Commonwealth Ombudsman annual report 2006-2007

CHAPTER 4 | Management and accountability

Corporate governance

Senior executive and responsibilities | Corporate planning and review | Management committees | Corporate governance practices | Commonwealth Disability Strategy | Environmental matters | Service charter

Senior executive and responsibilities

The Governor-General appointed the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen to five-year terms:

The remuneration for the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen is determined in accordance with a ruling by the Remuneration Tribunal. Note 10 in the Financial Statements details executive remuneration.

Senior management team (standing from left) Elizabeth Courtney-Frost, Mary Durkin, Ray Matcham, Ron Brent, Helen Fleming and Damien Browne; and (seated from left) Vicki Brown, George Masri, Vivienne Thom and John McMillan.

Prof. McMillan acted as Integrity Commissioner with the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity from 30 December 2006 to 22 July 2007 pending permanent filling of the position. Dr Thom was Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman from 30 December 2006 to 29 June 2007.

The office’s Executive team comprises the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen. The Executive and six Senior Assistant Ombudsmen comprise the senior management team.

At 30 June 2007, the office’s senior management team and their areas of responsibility are:

Mr Ron Brent, Deputy Ombudsman and Chief Financial Officer—main areas of responsibility:

Dr Vivienne Thom, Deputy Ombudsman—main areas of responsibility:

Top

Corporate planning and review

During the year, the office’s Strategic Plan was reviewed to build on achievements over the past three years and to reflect priorities for the period 2007 to 2010. Strategic priorities identified for 2007–08 are to:

The office’s Strategic Plan informs its internal business plans, which are prepared on an annual basis. There are clear links between the objectives and the key measures of success of the Strategic Plan and the key result areas set in the business plans for all teams, and in individual performance agreements for all staff members. As a result, performance agreements are closely linked to business plans.

Top

Management committees

Management committees assist the Executive with decision making in key areas.

Internal Audit

As required by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the office has an Internal Audit Committee. The committee’s role is to review, monitor and where necessary recommend improvements to internal control, financial reporting, internal audit functions, external audit processes, and the office process for monitoring compliance with legislation and government policy directives. The committee met three times during the year.

At 30 June 2007 the membership of the committee comprised Dr Vivienne Thom, Deputy Ombudsman (Chair), Ms Helen Fleming, Senior Assistant Ombudsman, Mr Ray Matcham, Senior Assistant Ombudsman, and an independent external member, Mr Joe D’Angelo, Chief Finance and Information Officer, Department of the Senate. Representatives from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) attend committee meetings as observers, and the office’s internal auditors, WalterTurnbull, and the Chief Finance Officer, attend meetings to report on particular matters.

During 2006–07 the office issued a request for tender for internal audit services for a three-year period. WalterTurnbull was awarded the contract.

Information Technology

In previous years an Information Technology Steering Committee oversaw the development of IT strategy and governance, and identified priorities for infrastructure, application development and maintenance, and project development. A new committee will be formed in early 2007–08 with relevant terms of reference to assist in assessing and making recommendations to the Ombudsman about major IT infrastructure decisions and major expenditure proposals.

Occupational Health and Safety

The office’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee is made up of elected representatives from each state office and chaired by the Human Resources Manager who represents management. Recommendations and/or advice from the committee are provided to the Workplace Relations Committee. The committee met twice during the year. See also Appendix 1.

Workplace Relations

A Deputy Ombudsman chairs the Workplace Relations Committee. It consists of employee, management and union representatives, and is the main consultative body on workplace conditions within the office. The committee met four times during the year, and considered matters such as flexible working arrangement guidelines and whistleblowing policy and procedures.

Work Practices

A Deputy Ombudsman chairs the Work Practice Steering Committee, which includes representatives from a number of specialist teams and state offices. The committee’s role is to consider and make decisions on issues related to work practice and to provide recommendations and/or advice to the Executive, where appropriate.

The committee met eight times during the year. It considered and made recommendations about a wide range of work practice and complaint management system issues. An issues log was initiated in May 2007 to seek input and feedback from all staff on issues arising out of our new complaint management system, with more than one hundred issues raised since its inception.

Top

Corporate governance practices

Risk management

The office’s risk management activities are oversighted by the Internal Audit Committee, and have been incorporated into the Ombudsman’s planning and operations and the management of contractors. The office’s risk management policy and procedures specify how to:

The office participated in the annual Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, and we are identifying areas for improvement.

A Business Continuity Plan was drafted and circulated internally for comment and is to be finalised in early 2007–08. The plan utilises the strengths of a national office structure to respond to potential outage in one or more of the office’s eight sites.

When the plan is finalised, staff will be trained in their role in the event the plan is required to be enacted. The plan will be tested and steps taken to ensure that we have the appropriate tools to successfully implement the plan, including information technology hardware and software.

Fraud prevention and control

During 2006–07 the office reviewed and updated its fraud control plan and fraud risk assessment. Appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and processes are in place. These meet our specific needs and comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines issued in May 2002. The risk of fraud remains low for the office.

The Internal Audit Committee oversees the implementation of the fraud control plan.

Ethical standards

The Commonwealth Ombudsman Certified Agreement 2005–2008 includes the Australian Public Service (APS) Values, as specified in the Public Service Act 1999 s 10, and the values adopted by the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office in its Strategic Plan 2007–2010. The importance of the values is reinforced in induction documentation and training for staff, and in internal documents including the Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan, and the Harassment Prevention Policy.

The key values of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office are: independence, impartiality, integrity, accessibility, professionalism and teamwork.

Top

Commonwealth Disability Strategy

The office is committed to the Commonwealth Disability Strategy to ensure equality of access to the services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for people with disabilities, and to eliminate discriminatory practices by staff. We endeavour to meet our obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 through implementation of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy and the Ombudsman’s Disability Action Plan 2005–2008 and the Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan 2007–2009.

The office’s operations encompass the activities of regulator, service provider and employer.

Regulator

The Ombudsman does not directly enforce the disability discrimination legislation, but provides a complaint resolution service under statute for the Australian Government. This can include recommendations on enforcement of legislative obligations that apply to Australian Government agencies. The Ombudsman seeks to promote awareness of services in all areas of the Australian community, and provides an online complaint lodgement facility on the office’s website. Ombudsman staff liaise regularly with community organisations to promote awareness of the Ombudsman’s services.

Service provider

The Ombudsman has an established internal complaint and review process, which allows complaints about the office’s decisions and service quality to be resolved quickly, fairly and informally. The office’s complaints and grievances mechanism is outlined in our service charter and advised to complainants in a variety of communications. We seek to promote awareness of the office’s role and service in all areas of the Australian community.

In developing and maintaining the Ombudsman’s website, we use the priority 1 and 2 checkpoints of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as our benchmark. Activities to ensure compliance include testing colour contrast for the vision impaired, limiting the use of graphics, simplifying navigation and providing a site map, separating document formatting from content with style sheets, providing text equivalents for non-text elements, and improving metadata.

Employer

The Ombudsman’s harassment policies and Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan aim to ensure that in working to achieve the goals of the office, the diverse background, skills, talents and views of staff are recognised, encouraged and valued.

When taken as a whole, these policies assist the office to ensure that the principles of workplace diversity are understood by staff, and are embedded in our office culture, practices and procedures.

The plan provides for the following measures to assist staff who have particular needs.

Top

Environmental matters

The Ombudsman is required to report on certain environmental matters under s 516A(5)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, detailing the office’s environmental performance and its contribution to ecologically sustainable development.

The Ombudsman continued to encourage staff to manage all resources, including energy, prudently and in an ecologically responsible manner. During 2006–07 we reviewed the office’s Environmental Management Policy and information material on the conservation of energy within the workplace, including the use of light, computer equipment, water management and organic recycling. The office recycles toner/printer cartridges, paper and cardboard products, classified waste and cans/tins, bottles and plastic. These strategies are communicated to staff through the office intranet and induction program.

Service charter

We continue to be committed to providing the best service possible to the community. Our service charter outlines the service that can be expected from the office, ways to provide feedback and steps that can be taken if standards are not met.

When a complainant is dissatisfied with our conclusions and decision about a complaint, they may ask for the matter to be reconsidered, and if they are still not satisfied, for a review of their complaint. A Deputy Ombudsman will consider the information provided and decide whether or not we will review the handling of the complaint.

The Deputy Ombudsman chairs the office’s internal review panel and allocates the request for review to a designated review officer who has had no prior involvement in the complaint. The review officer will look at whether the processes our staff followed were fair and adequate, and whether the conclusions they reached were reasonable and properly explained to the complainant. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one review be undertaken.

We commenced an internal review of the office’s service charter in June 2007. The review will take account of any relevant issues arising from the survey of Australian Government agencies and the post implementation review of our work practice changes—both being conducted during the period June to August 2007. An external review of the charter will be conducted in 2008.

We report on our performance against service charter standards in Chapter 3—Performance report.

External scrutiny

Privacy legislation

The Ombudsman’s office is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). We continually assess our compliance with the Information Privacy Principles, which determine the way the office deals with personal information.

The Ombudsman provided information to the Privacy Commissioner for inclusion in the Personal Information Digest. The Commissioner did not issue any reports about the actions or practices of the office under s 30 of the Privacy Act in 2006–07.

The Privacy Commissioner commenced an investigation during the year into an alleged breach of privacy by the Ombudsman’s office. A complainant approached the Privacy Commissioner, and the Ombudsman’s office has responded to the Commissioner’s enquiries. The matter is still open.

The Ombudsman’s office made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission review of privacy legislation.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

The Ombudsman’s office is subject to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

In 2006–07 the Commission advised the Ombudsman about a complaint it had received on the office’s dealings with a complainant. The office had decided the complainant should, for a limited period, not be allowed to contact the office by telephone. The complainant was still able to write to the office, including by email. This course of action is occasionally adopted when a complainant becomes unreasonably aggressive or offensive or makes lengthy and repetitive telephone calls that do not add to the investigation, but which prevent staff from carrying on with their other work. We have responded to the Commission’s enquiries and understand that the matter is still under review.

Litigation and legal issues

In 2006–07 the Ombudsman’s office was the respondent in one matter brought to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) by a complainant who had made requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The Tribunal dismissed the application on account of the applicant’s failure to attend and pursue the matter. The applicant sought reinstatement of the application but the AAT refused. The applicant applied to the Federal Court for review (Zoia v Commonwealth Ombudsman [2007] FCA 245) and was again unsuccessful. The complainant has now applied to the Full Federal Court.

In 2005–06 a former complainant instituted proceedings in the Federal Court seeking review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 of decisions not to investigate complaints he had made about the arrangements for the management of federal prisoners in state prisons. In October and December 2006 his applications against five other respondents were dismissed and a motion by the Ombudsman that the application had no reasonable prospects of success was allowed, and that application was also dismissed (Clarkson v Commonwealth et al, [2006] FCA 1348 and [2006] FCA 1839). In December 2006 leave to appeal was refused, other than in relation to one costs order. The Ombudsman’s office understands that the applicant has applied to the High Court, both on appeal and in its original jurisdiction. Those matters are not yet resolved.

The Ombudsman was also identified in an AAT matter as a respondent in a matter related to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The application was subsequently dismissed.

Section 35 of the Ombudsman Act provides that the office is not compellable to provide, to a court or tribunal, information or documents obtained by the office in discharging its functions. We customarily rely on that statutory non-compellability when required by subpoena or discovery to produce information for the purposes of a legal proceeding to which we are not a party. The office is reviewing its policies, having regard to a case where a person was accused of having made a serious threat against an Australian Government agency in the course of conversations with Ombudsman’s office staff.

Reports by the Auditor-General and Parliamentary committee inquiries

There were no reports on the operation of the Ombudsman’s office by the Auditor-General or by Parliamentary committees.

People Management

People Management menu: Workplace relations | Staffing profile | Career development and training

During 2006–07 the Ombudsman’s office managed its employees in accordance with the conditions of our Certified Agreement 2005–2008 and a number of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), as well as within our obligations under the Public Service Act 1999.

We further reviewed the office’s suite of human resources policies and guidelines to bring them in line with the Certified Agreement and to reflect changes in office procedures and practices. In particular, we focused on:

During the year the office conducted its first staff survey to provide an opportunity for employees to contribute their views about workplace issues and the overall performance of the office. The survey provided some important insights and helped inform the Executive in the development of corporate strategies, policies and procedures.

The survey focused on a range of topics including:

The high response rate of 88% demonstrated that staff are committed to help improve the office. The report results showed that the majority of Ombudsman staff were satisfied with the office as an employer, and most staff indicated they were proud to tell others that they work for the office. In many areas we exceeded the APS State of the Service benchmarks. This level of satisfaction with our working environment reflects positively on all staff.

The report highlighted a number of areas for improvement. The senior management team sought further input from staff on possible strategies to help address these areas and how particular initiatives could be implemented. Substantial follow-up work has already been undertaken and action to respond to the survey will continue during 2007–08.

Top

Workplace relations

The Certified Agreement 2005–2008 focuses on people, remuneration and employment arrangements, working environment and lifestyle, further streamlining of personnel practices and processes, and performance management and improvement to underpin salary increases. Conditions are provided for Senior Executive Service (SES) staff under AWAs. A total of 143 employees were covered under the office’s certified agreement. (Note: as statutory officers, the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen are not included.)

The certified agreement does not make provision for performance pay. Salary advancement through pay points within each classification is linked to performance, in accordance with the policy parameters for agreement making in the APS. SES AWAs provide for annual salary advancement within the range based on performance, and do not make provision for performance pay. Non-salary benefits are not offered to employees.

The office’s Workplace Relations Committee continues to provide a forum for discussion of issues surrounding implementation and operation of the agreement. It also provides the consultative, advisory and information-sharing mechanism between management and employees on matters affecting employment conditions in the office.

A new certified agreement is due to be negotiated and implemented before October 2008, when the current agreement expires.

Top

Staffing profile

As at 30 June 2007, the actual number of employees was 146, including the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen who are statutory appointees. The number of full-time employees was 125 and the number of part-time employees was 21 (14% of employees). The full-time equivalent number of employees for the year was 140.5.

During the year, 31 employees were engaged on an ongoing basis and 28 ongoing employees left the office, equating to a turnover rate of 19% (compared to 12% in the previous year). Given the nature of the office’s work and the completion of some major 2006–07 budgeted priorities, the turnover is not disproportionate for this financial year.

Table 4.1 shows the numbers of employees, by gender and APS classification and salary range. Four employees on long-term leave without pay under the Prime Minister’s Directions 1999 are not included. Table 4.2 shows the office’s staffing profile by location.

Twenty-one staff were employed on a part-time basis. Of these, 19 were ongoing and two non-ongoing.

TABLE 4.1 Staffing profile by level and gender at 30 June 2007 (at 30 June 2006)

TABLE 4.1 Staffing profile by level and gender at 30 June 2007 (at 30 June 2006)

TABLE 4.2 Staffing profile by location at 30 June 2007

TABLE 4.2 Staffing profile by location at 30 June 2007

Top

Career development and training

The office’s learning and development program centres on continuous improvement of organisational performance through the performance management process, and corporate and core business training and development.

In 2006–07 the office introduced a new approach when inducting new employees. The key elements focused on pre-commencement actions, a newly developed online induction program and devolved orientation responsibility to the line manager, including the provision of a mentor/coach. Feedback on this approach from new employees and line managers was positive, with both taking a greater role in ensuring the process was completed.

The focus for learning and development this year was on workshops to improve consistency in the approach by all staff across our eight offices when dealing with complaints, focusing on difficult complainants, investigations and people management.

Key learning and development areas identified by the office and delivered included:

Staff representatives delivered a variety of business-focused workshops across all office sites. This proved to be of great value with an increase in consistency in the use of the office’s complaint management system and with record-keeping compliance.

The office contributes to the development of its staff by supporting staff attendance at courses, seminars and conferences identified in their personal development plans. We also recognise and put in place other development opportunities, through job rotation, special project work, higher duties, placements with other agencies and representation on work committees. These programs have been well received with many staff taking up the opportunities to further develop their skills.

The office also provides study assistance, which a relatively high percentage of staff use to undertake short or long-term courses at educational institutions.

Financial Management

Financial performance

Revenue received from ordinary activities was $18.923 million in 2006–07. The office received $17.579 million in appropriation revenue, amounting to $0.544 million more than received in 2005–06. Additional resources of $5.250 million over four years, including $0.059 million in capital funding, were received during the Additional Estimates process for an increase in workload. The increase in activity results from the introduction of the Welfare to Work Programme, implementation of the Law Enforcement (AFP Professional Standards and Related Measures) Act 2006 and amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

Total expenses for the office were $18.720 million resulting in a surplus in 2006–07 of $0.204 million, primarily due to delay in implementing new initiatives.

The office requested and received approval to budget for an operating loss in 2006–07 of $0.900 million. The underlying reason for the budgeted loss was due to a timing difference. During the 2005–06 Additional Estimates, the office received funding for the Palmer Implementation Plan and migration legislation amendments. We did not increase staffing sufficiently quickly to complete all of the work as originally estimated in the 2005–06 year.Work related to the referred immigration cases was completed by the end of June 2007. There was also delay in recruiting suitably qualified staff for the new measures introduced in the 2006–07 Additional Estimates.

Financial position

The office’s total equity—that is, sum of the office’s assets less its liabilities—has increased by $0.263 million due mainly to a surplus in the 2006–07 year and an equity injection.

The office’s total assets increased to $7.611 million in 2006–07 from $6.920 million in 2005–06. The increases arose primarily out of an increase in undrawn appropriations, due to the delays in implementing the initiatives noted above. The office assets by category at 30 June 2007 are:

The balance sheet shows cash holdings of $0.059 million ($0.333 million in 2005–06). The office’s appropriation receivable also increased by $0.602 million, from $4.089 million in 2005–06 to $4.691 million in 2006–07.

The office’s non-financial assets increased to $2.460 million in 2006–07 ($2.274 million in 2005–06), primarily due to office fit-out and purchases of information technology assets.

Total liabilities increased by $0.427 million to $4.539 million in 2006–07 ($4.112 million in 2005–06). The change in liabilities was primarily due to an increase in employee provisions.

Purchasing

The Ombudsman’s office is committed to achieving the best value for money in its procurement practices. Purchasing practices and procedures are consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and are set out in the Ombudsman’s Chief Executive Instructions.

The office published its Annual Procurement Plan on the AusTender website (as required under the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines) to facilitate early procurement planning and draw businesses’ attention to our planned procurement for 2007–08.

Consulting services

The office engages consultants when the expertise required is not available within the organisation, or when the specialised skills required are not available without diverting resources from other higher priority tasks. In accordance with procurement guidelines, consultants are selected by advertisement, panel arrangements or selective tendering. The main categories of contracts relate to information technology, financial services, human resources services, governance and legal advice.

During 2006–07 the office entered into five new consultancy contracts involving total actual expenditure of $75,045. In addition, two ongoing consultancy contracts were active, involving total actual expenditure of $29,350. See Appendix 5 for details of new consultancy contracts. (Details are also available at www.ombudsman.gov.au.)

Table 4.3 shows expenditure on consultancy contracts over the three most recent financial years.

TABLE 4.3 Expenditure on consultancy contracts 2004–05 to 2006–07

TABLE 4.3 Expenditure on consultancy contracts 2004

Contractual provisions allowing access by the Auditor-General

The office’s standard contract templates include an ANAO audit clause. The office did not sign any contracts of $100,000 or more (including GST) in the reporting period.

Contracts exempt from publication in AusTender

No office contracts or standing offers that cost more than $10,000 (including GST) were exempted by the Ombudsman from being published in AusTender.

Information technology

We continued to improve the office’s use and management of information technology to support the performance of its functions. We:

In 2007–08 we will continue to work on improving:

Skip to main content
    0 results available.
      0 results available.
      language assistant menu topper outer language assistant menu topper inner

      Read documents in your language

      If you need more translations, please contact us via: 1300 362 072 or ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

      Chapter 4 | Management and accountability - corporate governance | Commonwealth Ombudsman Annual Report 2006-07

      Commonwealth Ombudsman annual report 2006-2007

      CHAPTER 4 | Management and accountability

      Corporate governance

      Senior executive and responsibilities | Corporate planning and review | Management committees | Corporate governance practices | Commonwealth Disability Strategy | Environmental matters | Service charter

      Senior executive and responsibilities

      The Governor-General appointed the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen to five-year terms:

      • Prof. John McMillan as Commonwealth Ombudsman in March 2003
      • Mr Ron Brent as Deputy Ombudsman in June 2003
      • Dr Vivienne Thom as Deputy Ombudsman in March 2006.

      The remuneration for the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen is determined in accordance with a ruling by the Remuneration Tribunal. Note 10 in the Financial Statements details executive remuneration.

      Senior management team (standing from left) Elizabeth Courtney-Frost, Mary Durkin, Ray Matcham, Ron Brent, Helen Fleming and Damien Browne; and (seated from left) Vicki Brown, George Masri, Vivienne Thom and John McMillan.

      Prof. McMillan acted as Integrity Commissioner with the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity from 30 December 2006 to 22 July 2007 pending permanent filling of the position. Dr Thom was Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman from 30 December 2006 to 29 June 2007.

      The office’s Executive team comprises the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen. The Executive and six Senior Assistant Ombudsmen comprise the senior management team.

      At 30 June 2007, the office’s senior management team and their areas of responsibility are:

      Mr Ron Brent, Deputy Ombudsman and Chief Financial Officer—main areas of responsibility:

      • Corporate—Ms Elizabeth Courtney-Frost, Acting Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — corporate services comprising finance, human resources and records management
        — governance, including work practices and procedures
        — information technology and communications infrastructure
        — public affairs and outreach, including management of the office’s intranet and internet sites.
      • Postal Industry, International, and State and Territory Offices—Mr Ray Matcham, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — specialised advice and complaint handling relating to Australia Post and registered postal operators of the Postal Industry Ombudsman scheme
        — management of the office’s International Program and related AusAID projects
        — management and oversight of our state and territory offices (Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney), which handle complaints and undertake some specialist work.
      • Social Support and Legal—Ms Helen Fleming, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — specialised advice and complaint handling relating to the Department of Human Services (including Centrelink and the Child Support Agency) and relevant policy departments
        — in-house legal advice and policy service to support staff in performing their functions.

      Dr Vivienne Thom, Deputy Ombudsman—main areas of responsibility:

      • Defence, ACT, Indigenous and Public Contact—Mr Damien Browne, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — complaint handling relating to the ACT Ombudsman function
        — specialised advice and complaint handling relating to the Australian Defence Force, Defence Housing Australia and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
        — specialised advice to staff and management of outreach program to Indigenous communities
        — Public Contact Team, which provides a national point of contact for all approaches to the office made by telephone, email or online.
      • Immigration—Ms Mary Durkin, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — specialised advice and complaint handling relating to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
        — reviewing the cases of detainees who have been held in immigration detention for two years or more
        — investigating immigration detention cases referred by the Minister for Immigration, concerning Australian citizens or other people lawfully in Australia who were held in immigration detention or may have been removed from Australia.
      • Law Enforcement, Inspections and Taxation—Ms Vicki Brown, Senior Assistant Ombudsman
        — complaint handling and investigating law enforcement activities relating to Australian Government law enforcement agencies
        — inspecting the records of law enforcement agencies and other enforcement agencies for statutory compliance, adequacy, and comprehensiveness
        — specialised advice and complaint handling relating to the Australian Taxation Office.

      Top

      Corporate planning and review

      During the year, the office’s Strategic Plan was reviewed to build on achievements over the past three years and to reflect priorities for the period 2007 to 2010. Strategic priorities identified for 2007–08 are to:

      • focus on areas of administrative concern as identified through analysis of complaint trends
      • continue to build the profile of the office through outreach, relevant publications and communication activities
      • build on the work practices and system changes to deliver improved timeliness, efficiency and effectiveness in managing complaints, conducting inspections and generating reports
      • improve quality assurance and consistency in complaint handling.

      The office’s Strategic Plan informs its internal business plans, which are prepared on an annual basis. There are clear links between the objectives and the key measures of success of the Strategic Plan and the key result areas set in the business plans for all teams, and in individual performance agreements for all staff members. As a result, performance agreements are closely linked to business plans.

      Top

      Management committees

      Management committees assist the Executive with decision making in key areas.

      Internal Audit

      As required by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the office has an Internal Audit Committee. The committee’s role is to review, monitor and where necessary recommend improvements to internal control, financial reporting, internal audit functions, external audit processes, and the office process for monitoring compliance with legislation and government policy directives. The committee met three times during the year.

      At 30 June 2007 the membership of the committee comprised Dr Vivienne Thom, Deputy Ombudsman (Chair), Ms Helen Fleming, Senior Assistant Ombudsman, Mr Ray Matcham, Senior Assistant Ombudsman, and an independent external member, Mr Joe D’Angelo, Chief Finance and Information Officer, Department of the Senate. Representatives from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) attend committee meetings as observers, and the office’s internal auditors, WalterTurnbull, and the Chief Finance Officer, attend meetings to report on particular matters.

      During 2006–07 the office issued a request for tender for internal audit services for a three-year period. WalterTurnbull was awarded the contract.

      Information Technology

      In previous years an Information Technology Steering Committee oversaw the development of IT strategy and governance, and identified priorities for infrastructure, application development and maintenance, and project development. A new committee will be formed in early 2007–08 with relevant terms of reference to assist in assessing and making recommendations to the Ombudsman about major IT infrastructure decisions and major expenditure proposals.

      Occupational Health and Safety

      The office’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee is made up of elected representatives from each state office and chaired by the Human Resources Manager who represents management. Recommendations and/or advice from the committee are provided to the Workplace Relations Committee. The committee met twice during the year. See also Appendix 1.

      Workplace Relations

      A Deputy Ombudsman chairs the Workplace Relations Committee. It consists of employee, management and union representatives, and is the main consultative body on workplace conditions within the office. The committee met four times during the year, and considered matters such as flexible working arrangement guidelines and whistleblowing policy and procedures.

      Work Practices

      A Deputy Ombudsman chairs the Work Practice Steering Committee, which includes representatives from a number of specialist teams and state offices. The committee’s role is to consider and make decisions on issues related to work practice and to provide recommendations and/or advice to the Executive, where appropriate.

      The committee met eight times during the year. It considered and made recommendations about a wide range of work practice and complaint management system issues. An issues log was initiated in May 2007 to seek input and feedback from all staff on issues arising out of our new complaint management system, with more than one hundred issues raised since its inception.

      Top

      Corporate governance practices

      Risk management

      The office’s risk management activities are oversighted by the Internal Audit Committee, and have been incorporated into the Ombudsman’s planning and operations and the management of contractors. The office’s risk management policy and procedures specify how to:

      • create, maintain and continuously improve risk management standards
      • establish, maintain and continuously improve a risk register
      • help to prioritise and schedule risk control improvements in each of the office’s cost centres
      • report to the Internal Audit Committee and Executive on risk improvement and compliance
      • raise awareness among staff about risk management.

      The office participated in the annual Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, and we are identifying areas for improvement.

      A Business Continuity Plan was drafted and circulated internally for comment and is to be finalised in early 2007–08. The plan utilises the strengths of a national office structure to respond to potential outage in one or more of the office’s eight sites.

      When the plan is finalised, staff will be trained in their role in the event the plan is required to be enacted. The plan will be tested and steps taken to ensure that we have the appropriate tools to successfully implement the plan, including information technology hardware and software.

      Fraud prevention and control

      During 2006–07 the office reviewed and updated its fraud control plan and fraud risk assessment. Appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and processes are in place. These meet our specific needs and comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines issued in May 2002. The risk of fraud remains low for the office.

      The Internal Audit Committee oversees the implementation of the fraud control plan.

      Ethical standards

      The Commonwealth Ombudsman Certified Agreement 2005–2008 includes the Australian Public Service (APS) Values, as specified in the Public Service Act 1999 s 10, and the values adopted by the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office in its Strategic Plan 2007–2010. The importance of the values is reinforced in induction documentation and training for staff, and in internal documents including the Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan, and the Harassment Prevention Policy.

      The key values of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office are: independence, impartiality, integrity, accessibility, professionalism and teamwork.

      Top

      Commonwealth Disability Strategy

      The office is committed to the Commonwealth Disability Strategy to ensure equality of access to the services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for people with disabilities, and to eliminate discriminatory practices by staff. We endeavour to meet our obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 through implementation of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy and the Ombudsman’s Disability Action Plan 2005–2008 and the Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan 2007–2009.

      The office’s operations encompass the activities of regulator, service provider and employer.

      Regulator

      The Ombudsman does not directly enforce the disability discrimination legislation, but provides a complaint resolution service under statute for the Australian Government. This can include recommendations on enforcement of legislative obligations that apply to Australian Government agencies. The Ombudsman seeks to promote awareness of services in all areas of the Australian community, and provides an online complaint lodgement facility on the office’s website. Ombudsman staff liaise regularly with community organisations to promote awareness of the Ombudsman’s services.

      Service provider

      The Ombudsman has an established internal complaint and review process, which allows complaints about the office’s decisions and service quality to be resolved quickly, fairly and informally. The office’s complaints and grievances mechanism is outlined in our service charter and advised to complainants in a variety of communications. We seek to promote awareness of the office’s role and service in all areas of the Australian community.

      In developing and maintaining the Ombudsman’s website, we use the priority 1 and 2 checkpoints of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as our benchmark. Activities to ensure compliance include testing colour contrast for the vision impaired, limiting the use of graphics, simplifying navigation and providing a site map, separating document formatting from content with style sheets, providing text equivalents for non-text elements, and improving metadata.

      Employer

      The Ombudsman’s harassment policies and Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan aim to ensure that in working to achieve the goals of the office, the diverse background, skills, talents and views of staff are recognised, encouraged and valued.

      When taken as a whole, these policies assist the office to ensure that the principles of workplace diversity are understood by staff, and are embedded in our office culture, practices and procedures.

      The plan provides for the following measures to assist staff who have particular needs.

      • All employment policies and procedures comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and are communicated in a manner that is responsive to the needs of employees.
      • Employment policies and procedures are made available in a manner that is responsive to the needs of prospective employees. Appropriate material is provided in hard copy to prospective employees when they seek details of employment opportunities, as well as on the office’s website in accessible formats.
      • Managers and recruiters apply ‘reasonable adjustment’ principles.
      • The workplace diversity framework allows for a flexible approach to management of employees with special needs.
      • Training and development programs consider and respond to the needs of people with disabilities and include information on disability issues where they relate to the content of the program.
      • Complaints/grievance mechanisms, including access to external mechanisms, are in place to address issues and concerns raised by staff and the public.

      Top

      Environmental matters

      The Ombudsman is required to report on certain environmental matters under s 516A(5)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, detailing the office’s environmental performance and its contribution to ecologically sustainable development.

      The Ombudsman continued to encourage staff to manage all resources, including energy, prudently and in an ecologically responsible manner. During 2006–07 we reviewed the office’s Environmental Management Policy and information material on the conservation of energy within the workplace, including the use of light, computer equipment, water management and organic recycling. The office recycles toner/printer cartridges, paper and cardboard products, classified waste and cans/tins, bottles and plastic. These strategies are communicated to staff through the office intranet and induction program.

      Service charter

      We continue to be committed to providing the best service possible to the community. Our service charter outlines the service that can be expected from the office, ways to provide feedback and steps that can be taken if standards are not met.

      When a complainant is dissatisfied with our conclusions and decision about a complaint, they may ask for the matter to be reconsidered, and if they are still not satisfied, for a review of their complaint. A Deputy Ombudsman will consider the information provided and decide whether or not we will review the handling of the complaint.

      The Deputy Ombudsman chairs the office’s internal review panel and allocates the request for review to a designated review officer who has had no prior involvement in the complaint. The review officer will look at whether the processes our staff followed were fair and adequate, and whether the conclusions they reached were reasonable and properly explained to the complainant. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one review be undertaken.

      We commenced an internal review of the office’s service charter in June 2007. The review will take account of any relevant issues arising from the survey of Australian Government agencies and the post implementation review of our work practice changes—both being conducted during the period June to August 2007. An external review of the charter will be conducted in 2008.

      We report on our performance against service charter standards in Chapter 3—Performance report.

      External scrutiny

      Privacy legislation

      The Ombudsman’s office is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). We continually assess our compliance with the Information Privacy Principles, which determine the way the office deals with personal information.

      The Ombudsman provided information to the Privacy Commissioner for inclusion in the Personal Information Digest. The Commissioner did not issue any reports about the actions or practices of the office under s 30 of the Privacy Act in 2006–07.

      The Privacy Commissioner commenced an investigation during the year into an alleged breach of privacy by the Ombudsman’s office. A complainant approached the Privacy Commissioner, and the Ombudsman’s office has responded to the Commissioner’s enquiries. The matter is still open.

      The Ombudsman’s office made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission review of privacy legislation.

      Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

      The Ombudsman’s office is subject to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

      In 2006–07 the Commission advised the Ombudsman about a complaint it had received on the office’s dealings with a complainant. The office had decided the complainant should, for a limited period, not be allowed to contact the office by telephone. The complainant was still able to write to the office, including by email. This course of action is occasionally adopted when a complainant becomes unreasonably aggressive or offensive or makes lengthy and repetitive telephone calls that do not add to the investigation, but which prevent staff from carrying on with their other work. We have responded to the Commission’s enquiries and understand that the matter is still under review.

      Litigation and legal issues

      In 2006–07 the Ombudsman’s office was the respondent in one matter brought to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) by a complainant who had made requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The Tribunal dismissed the application on account of the applicant’s failure to attend and pursue the matter. The applicant sought reinstatement of the application but the AAT refused. The applicant applied to the Federal Court for review (Zoia v Commonwealth Ombudsman [2007] FCA 245) and was again unsuccessful. The complainant has now applied to the Full Federal Court.

      In 2005–06 a former complainant instituted proceedings in the Federal Court seeking review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 of decisions not to investigate complaints he had made about the arrangements for the management of federal prisoners in state prisons. In October and December 2006 his applications against five other respondents were dismissed and a motion by the Ombudsman that the application had no reasonable prospects of success was allowed, and that application was also dismissed (Clarkson v Commonwealth et al, [2006] FCA 1348 and [2006] FCA 1839). In December 2006 leave to appeal was refused, other than in relation to one costs order. The Ombudsman’s office understands that the applicant has applied to the High Court, both on appeal and in its original jurisdiction. Those matters are not yet resolved.

      The Ombudsman was also identified in an AAT matter as a respondent in a matter related to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The application was subsequently dismissed.

      Section 35 of the Ombudsman Act provides that the office is not compellable to provide, to a court or tribunal, information or documents obtained by the office in discharging its functions. We customarily rely on that statutory non-compellability when required by subpoena or discovery to produce information for the purposes of a legal proceeding to which we are not a party. The office is reviewing its policies, having regard to a case where a person was accused of having made a serious threat against an Australian Government agency in the course of conversations with Ombudsman’s office staff.

      Reports by the Auditor-General and Parliamentary committee inquiries

      There were no reports on the operation of the Ombudsman’s office by the Auditor-General or by Parliamentary committees.

      People Management

      People Management menu: Workplace relations | Staffing profile | Career development and training

      During 2006–07 the Ombudsman’s office managed its employees in accordance with the conditions of our Certified Agreement 2005–2008 and a number of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), as well as within our obligations under the Public Service Act 1999.

      We further reviewed the office’s suite of human resources policies and guidelines to bring them in line with the Certified Agreement and to reflect changes in office procedures and practices. In particular, we focused on:

      • harassment policies and awareness
      • recruitment and selection guidelines to provide flexibility with increased internal opportunities
      • working from home guidelines to ensure the right balance between work and non-work life is achieved
      • the Workplace Diversity Framework and Plan to ensure that workplace diversity principles are embedded in our office culture.

      During the year the office conducted its first staff survey to provide an opportunity for employees to contribute their views about workplace issues and the overall performance of the office. The survey provided some important insights and helped inform the Executive in the development of corporate strategies, policies and procedures.

      The survey focused on a range of topics including:

      • APS values and code of conduct
      • leadership
      • communication and knowledge sharing
      • internal and external relationship management
      • recruitment and selection
      • performance management
      • learning and development
      • harassment and bullying
      • work/life balance.

      The high response rate of 88% demonstrated that staff are committed to help improve the office. The report results showed that the majority of Ombudsman staff were satisfied with the office as an employer, and most staff indicated they were proud to tell others that they work for the office. In many areas we exceeded the APS State of the Service benchmarks. This level of satisfaction with our working environment reflects positively on all staff.

      The report highlighted a number of areas for improvement. The senior management team sought further input from staff on possible strategies to help address these areas and how particular initiatives could be implemented. Substantial follow-up work has already been undertaken and action to respond to the survey will continue during 2007–08.

      Top

      Workplace relations

      The Certified Agreement 2005–2008 focuses on people, remuneration and employment arrangements, working environment and lifestyle, further streamlining of personnel practices and processes, and performance management and improvement to underpin salary increases. Conditions are provided for Senior Executive Service (SES) staff under AWAs. A total of 143 employees were covered under the office’s certified agreement. (Note: as statutory officers, the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen are not included.)

      The certified agreement does not make provision for performance pay. Salary advancement through pay points within each classification is linked to performance, in accordance with the policy parameters for agreement making in the APS. SES AWAs provide for annual salary advancement within the range based on performance, and do not make provision for performance pay. Non-salary benefits are not offered to employees.

      The office’s Workplace Relations Committee continues to provide a forum for discussion of issues surrounding implementation and operation of the agreement. It also provides the consultative, advisory and information-sharing mechanism between management and employees on matters affecting employment conditions in the office.

      A new certified agreement is due to be negotiated and implemented before October 2008, when the current agreement expires.

      Top

      Staffing profile

      As at 30 June 2007, the actual number of employees was 146, including the Ombudsman and two Deputy Ombudsmen who are statutory appointees. The number of full-time employees was 125 and the number of part-time employees was 21 (14% of employees). The full-time equivalent number of employees for the year was 140.5.

      During the year, 31 employees were engaged on an ongoing basis and 28 ongoing employees left the office, equating to a turnover rate of 19% (compared to 12% in the previous year). Given the nature of the office’s work and the completion of some major 2006–07 budgeted priorities, the turnover is not disproportionate for this financial year.

      Table 4.1 shows the numbers of employees, by gender and APS classification and salary range. Four employees on long-term leave without pay under the Prime Minister’s Directions 1999 are not included. Table 4.2 shows the office’s staffing profile by location.

      Twenty-one staff were employed on a part-time basis. Of these, 19 were ongoing and two non-ongoing.

      TABLE 4.1 Staffing profile by level and gender at 30 June 2007 (at 30 June 2006)

      TABLE 4.1 Staffing profile by level and gender at 30 June 2007 (at 30 June 2006)

      TABLE 4.2 Staffing profile by location at 30 June 2007

      TABLE 4.2 Staffing profile by location at 30 June 2007

      Top

      Career development and training

      The office’s learning and development program centres on continuous improvement of organisational performance through the performance management process, and corporate and core business training and development.

      In 2006–07 the office introduced a new approach when inducting new employees. The key elements focused on pre-commencement actions, a newly developed online induction program and devolved orientation responsibility to the line manager, including the provision of a mentor/coach. Feedback on this approach from new employees and line managers was positive, with both taking a greater role in ensuring the process was completed.

      The focus for learning and development this year was on workshops to improve consistency in the approach by all staff across our eight offices when dealing with complaints, focusing on difficult complainants, investigations and people management.

      Key learning and development areas identified by the office and delivered included:

      • investigation workshops and on-the-job training
      • difficult complainants training
      • working within the framework of government
      • working with interpreters
      • presentation skills
      • performance management
      • leading and working in small teams
      • harassment and bullying awareness
      • executive coaching.

      Staff representatives delivered a variety of business-focused workshops across all office sites. This proved to be of great value with an increase in consistency in the use of the office’s complaint management system and with record-keeping compliance.

      The office contributes to the development of its staff by supporting staff attendance at courses, seminars and conferences identified in their personal development plans. We also recognise and put in place other development opportunities, through job rotation, special project work, higher duties, placements with other agencies and representation on work committees. These programs have been well received with many staff taking up the opportunities to further develop their skills.

      The office also provides study assistance, which a relatively high percentage of staff use to undertake short or long-term courses at educational institutions.

      Financial Management

      Financial performance

      Revenue received from ordinary activities was $18.923 million in 2006–07. The office received $17.579 million in appropriation revenue, amounting to $0.544 million more than received in 2005–06. Additional resources of $5.250 million over four years, including $0.059 million in capital funding, were received during the Additional Estimates process for an increase in workload. The increase in activity results from the introduction of the Welfare to Work Programme, implementation of the Law Enforcement (AFP Professional Standards and Related Measures) Act 2006 and amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

      Total expenses for the office were $18.720 million resulting in a surplus in 2006–07 of $0.204 million, primarily due to delay in implementing new initiatives.

      The office requested and received approval to budget for an operating loss in 2006–07 of $0.900 million. The underlying reason for the budgeted loss was due to a timing difference. During the 2005–06 Additional Estimates, the office received funding for the Palmer Implementation Plan and migration legislation amendments. We did not increase staffing sufficiently quickly to complete all of the work as originally estimated in the 2005–06 year.Work related to the referred immigration cases was completed by the end of June 2007. There was also delay in recruiting suitably qualified staff for the new measures introduced in the 2006–07 Additional Estimates.

      Financial position

      The office’s total equity—that is, sum of the office’s assets less its liabilities—has increased by $0.263 million due mainly to a surplus in the 2006–07 year and an equity injection.

      The office’s total assets increased to $7.611 million in 2006–07 from $6.920 million in 2005–06. The increases arose primarily out of an increase in undrawn appropriations, due to the delays in implementing the initiatives noted above. The office assets by category at 30 June 2007 are:

      • receivables (amounts due to be paid to the office—66.9% of total assets).
      • infrastructure, plant and equipment (24.2%)
      • intangibles (non-physical assets such as software—5.3%)
      • other non-financial assets (relating to prepayments—2.8%)
      • cash (0.8%).

      The balance sheet shows cash holdings of $0.059 million ($0.333 million in 2005–06). The office’s appropriation receivable also increased by $0.602 million, from $4.089 million in 2005–06 to $4.691 million in 2006–07.

      The office’s non-financial assets increased to $2.460 million in 2006–07 ($2.274 million in 2005–06), primarily due to office fit-out and purchases of information technology assets.

      Total liabilities increased by $0.427 million to $4.539 million in 2006–07 ($4.112 million in 2005–06). The change in liabilities was primarily due to an increase in employee provisions.

      Purchasing

      The Ombudsman’s office is committed to achieving the best value for money in its procurement practices. Purchasing practices and procedures are consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and are set out in the Ombudsman’s Chief Executive Instructions.

      The office published its Annual Procurement Plan on the AusTender website (as required under the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines) to facilitate early procurement planning and draw businesses’ attention to our planned procurement for 2007–08.

      Consulting services

      The office engages consultants when the expertise required is not available within the organisation, or when the specialised skills required are not available without diverting resources from other higher priority tasks. In accordance with procurement guidelines, consultants are selected by advertisement, panel arrangements or selective tendering. The main categories of contracts relate to information technology, financial services, human resources services, governance and legal advice.

      During 2006–07 the office entered into five new consultancy contracts involving total actual expenditure of $75,045. In addition, two ongoing consultancy contracts were active, involving total actual expenditure of $29,350. See Appendix 5 for details of new consultancy contracts. (Details are also available at www.ombudsman.gov.au.)

      Table 4.3 shows expenditure on consultancy contracts over the three most recent financial years.

      TABLE 4.3 Expenditure on consultancy contracts 2004–05 to 2006–07

      TABLE 4.3 Expenditure on consultancy contracts 2004

      Contractual provisions allowing access by the Auditor-General

      The office’s standard contract templates include an ANAO audit clause. The office did not sign any contracts of $100,000 or more (including GST) in the reporting period.

      Contracts exempt from publication in AusTender

      No office contracts or standing offers that cost more than $10,000 (including GST) were exempted by the Ombudsman from being published in AusTender.

      Information technology

      We continued to improve the office’s use and management of information technology to support the performance of its functions. We:

      • implemented changes to the complaint management system to meet additional functional requirements
      • applied enhancements to external network connectivity, including migration to a secure internet gateway service, connectivity to Fedlink for secure email communication with other Australian Government agencies, and establishing email classification capability and filtering
      • applied enhancements to the office’s wide area network between Canberra and state offices to improve overall performance, involving an increase from 128kbps to 768kbps.
      • replaced the aging Unix local area network server environment in all offices
      • provided secure VPN connectivity from the internet, enabling working from home and mobile laptop capability.

      In 2007–08 we will continue to work on improving:

      • backup and recovery processes and procedures and business continuity planning
      • information technology workflow and change management procedures
      • management of email and electronic records.