Commonwealth Ombudsman - Annual Report 2009-2010 - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
On This Page
- Complaints
- Compliance auditing
- Promoting good administration
- Engagement
- Internal Management
- Year Ahead
- Feature: Engaging Diversity
Ombudsman's review
Ombudsman's review
One of the primary functions of the Ombudsman's office is to handle complaints and enquiries from members of the public about government administrative action. The aim is to promote fairness and accountability by fostering integrity and legislative compliance in agency administration.
For a history of the office of the Ombudsman and a summary of its role and structure in Australia, see Chapter 2.
Complaints
In 2009–10 we received 37,468 approaches and complaints, 18% less than last year. With 18,313 (49%) of all approaches within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, there continues to be pressure on organisation resources from the substantial number of out-of-jurisdiction approaches and complaints received—51% or 19,155 for 2009–10.
The top five agencies for numbers of complaints were Centrelink (28%), Australia Post (14%), Child Support Agency (12%), Australian Taxation Office (10%), and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (9%).
During the year we dealt with approaches and complaints about more than 150 Australian Government agencies, up 30 agencies on the previous year. We investigated 4,489 separate complaints, compared to 5,233 the previous year.
As in 2008–09, we again identified some agency error or deficiency in 10% of the complaints investigated. We also identified one or more remedies in 71% of the complaints investigated, marginally lower than the previous year.
Seventy-seven per cent of all approaches and complaints were dealt with within the first month, a 3% improvement over that achieved in 2008–09, arresting a five-year decline in timeliness. This should be noted in the context of a decrease in complaints received. There was an increase in the number of open complaints at the end of 2009–10, compared with a decrease in the previous financial year.
Compliance auditing
The Ombudsman is responsible for inspecting the records of law enforcement and other agencies concerning their use of statutory powers that enable telecommunications interception, access to stored communications, use of surveillance devices and controlled operations. The agencies include the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), some state and territory law enforcement and integrity agencies, and some other enforcement agencies. The purpose of the inspections is to ensure statutory compliance and the adequacy and comprehensiveness of records. This contributes to the integrity of those enforcement activities.
During 2009–10 we carried out 31 inspections, one more than in 2008–09. We inspected the records of 16 different agencies, compared to 15 in 2008–09. This included eight inspections of the AFP, seven of the ACC, three of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, two of the Crime and Corruption Commission, and one inspection each of 10 other agencies.
Promoting good administration
Apart from dealing with individual complaints and inspecting records for statutory compliance, the Ombudsman's office promotes good administration through a variety of other methods.
In 2009–10 we released 19 reports on own motion and major investigations. These covered areas as diverse as visa applications, quarantine measures, police investigations, child support, accessing government information, tax office powers, asbestos surveys and lost passports.
During the year we released three e-bulletins. These described recent case studies of finalised complaints from which lessons could be drawn for a wider audience. We also expanded on work in the previous year, producing additional fact sheets and publishing the Better practice guide to managing unreasonable complainant conduct.
In addition, we made 11 submissions to Parliamentary inquiries, 10 other submissions to major reviews and released one issues paper.
Engagement
Our engagement with regional ombudsmen and partners continued to strengthen this year. Our work in the region is funded by AusAID, and we were pleased that the success of our engagement was recognised by AusAID committing to future funding in two main areas:
- a four-year funding agreement for activities to support the consolidation of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance, which was launched in 2008
- a two-year agreement for our twinning program with the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea (OCPNG), guaranteeing our activities with the OCPNG until the end of 2011.
We were also pleased to host the 25th annual meeting of the Australasia and Pacific Ombudsman Region. We held this meeting concurrently with the first annual general members' meeting of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance. (See Regional engagement with the Pacific feature on page 138).
Internal management
During 2009–10 we further refined our work practices, continuing to draw in part on the results of a client satisfaction survey conducted late in 2007–08 and on detailed analyses conducted by our business improvement team. Some of the main changes were:
- revision of our five category complaint-handling structure and administrative deficiency workflow
- introduction of a quality assurance audit panel to complement other quality assurance processes
- development of a new approach to handling requests for reviews of our decisions
- mapping of office work flows to assist in learning and development opportunities for staff and the evaluation of business practices.
A collective agreement between the office and the Community and Public Sector Union came into effect for the period December 2008– 30 September 2010. Discussions on a new enterprise agreement were commenced before the end of the financial year.
One objective of our human resource management is to extend the average time of tenure with the office. This will lead to the efficiencies that arise from lower staff turnover, increased corporate knowledge, and improved consistency and effectiveness of our core business activities.
In 2009–10 the office's operating revenue was $20.338 million and operating expenses were $21.458 million, resulting in a deficit of $1.120 million. This was funded from accumulated surpluses. The office received an unqualified audit opinion on its 2009–10 financial statements.
Year ahead
The office faces an exciting time in the coming year with the appointment of a completely new Executive—in particular a new Ombudsman. Each occupant of this position has brought their own talents, expectations and plans to the office which has, in turn, taken new directions.
New functions for the office will also bring challenges and opportunities. In April 2010, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that as part of the National International Student Strategy, from 1 January 2011, international students would have access to an independent statutory complaints body. In the instance of a complaint or education provider not being covered by a state's statutorily independent complaint mechanism (for example a private education provider), the Commonwealth Ombudsman would act as the external complaint mechanism.
In June 2010, the Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 was introduced to the previous Parliament, and was designed to give effect to the COAG agreement. The Bill is expected to be reintroduced to the Parliament in late 2010.
The Territories Law Reform Bill 2010 introduced into the previous Parliament proposed a range of reforms to strengthen the governance arrangements for Norfolk Island, including applying Commonwealth administrative law accountability and oversight mechanisms. As part of these, the Bill would have enabled the Commonwealth Ombudsman to assume the function of the Norfolk Island Ombudsman under Norfolk Island legislation. No date has been provided for the reintroduction of this Bill.
The Government's response to the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on a whistle blower protection scheme for the Australian Public Sector agreed to a role for the Commonwealth Ombudsman to undertake integrity and oversight functions for the scheme. Legislation to give effect to the Government's response has not yet been introduced into the Parliament.
Finally, the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill in the previous Parliament is expected to be reintroduced into the Parliament in late 2010. That Bill proposed a function for the Commonwealth Ombudsman in monitoring examinations by the Fair Work Building Inspectorate.
Feature: Engaging diversity
Australia has more than 3.1 million people who speak a language other than English at home. Languages include the many spoken by Indigenous Australians and those introduced by migrants and refugees.
Language diversity enriches our democracy and communities, but it also requires agencies including the Commonwealth Ombudsman's office to facilitate communication in the many languages spoken. Our work in the Northern Territory (NT) led us to pay particular attention in 2009–10 to two aspects of engaging with Indigenous Australians – the use of interpreters by government workers and the accessibility of government to people who live in remote communities.
The quality of government communication was a contributing factor to many complaints taken during outreach visits to remote NT communities. There is also a clear need for agencies to be available when Indigenous people wish to talk to them – to ask questions or to seek review. Limited technology in vast areas of the NT compounds this for both residents and agencies.
In 2009–10 we promoted our services to culturally and linguistically diverse communities by presenting at events including:
- Brisbane Lord Mayor's 2010 Refugee Welcoming Ceremony
- Federation of Ethnic Communities Council's 2009 national conference
- ACT Multicultural Festival
- Bankstown Lunar Festival
- International Students Orientation Market Days at the Canberra Institute of Technology
- Werrington Festival in Werrington County
- Batchelor Institute of Tertiary Education Certificate III in written and spoken English for Indigenous students
- City of Ryde Harmony Day.
These activities and our Indigenous outreach reinforce the need for each level of government to recognise and accommodate the information needs and cultural protocols of Australia's diverse population.
Brisbane Lord Mayor's 2010 Refugee Welcoming Ceremony