Morag McDowell

Health & Disability Commissioner

The main role of the Health and Disability Commissioner is to ensure that rights of consumers are upheld. This includes making sure that complaints about health or disability service providers are taken care of fairly and efficiently. Morag McDowell, Health and Disability Commissioner, began her term in September 2020.

Morag took up the role after serving nearly 13 years as a Coroner based in Auckland. She was formerly a Crown Prosecutor, Director of Proceedings for the Health and Disability Commissioner’s Office, and a Senior Legal Adviser at Crown Law. Since completing her Master of Laws degree, her legal practice has had a strong focus on healthcare law, and she has appeared in different courts and tribunals on a variety of health-related litigation. She has also lectured and published on a range of medico-legal issues.

Morag is committed to promoting and protecting the rights of health and disability services consumers where the Code sets the benchmark for good practice, and opportunities for learning and quality improvement are embraced. She strongly values the importance of fair, timely, transparent, and culturally appropriate processes where people are engaged, and given the opportunity to be heard.