An RCIC complaint handling procedure is the process your service agreement must describe under section 24(3)(r) of the CICC Code, alongside an explanation of the College’s complaints process (s. 24(3)(v)). Section 29 then requires you to respond promptly to any complaint a client makes about your services or anyone assisting you. A good procedure says how to complain, who handles it, when you will reply and how the client can go to the College.
- Every service agreement must describe your complaint-handling procedure and explain the College’s complaints process.
- Respond promptly to every client complaint, including complaints about staff who assist you.
- Set an acknowledgment time you can always meet and keep a written record of each complaint.
- The College accepts complaints only through its online portal and does not accept complaints about fees.
- Once a complaint is with the College, do not contact the complainant about it without the College’s written consent.
Every service agreement you sign must describe how you handle complaints, but the Code does not say what that procedure should contain. This guide covers what the rules require, a practical outline for your own procedure, how the College’s process works so you can explain it to clients, and what changes once a complaint reaches the College.
Sources, checked 5 November 2026: the CICC Code of Professional Conduct (SOR/2022-128) and the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (both current to 19 October 2026), and the College’s pages Complaints process and Make a complaint. The suggested procedure below is our practical outline, not a College template.
What does the CICC Code require about complaints?
| Requirement | Code |
|---|---|
| The service agreement includes your complaint-handling procedure | s. 24(3)(r) |
| The service agreement explains the College’s role and its complaints process | s. 24(3)(v) |
| You respond promptly to any complaint from a client about your services or about a person assisting you | s. 29 |
| You respond fully and promptly to the College when it asks for a response, within any time it sets (see RCIC reporting obligations) | s. 40 |
| You do not contact a person who complained to the College about you without the College’s written consent | s. 41 |
Section 29 covers complaints about the people who help you as well as about you, which ties complaints to your duty to supervise assistants. See RCIC supervision of staff.
What should your complaint handling procedure say?
A short, plain procedure is easier to follow and to prove. A practical outline:
- How to complain. In writing, to a named person or address, with any language options you offer.
- Acknowledgment. A time frame you can always meet, for example within two business days. The Code says “promptly”; it does not set a number.
- Who reviews it. The licensee responsible, or another licensee if the complaint is about them.
- Review and reply. What you will look at (the file, messages, the agreement) and a target date for a written response.
- Outcome. What the reply will contain: findings, any remedy, and next steps.
- The College. That the client may complain to the College at any time, with how to do it (see below).
- Records. That you keep a record of each complaint and its outcome.
Put the same wording in your agreement template, so it appears in every agreement. For the rest of the agreement contents under section 24(3), see manage retainer agreements.
How does the College’s complaints process work?
Your agreement must explain the College’s complaints process (s. 24(3)(v)). The main points from the Act and the College’s pages:
- Who can complain. Any person may complain to the College about a licensee or former licensee, in accordance with the by-laws (Act s. 45).
- How. The College’s Make a complaint page says complainants must create an account on the College Portal and that it does not accept complaints by email, on paper or by phone. It also says the College does not accept complaints about fees.
- Screening. The College checks that the person is a licensee and that the complaint concerns professional conduct or competence, then may refer it to the Complaints Committee (Act s. 46).
- Complaints Committee. The Committee must consider complaints referred to it and may investigate (Act s. 48). The College says it meets in panels of three with at least one licensee and one non-licensee.
- Outcomes. The Committee may refer a complaint to the Discipline Committee (Act s. 57(1)). If it does not, it notifies the parties with reasons, requires the licensee to appear to be cautioned, or refers the matter to dispute resolution if the licensee consents (s. 57(2)).
- Review. The College says a complainant whose complaint was closed without referral can ask its Independent Complaints Review Officer for a review within 30 calendar days of notice.
Keep this summary short in your agreement and link to the College’s page, because the College’s process can change. The penalties the Discipline Committee can now impose are set out in CICC regulations 2026.
What changes when a client complains to the College?
- Respond to the College on time. Section 40 requires a full and prompt response to any College communication that asks for one, within any time it specifies.
- Stop direct contact about the complaint. Section 41(1) says you must not communicate, directly or indirectly, with the complainant or their superior unless the College consents in writing and you follow its terms.
- Keep serving a current client. If the complainant is a current client and the agreement has not been ended, you must continue your obligations, but communicate only as section 41(1) allows (s. 41(2)).
- Confidential information. Section 28(2)(g) allows disclosure of client information to defend yourself or a person assisting you against allegations, so you can use the file in your response.
Keep a complaints log
A simple log helps you prove you responded promptly and spot patterns. Record for each complaint: date received, client and file, who handled it, the issue, date acknowledged, date of written response, outcome, and whether it went to the College. Fee disputes often start as service complaints, so link each entry to the payment records on the file. For how client funds must be handled, see RCIC client account rules.
General information about running an immigration practice — not legal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with official sources and your regulator.