  
3. Complaints Against Registered Electrical WorkersDue to the nature of the Electricity Act 1992, the Board has an obligation to review all complaints made in writing to the Registrar that are about the conduct of a registered electrical worker. Since 1 July 2002, 47 such complaints have been received. There were 32 complaints in progress from last year, resulting in a total of 79 complaints in progress. Because not all complaints will be about a disciplinable offence (and not all complaints about disciplinable offences contain sufficient grounds to warrant a Hearing in front of the Board), the Electricity Act contains provisions for convening Complaints Assessment Committees. The job of the Committees is to assess the complaints and only pass those requiring a Hearing to the Board. There are currently two Committee areas: one for the upper North Island, the other for the rest of New Zealand. The Complaints Assessment Committees meet on alternate months and so far have assessed 68 of the 79 complaints in progress. Of the complaints assessed by the Committees, 44 (65%) have been referred to the Board for Hearings. The Board has completed 25 Hearings this year and has another 13 underway or scheduled over the coming months. The paperwork for the remaining six cases is still being processed. Of the people appearing before the Board this year, four have been found not guilty of a disciplinary offence and the other 21 were found guilty. The disciplines taken by the Board were: three no actions, 11 censures, seven fines (of $200 to $1,000) and one registered person had restrictions placed upon his registration. In addition to the censures, fines and registration restriction, each person found guilty of a disciplinary offence also had to pay costs ranging from $500 to $750.
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