Complaints and Conduct Policy

Morph Festival is committed to creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all participants, including attendees, artists, facilitators, healers, musicians, vendors, volunteers, contractors, and staff.
This policy explains how complaints and conduct concerns can be reported, how they will be reviewed, and what steps may follow once a report is made.
It exists to support the wellbeing of our community and to ensure that concerns are handled lawfully, fairly and consistently, in accordance with New Zealand due-process expectations.

1. What this policy covers

Concerns or feedback submitted to Morph Festival may fall into three categories:

Formal Complaint — Misconduct / Harm
Allegations of serious behaviour that creates a risk to safety or wellbeing.
Conduct Concern — Early Warning
Behaviour that feels unsafe or inappropriate but may not meet the threshold of misconduct or harm.
Safety Suggestion
Feedback intended to improve festival safety systems without reporting behaviour of an individual.

This policy applies primarily to the first two categories: Formal Complaints and Conduct Concerns that involve the behaviour of contributors connected to Morph Festival.

A Safety Suggestion does not trigger an individual conduct review unless information is identified that indicates a potential risk to the community.

Complaints may relate to behaviour that occurred:

At a Morph Festival event or site
At a Morph-affiliated workshop, rehearsal or gathering
Online or in spaces connected with festival participation
Historically, if the information indicates a potential ongoing risk to the community

Concerns that relate only to personal dislike, creative disagreements, personality conflicts or non-safety interpersonal issues may fall outside the scope of this process.

2. How to make a complaint or report a concern

Formal Complaints and Conduct Concerns must be submitted through Morph Festival’s online Complaints Portal, which collects the information required for a proper review.

The form will request:

Which of the three submission types applies (Formal Complaint, Conduct Concern, Safety Suggestion)
Who the report relates to (e.g., artist, facilitator, vendor, crew member, volunteer)
Whether the concern relates to the complainant personally or on behalf of another individual
When and where the incident occurred (approximate is acceptable)
A description of the concern
Any available evidence or supporting information
Consent preference regarding whether the complainant’s name may be shared with the person the report relates to

All details provided will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.

3. Acknowledgement of receipt

After submitting a complaint, the complainant will receive confirmation that:

The complaint has been received and logged
The matter will now enter the initial assessment stage
Next steps will follow in accordance with this policy

No conclusions are implied at this stage.

4. How a complaint or conduct concern will be reviewed

All complaints and conduct concerns relating to individual behaviour will be handled by the Festival Leadership Team (Internal Review Team).

The leadership team will:

Review the content of the submission
Assess potential seriousness and safety implications
Determine whether further information is required
Decide whether any temporary precautions are needed while the review is underway

Where necessary, the leadership team may request:

Clarifying information from the complainant (if they consent to follow-up)
Additional evidence
Witness statements (if consent is granted)
A response from the person named in the report

As part of due-process expectations under New Zealand law, the person named in the report must be given an opportunity to respond before decisions that negatively affect their involvement are made.
This communication occurs only with the internal review team. There is no direct contact between the complainant and the person named in the report.

The complainant’s identity (internally) is required for a proper review.
The complainant may choose whether or not their name is shared with the person named in the report.

If the complainant does not consent to sharing their name, the report will still be received and taken seriously, and will inform ongoing safety monitoring; however, this may limit the actions that can be taken.
If the complainant does consent to sharing their name, the full review process may proceed, including inviting the person named in the report to provide their response to the internal review team.

5. Temporary safety actions

If a complaint involves serious allegations, Morph Festival may apply temporary precautionary measures while the review is underway. These may include:

Pausing a performer, facilitator, volunteer or contractor from involvement
Adjusting roles or responsibilities
Conditions on participation or space access

These actions are not a finding of wrongdoing. They are precautionary only while information is reviewed.

6. Possible outcomes

After reviewing the available information, the Festival Leadership Team may:

Take no further action
Provide a warning or clarification of expectations
Apply participation conditions or boundaries
Remove the individual from the current festival lineup, workshop schedule or operational role
Decline to engage the individual for future events

If the matter raises concerns of criminal conduct, complainants may be supported or encouraged to contact relevant authorities.

To protect privacy and fairness, decisions will not be publicly announced or discussed.

7. Third-party involvement

Morph Festival may refer the matter to an independent third-party reviewer if:

The leadership team cannot reasonably reach an unbiased or shared conclusion internally

In all other situations, the matter will remain with the internal leadership team.

8. Confidentiality, privacy and anti-retaliation

Information will be shared only with those who need access to review the complaint and make decisions required by this policy.
Identities will not be shared externally without consent, unless required by law.
Under no circumstances is the person reporting required to have direct contact with the person they are reporting about.
Any attempt to approach, confront, intimidate or retaliate against a complainant in relation to a report will be treated as a serious breach of festival conduct and may result in removal from the event.

9. Records and data storage

Complaint documentation may be retained for a reasonable period (e.g., up to seven years).
Access will be restricted to the Festival Leadership Team and independent reviewers (only if applicable).

10. Support and fairness for all parties

Morph Festival recognises that raising or responding to a complaint can be stressful.
Both the complainant and the respondent may involve a support person in any scheduled meetings or communication with the internal review team.

Morph Festival is not a therapeutic service and cannot provide counselling, although external support resources may be suggested.

11. No retaliation

Morph Festival does not tolerate retaliation against any person who, in good faith, submits a complaint or participates in the review process. Retaliation may result in removal from involvement in the festival.

12. Policy updates

This policy may be updated periodically to reflect feedback, changes in law or improvements to festival safety systems.
The most recent version will always be available on the Morph Festival website.