchmark periods (eg, 48 hrs, 7 days).
Adjudication of complaints
→ The Council’s Complaints Committee, which already must have a majority of members who are not from the industry, will no longer include members appointed by the publishers. Instead, industry members will be chosen by the Council itself.
→ Subject to a successful trial period, almost all adjudications will be the final responsibility of the Complaints Committee without being referred to the Council.
→ The Committee will now meet on a fortnightly basis, where necessary, instead of eight times per year.
Publication of adjudications
→ Council adjudications about a publication must be published by it in a position which has been specifically approved by the Council as meeting the requirement of due prominence.
→ A copy of each adjudication must be linked to the online version of the material to which it relates.
→ A summary of each adjudication will be published widely and promptly by the Council itself, with a link to the full adjudication on its website.
Complaints to newspapers
→ Each publication must provide quarterly statistics of the nature and outcomes of complaints made directly to it by readers. The statistics must be in the same format as those provided by the Council about complaints made to it.
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