The Broadcasting Standards Authority has had a surge in complaints in the last year, with an 11 per cent increase.

The authority received 135 complaints in the 2019 to 2020 financial year, and it issued 111 decisions, a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.

The number of decisions issued primarily depends on whether the Broadcasting Standards Authority board, which meets once a month, was able to process the decision before the financial year ended.

The number of enquiries to the authority also increased, going up 7 per cent to 928.

The authority says news and current affairs was the most complained about category, with accuracy the focus of 37 per cent of the complaints, making it the most complained about standard.

The proportion of complaints upheld however remained the same, about 11 per cent.

There has been a big decrease in the number of complaints about talkback radio in the last year, with a 43 per cent decrease, but the number of complaints upheld increased by 29 per cent.

The authority says the growth in complaints has continued into the new financial year, with the number of complaints in the first quarter more than double that of previous years.

RNZ.