Right to Appeal
A determination reached through the investigation process is not automatically final. Anyone affected by an outcome - whether the individual the complaint concerned, or the person who filed it and believes the determination fell short - has the right to have that determination reviewed again, by someone who did not make the original decision.
Who May Appeal
Either party to a complaint may lodge an appeal: the individual an outcome was applied to, who believes the determination was wrong, disproportionate, or reached through a flawed process, or the complainant, who believes the outcome did not adequately address what they reported. An appeal is not reserved for the party who was sanctioned. A dismissed complaint can be appealed just as a suspension can.
How to Lodge an Appeal
An appeal must be submitted in writing, through the same official channel used to file the original complaint, no later than thirty days from the date the determination was communicated. An appeal submitted after this window is not automatically refused, but the delay itself becomes something the review will need to account for, and a prompt appeal is always better positioned than a late one.
The appeal should state clearly what about the original determination is being contested - whether that's the finding itself, the outcome applied, or the fairness of the process that led to it - and should include any information that supports that position, particularly anything that wasn't available or wasn't considered during the original investigation.
Who Reviews an Appeal
An appeal is never reviewed by the same person who reached the original determination. It is escalated to a different reviewer or panel within FlowState Divers, specifically so that the second look is a genuine second look, not a formality performed by someone already invested in defending their own earlier conclusion. Where the original investigation itself raised a conflict of interest, the appeal reviewer is chosen with the same care to avoid a repeat of that conflict.
What the Appeal Considers
An appeal is not automatically a full re-investigation from the beginning. It considers specifically what has been raised: whether the original process was followed fairly, whether the evidence available reasonably supports the conclusion reached, and whether the outcome applied was proportionate to what was found. Where new information is presented that genuinely could not have been available during the original investigation, the appeal reviewer has discretion to reopen elements of the investigation to account for it.
Outcome of an Appeal
An appeal may result in the original determination being upheld, adjusted, or overturned entirely. As with the original investigation, the outcome of an appeal is explained in writing to both parties, with the reasoning behind it - an appeal that simply confirms or reverses a decision without explanation fails the same basic standard of fairness the original process is held to.
Finality
A decision reached on appeal is final within FlowState Divers' internal process. This does not affect any other rights either party may separately hold under local law, which this document does not and cannot override.