No. All complaints must be submitted through the official form. You will have the opportunity to provide links and attachments during this process.

No. We accept complaints in any language. We are currently working on translating the complaint form into the languages most frequently used by our members and their clients.

Due to the time involved including the time allotted for multiple responses from all parties, it can take several months for complaints to be finalized. You can follow up at any time with the Ethics Director to check the status of a complaint you have made.

The IAABC operates under the principle of providing complaint details on a need-to-know basis.

• The Ethics Director, Ethics Team, and Executive Director have full access to all complaints unless they are a listed party.
• Other staff members may be involved to assist with administration, for example, suspending a membership, but will only be provided with the details necessary to carry out their work.
• In order to maintain confidentiality, we request permission from the Complainant before performing any investigations that involve outside parties such as potential witnesses.
• Last, we share information about complaints with the members of the Joint Ethics Working Group (CCPDT, KPA) as per our agreements under the Joint Code of Ethics.

Yes. The IAABC seeks to prevent unnecessary anxiety or upset on the part of our members. Therefore, if no potential violation is found in preliminary review, we do not contact the member with news of the complaint or the determination.

We protect complainants from potential retaliation by giving them the option not to disclose their identity or identifying details. In cases where these details are critical to a Respondent's rebuttal, we also protect Respondents by requiring a high level of evidence, e.g. evidence from multiple unrelated sources, or video/written evidence that directly identifies the Respondent. We believe this strikes the best balance of protecting both Complainants and Respondents.

You may write to the IAABC at info@iaabc.org to confirm whether or not someone is eligible to have a complaint filed against them. If the person is representing themselves as associated with IAABC (for example, using a logo or an IAABC credential on their website or brochure) please DO send screenshots or pictures of these representations. Please DO NOT include personal details about the potential complaint in this email. The main inbox is run by volunteers who are not privileged to specific information on ethics complaints.

Respondents who disagree with the outcome of a complaint against them may request a Hearing Panel according to the formal procedures for complaint processing. Complainants do not have formal recourse, but are welcome to make a statement to the Ethics Director to be recorded in the complaint file.