The Earthquake Commission says it will launch an independent inquiry into its staff recruitment process, following accusations of nepotism.
EQC chief executive Ian Simpson says it has been fielding criticism for some time, mostly from anonymous, former employees.
One alleges several management staff of favouring their children with highly-paid jobs.
Mr Simpson says he has requested a human resources professional with no links to the commission to look into how it has recruited assessors and estimators for next year.
He challenges anyone who believes there is a conflict of interest to come forward and state their reasoning.
Mr Simpson says excluding potential employees on the basis that they are related to other staff is not a good enough reason and EQC's focus is on hiring the most qualified staff they can.
