Chapter 1

Ombudsman’s review

  1. Ombudsman’s review
  2. The Ombudsman at work
  3. Indigenous issues
  4. Stakeholder engagement, outreach and education
  5. Communication and plain language
  6. Internal management
  7. The year ahead—outlook 2011–12

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. The office also plays an important role in compliance auditing of law enforcement and other agencies concerning their use of statutory powers.

For a history of the office of the Ombudsman and a summary of its role and structure in Australia, see Chapter 2— Organisation overview .

The Ombudsman at work

Commonwealth Ombudsman

The bulk of the agencies this office receives complaints about fall under the Commonwealth Ombudsman jurisdiction. Chapter 5 looks at those agencies that gave rise to most of the complaints in 2010–11.

For instance, 25% (4954) of the approaches and complaints within jurisdiction received by this office were about Centrelink – more than any other agency. It should be noted that Centrelink is of course a major agency and that complaints about it have been steadily declining since 2007–08.

Other agencies examined in that chapter include:

Many complaints to the Ombudsman require us to make enquiries of more than one agency. This is often the case where one agency is responsible for delivering a product or service, while another has responsibility for the relevant policy or law. Complaints about line agencies often relate to adequacy of coherent complaint handling, lack of advice about review rights; whereas those about policy agencies tend to relate to funding and policy issues.

The office’s dedicated Indigenous Unit, whose focus is to oversight Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory, has continued to visit Indigenous communities, investigate complaints, address systemic issues and achieve remedies for individuals during this financial year.

The Ombudsman is also required by law to inspect the records of certain agencies in relation to their use of covert and coercive powers. We do this to determine compliance with legislative requirements governing the use of these powers. We also aim to help agencies improve their processes to comply with the various statutes.

In 2010–11 we received 146 complaints about freedom of information, although much of this work is now handled by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Approaches and complaints1

In 2010–11 we received 38, 919 approaches and complaints about government agencies, 3.9% more than last year. Of these approaches and complaints, 19,821 (51%) were within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

From year to year work volumes may go up or down. However, trends emerge and across the whole office complaints and approaches received have increased by 16.8% over the last five years.

Eight agencies accounted for 82% of complaints within jurisdiction. These included Centrelink, Australia Post, Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Child Support Agency (CSA), the Departments of Defence and Veteran Affairs (and associated agencies), Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

During the year we dealt with approaches and complaints about more than 160 Government agencies. Through our new role as Overseas Students Ombudsman, we also dealt with approaches and complaints about more than 50 education bodies.

We investigated 4,468 separate complaints, compared to 4,489 the previous year.

Seventy-five per cent of all approaches and complaints were dealt with within the first month, a two per cent decline from that achieved in 2009–10. In terms of finalising investigated complaints, only 20.5% were closed in the first month, down from 24% last year – with a similar decline for those closed within three months. There was also an increase in the number of complaints carried forward at the end of 2009–10 – 1657 complaints up from 1553 at the end of 2008–09.

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. The Ombudsman reports on the findings of these inspections to the Parliament.

During 2010–11 the Ombudsman also audited the investigations conducted by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

During 2010–11 we carried out 34 inspections, three more than in 2009–10. We inspected the records of 16 different agencies, the same as in 2009–10. This included seven inspections of the AFP, seven of the ACC, five of AQIS, three of the Victoria Police and one inspection each of 12 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, including publishing reports, and making submissions to Parliamentary inquiries and reviews.

In 2010–11 we released 13 reports on own motion and major investigations, including 80 recommendations – 90% of which were accepted in full and 9% in part. These covered a diverse range of programs and policy matters, including: the Chaplaincy program; the right to review by Centrelink customers; use of interpreters for Indigenous Australians; oversight of detention facilities on Christmas Island; administration of coercive powers in passenger processing by Customs officers; tax file number compromises; how agencies engage with people suffering from mental illness; and the review rights for people under income management.

During the year we launched the Taxation Ombudsman e-bulletin. We continued to promote our fact sheets and Better practice guide to managing unreasonable complainant conduct , with sustained interest across a diverse range of sectors for these resources.

We made eight submissions to Parliamentary inquiries and eleven other submissions to major reviews.

Defence Force Ombudsman

Each year, as the Commonwealth and Defence Force Ombudsman we receive, on average, between 550 and 750 approaches and complaints about Defence-related agencies. This year we received 632 approaches and complaints, of which 229 were about the Department of Defence and 182 about the Australian Defence Force. Significant issues arising from these complaints included:

Our office has received 34 complaints about delays associated with the Redress of Grievance (ROG) process. This is an increase of 14 from the previous year, indicating that the problem of delay remains significant.

During the year staff from our office travelled to several military establishments and spoke with commanders, administrators and general service members about the role and function of the Defence Force Ombudsman. We have also delivered presentations to service training courses.

During 2010–11 we received 172 approaches and complaints about the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, four more than the previous year. Throughout 2010–11 we have monitored the success of the department’s internal complaint handling process, established in 2010.

Immigration Ombudsman

In 2010–11 we focused our attention on two broad streams of complaints related to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. One related to irregular maritime arrivals and detention issues. The second stream of complaints related to other migration programs and activities, such as General Skilled Migration. It also included complaints about citizenship decision-making and processing.

During 2010–11 we saw a continued increase in the numbers of irregular maritime arrivals on Christmas Island and their placement in detention facilities located in both remote locations and metropolitan areas on the mainland. As a consequence we expanded our inspection program and faced new challenges in providing detention reviews for individual detainees.

Despite these challenges we continued our program of inspections of immigration detention facilities, own motion investigations into systemic issues, and ongoing engagement with the department through regular meetings, briefings and consultation on proposed initiatives. This preventive approach is intended to reduce the volume of complaints received about systemic issues and enable the department to quickly implement processes to address underlying problems.

Overall, we received 2,137 approaches and complaints in 2010–11, a 34% increase from the previous year. This increase is explained by the increased number of irregular maritime arrivals who complained to the office in the course of the year, particularly as a result of our active visits program where more than 90% of detention-related complaints were made.

Our office is required to review and report to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Parliament on the circumstances of immigration detainees held for more than two years. In addition we have an arrangement with the government to undertake similar reviews for detainees after six, 12 and 18 months. Partly as a result of the significant increase in the number of people in immigration detention, our office will be reviewing the approach we take to oversight of those who have been in detention for that six months to less than two years period.

Following a visit to Christmas Island, during which he witnessed at first hand regular incidents of self harm and attempted suicide by immigration detainees, the former Ombudsman Allan Asher commenced an investigation into the increasing levels of suicide and self-harm in immigration detention. The investigation should be complete in 2011–12.

Law Enforcement Ombudsman

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Law Enforcement Ombudsman and has a comprehensive role in oversight of Australian Government law enforcement agencies. The Ombudsman deals with complaints made about the:

During 2010–11, we received 349 approaches and complaints relating to the work of the AFP at the ACT community policing (142), national (182) and international (25) levels. This is a slight reduction on the 389 received in 2009–10.

We noted that the AFP continues to make efforts to improve the quality and consistency of its complaint handling. In particular the standard of adjudications of complaints was high. However, we noted deteriorating timeliness in resolving complaints across all complaint categories. It was also noted that the AFP could better use the information provided by complainants to determine and address systemic problems. We have consistently found that complaints from members of the public have a low rate of being ‘established’ by the AFP.

Over the next year we will continue to focus our attention on working with the AFP to improve its timeliness in finalising complaint investigations. We would like to see the AFP further embrace complaints from members of the public as a resource for improving their operations and interactions with the wider community.

Overseas Students Ombudsman

The Overseas Students Ombudsman began operation on 9 April 2011. Between then and 30 June 2011, it received 161 approaches and complaints.

It has three clear roles under the legislation:

The largest proportion of complaints (almost one in four) relate to refunds of course fees.

A theme that appears to be emerging across complaint types is the difficulty providers are experiencing in drafting, maintaining and interpreting the policies they are obliged to have in place in relation to refunds, progress and attendance.

As a whole, we are pleased to note that providers have been very quick to respond to requests for information from the Overseas Students Ombudsman and to act on recommendations made as a result of complaint investigations. This is an early but positive indicator of the willingness of the sector to work to improve outcomes for all stakeholders.

With the Overseas Students Ombudsman now in full operation, priorities for the year ahead include continued liaison with industry stakeholders – most particularly students – to ensure that the Ombudsman is accessible and the role understood.

Postal Industry Ombudsman

There continues to be a significant upward trend in complaints to us about Australia Post, with complaints more than doubling over the past six years. In 2010–11 we received 3,123 complaints about Australia Post, of which 2,932 were in jurisdiction. These represent 16% of the approaches and complaints within jurisdiction received by the office as a whole – the highest proportion after Centrelink – and a 22% increase on the 2,421 complaints we received in 2009-10.

It should be noted that the total number of complaints to our office remains small in comparison to the size of Australia Post’s operations.

The main themes in complaints about Australia Post were: the Customer Contact Centre’s quality of service or information (36%); recurrent mail problems (30%); single event mail problems (27%); post office services, including banking and retail (4%); and corporate, including unfair policy or legislation (3%).

In relation to the work of the Postal Industry Ombudsman, there is a recovery mechanism whereby investigation costs are recovered by the Government from scheme members, which include Australia Post and registered private postal operators. It is timely to consider whether the current fee model still meets the needs of the scheme and we propose to undertake a review of it in 2011-12.

In 2010–11, we received 20 complaints about other postal operators.

Taxation Ombudsman

The Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates complaints about the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and about the Tax Practitioners Board and Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia.

In 2010–11 we received 2,589 approaches and complaints about the ATO, an increase of 43% from the 1,810 received in 2009–10. While the overall trend in complaints about the ATO has been increasing (2008–09 complaints were 17% above the previous year and in 2009–10 they increased another 27%), this year’s significant increase was driven largely by complaints about delays in processing income tax returns as a result of the implementation of the ATO’s Change Program. This meant that this year, complaints about the ATO represented 13% of all complaints received by the Ombudsman.

The ATO itself received a significantly increased number of complaints this year, for the same reason, and responded by diverting resources to reduce the backlog of complaints, issue delayed refunds and correct systems problems. The ATO has undertaken much work and planning to ensure that the same issues do not arise in tax time 2010–11.

Indigenous issues

Connecting with the Indigenous community poses a unique set of challenges. A report2 based on research my office commissioned late last year revealed that Indigenous people are unlikely to complain because:

The research also found that many Indigenous people prefer to use an intermediary whom they know to discuss problems or issues, preferably face-to-face in a familiar location, and only after they have come to trust the impartiality and effectiveness of the complaint-handling process. That is presumably why our outreach teams are effective in gathering complaints from Indigenous people.

It is our view that at the heart of any attempt to improve social inclusion is effective, two-way communication between agencies and all members of the community.

The Government has continued its significant investment in and program of reform of Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory (NT). Indigenous Australians in the NT are increasingly impacted by a variety of government programs, services and policies. Increasingly, complaints, feedback and our observations highlight the complexities associated with the three levels of government working together to achieve objectives such as those in place under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing in the NT, and the Alice Springs Transformation Plan. This office is uniquely positioned to ensure that under such arrangements, governments remain focused on delivering citizen-centric and seamless services and programs.

An Indigenous Communication and Engagement Strategy was started in early 2010 to support the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the ACT Ombudsman in engaging more effectively with Indigenous people and communities in the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and across all States. This work has been informed by research among selected Indigenous communities in urban, regional and remote locations to gain a better understanding of attitudes, cultural influences, levels of awareness and the best ways to engage with the diversity of Indigenous communities.

The findings suggest that three sections of the Australian community were less likely to be aware of or to access our services:

The research was completed in late 2010 and is informing the development of more effective visual communication materials and messages. It has also contributed to the style of outreach undertaken by the office in the Northern Territory in its role regarding the Northern Territory Emergency Response and Closing the Gap programs. A report on the research will accompany a report on lessons learnt in engaging and dealing with complaints from Indigenous people, to be completed later in 2011.

The finding that there are many and significant barriers to Indigenous people making complaints has also confirmed the need for a culturally aware workforce and the value of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan.

The office is also reviewing its own communication approach, in order to bring improved resources and approaches to our engagement with individuals and stakeholders involved in the development of policy and the delivery of services and programs to Indigenous communities.

Contacts have been made with representatives of the local ACT Indigenous community to promote greater access to Ombudsman services locally, although this work represents only a small part of what is required to more effectively engage with Indigenous people and communities in the wider Australian community.

Stakeholder engagement, outreach and education

A core objective of our stakeholder engagement program continues to be to promote our work and reputation for rigour, fairness and independence. In 2010–11, our staff were involved in 120 outreach activities across all States and Territories, bringing us into direct contact with more than 13,000 people.

We collaborated with State-based Ombudsman offices, undertaking outreach and complaint clinics with a number of frontline service delivery centres to homeless people in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, and also for women through the Australian Women’s Information Service. Outreach work in support of our complaint-handling role in the Northern Territory Emergency Response was also a high priority, with numerous visits to remote communities, and participation more broadly in the Garma Festival and NAIDOC week activities.

Regional engagement

Our engagement with regional ombudsmen and partners continued to strengthen this year. This work is funded by AusAID, and we were pleased that the success of our engagement has been supported through continued AusAID funding in two main areas:

We continued our active engagement with the Pacific Ombudsman, with the Commonwealth Ombudsman elected as Chair of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance. (See further information in Chapter 7— Engagement ).

Social market research surveys

The Ombudsman’s office conducts triennial periodic surveys measuring: client satisfaction with our complaint-handling services; public awareness of the role and services of our office; and the experiences of our counterparts in Australian and ACT government agencies in their dealings with our office; as well as Commonwealth Members of Parliament and Senators, and members of the ACT Legislative Assembly. In 2010–11 our office engaged an independent social research consultancy to conduct the surveys.

Public awareness survey

The public awareness survey sampled 2487 people living in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas in all States and Territories. The survey was designed to test their awareness of, and attitudes to, the work of the Ombudsman’s office. The field work was conducted in June 2011 through telephone interviews, online surveys and intensive one-on-one discussions with senior representatives of third-sector organisations active as advocates or frontline service providers for vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and communities.

The findings suggest that three sections of the Australian community were less likely to be aware of or to access our services:

The research identified three factors: (1) lower awareness of the role and services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and ombudsman services generally; (2) greater uncertainty about their rights as citizens and what might constitute unfair treatment by a government agency, and (3) greater reluctance to complain when they feel they have been treated unfairly or unjustly, or that the decision by a government agency was wrong, unlawful or discriminatory.

Australian and ACT government agency survey

Our second survey of the year sought to identify the attitudes and perceptions of ACT Government agencies in their dealings with the ACT Ombudsman’s office, including their satisfaction levels with those dealings. The research was part of a larger survey that sampled all Commonwealth and ACT government departments and agencies about which the Ombudsman’s office had received five complaints or more from the public in the preceding financial year. Seventy-three federal government departments and agencies met this criterion.

Through anonymous online surveys of the complaint-handling and stakeholder engagement sections in these agencies, supplemented by intensive one-one interviews with senior executive staff, the research identified:

The Ombudsman’s office is encouraged by this research to further fund its commitment to initiate dialogue and training on better citizen-centric and socially inclusive practices by government.

Communication and plain language

The office has embraced the Government’s drive for agencies to use social media and emerging Web 2.0 platforms to more effectively and constructively engage with the community. At the time of reporting final preparations were underway to launch Facebook sites for the Commonwealth and ACT Ombudsman roles. The office already makes regular use of Twitter, with considerable growth in our following over the past year, to promote and inform the public about the work of the office.

Many of the complaints we receive about government agencies arise from poor communication. One of the forms this takes is writing in bureaucratese rather than plain language, and using jargon, acronyms and abbreviations

We have held discussions with the Plain English Foundation on what measures might be required to introduce a long-term, Government-wide plain language program.

The benefits of plain language to all concerned are clear. The time and money saved from the agency’s point of view, and the improved accessibility for users, can be significant.

According to a briefing paper prepared for the NSW Premier in 2009, NSW agencies that adopted plain English enjoyed the following benefits:

International case studies also reveal significant savings. For instance, the US Navy has saved $350 million by moving to plain English memos.

The Foundation also looked at how to evaluate plain language programs. They measured: an organisation’s writing; perceptions about writing; and actual outcomes of writing. In one instance they used the rate of follow-up correspondence as an evaluation measure and found that the number of complaints halved.

Internal management

During 2010–11 we continued to refine our work practices, with ongoing reference to lessons learnt from the previous client satisfaction survey and using detailed analyses conducted by our business improvement team. A number of internal working groups were also established to explore ways to improve complaint handling, better internal communication, and systems for complaint reviews.

Some of the continued initiatives were:

An interim enterprise agreement was implemented for the period 25 November 2010 to 30 June 2011, following the lapse of the existing agreement on 1 October 2010. Discussions on a new enterprise agreement were commenced before the end of the financial year.

In 2010–11 the office’s operating revenue was $21.666 million and operating expenses were $21.400 million, resulting in a surplus of $0.226 million. The office received an unqualified audit opinion on its 2010–11 financial statements.

The year ahead—outlook 2011–12

Last year, in April 2010, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that as part of the National International Student Strategy, international students would have access to an independent statutory complaints body. In the instance of a complaint or education provider (for example, a private education provider) not being covered by a State’s statutorily independent complaint mechanism, the Commonwealth Ombudsman will act as the external complaint mechanism.

In April 2011, this reform was implemented with the Ombudsman becoming the Overseas Students Ombudsman. In 2011–12, we anticipated continued growth in our work and engagement with private education providers and regulators.

In the past year, the Territories Law Reform Act 2010 introduced a range of reforms to strengthen the governance arrangements for Norfolk Island, including applying Commonwealth administrative law accountability and oversight mechanisms. In this coming year, it is anticipated reciprocal legislation will be passed by the Norfolk Island Government that will see the establishment of the role of Norfolk Island Ombudsman.

The Government 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 the Commonwealth Ombudsman undertaking integrity and oversight functions for the scheme. Legislation to give effect to the Government response has not yet been introduced into Parliament.

  1. 1 Approaches are any contact with the office; complaints are approaches that are within the office’s jurisdiction.

  2. 2 Improving the services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman to Australia’s Indigenous peoples , prepared by Winangali Indigenous Communications and Research, November 2010

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      Annual Report 2010-11 | Chapter 1

      Chapter 1

      Ombudsman’s review

      1. Ombudsman’s review
      2. The Ombudsman at work
      3. Indigenous issues
      4. Stakeholder engagement, outreach and education
      5. Communication and plain language
      6. Internal management
      7. The year ahead—outlook 2011–12

      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. The office also plays an important role in compliance auditing of law enforcement and other agencies concerning their use of statutory powers.

      For a history of the office of the Ombudsman and a summary of its role and structure in Australia, see Chapter 2— Organisation overview .

      The Ombudsman at work

      Commonwealth Ombudsman

      The bulk of the agencies this office receives complaints about fall under the Commonwealth Ombudsman jurisdiction. Chapter 5 looks at those agencies that gave rise to most of the complaints in 2010–11.

      For instance, 25% (4954) of the approaches and complaints within jurisdiction received by this office were about Centrelink – more than any other agency. It should be noted that Centrelink is of course a major agency and that complaints about it have been steadily declining since 2007–08.

      Other agencies examined in that chapter include:

      • Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
      • Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
      • Child Support Agency
      • Comcare
      • Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
      • Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
      • Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA
      • Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman
      • Medicare Australia.

      Many complaints to the Ombudsman require us to make enquiries of more than one agency. This is often the case where one agency is responsible for delivering a product or service, while another has responsibility for the relevant policy or law. Complaints about line agencies often relate to adequacy of coherent complaint handling, lack of advice about review rights; whereas those about policy agencies tend to relate to funding and policy issues.

      The office’s dedicated Indigenous Unit, whose focus is to oversight Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory, has continued to visit Indigenous communities, investigate complaints, address systemic issues and achieve remedies for individuals during this financial year.

      The Ombudsman is also required by law to inspect the records of certain agencies in relation to their use of covert and coercive powers. We do this to determine compliance with legislative requirements governing the use of these powers. We also aim to help agencies improve their processes to comply with the various statutes.

      In 2010–11 we received 146 complaints about freedom of information, although much of this work is now handled by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

      Approaches and complaints1

      In 2010–11 we received 38, 919 approaches and complaints about government agencies, 3.9% more than last year. Of these approaches and complaints, 19,821 (51%) were within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

      From year to year work volumes may go up or down. However, trends emerge and across the whole office complaints and approaches received have increased by 16.8% over the last five years.

      Eight agencies accounted for 82% of complaints within jurisdiction. These included Centrelink, Australia Post, Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Child Support Agency (CSA), the Departments of Defence and Veteran Affairs (and associated agencies), Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

      During the year we dealt with approaches and complaints about more than 160 Government agencies. Through our new role as Overseas Students Ombudsman, we also dealt with approaches and complaints about more than 50 education bodies.

      We investigated 4,468 separate complaints, compared to 4,489 the previous year.

      Seventy-five per cent of all approaches and complaints were dealt with within the first month, a two per cent decline from that achieved in 2009–10. In terms of finalising investigated complaints, only 20.5% were closed in the first month, down from 24% last year – with a similar decline for those closed within three months. There was also an increase in the number of complaints carried forward at the end of 2009–10 – 1657 complaints up from 1553 at the end of 2008–09.

      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. The Ombudsman reports on the findings of these inspections to the Parliament.

      During 2010–11 the Ombudsman also audited the investigations conducted by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

      During 2010–11 we carried out 34 inspections, three more than in 2009–10. We inspected the records of 16 different agencies, the same as in 2009–10. This included seven inspections of the AFP, seven of the ACC, five of AQIS, three of the Victoria Police and one inspection each of 12 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, including publishing reports, and making submissions to Parliamentary inquiries and reviews.

      In 2010–11 we released 13 reports on own motion and major investigations, including 80 recommendations – 90% of which were accepted in full and 9% in part. These covered a diverse range of programs and policy matters, including: the Chaplaincy program; the right to review by Centrelink customers; use of interpreters for Indigenous Australians; oversight of detention facilities on Christmas Island; administration of coercive powers in passenger processing by Customs officers; tax file number compromises; how agencies engage with people suffering from mental illness; and the review rights for people under income management.

      During the year we launched the Taxation Ombudsman e-bulletin. We continued to promote our fact sheets and Better practice guide to managing unreasonable complainant conduct , with sustained interest across a diverse range of sectors for these resources.

      We made eight submissions to Parliamentary inquiries and eleven other submissions to major reviews.

      Defence Force Ombudsman

      Each year, as the Commonwealth and Defence Force Ombudsman we receive, on average, between 550 and 750 approaches and complaints about Defence-related agencies. This year we received 632 approaches and complaints, of which 229 were about the Department of Defence and 182 about the Australian Defence Force. Significant issues arising from these complaints included:

      • delay associated with the Redress of Grievance (ROG) process
      • a lack of understanding about legislative and policy requirements for matters relating to recruitment, discharge, pay and conditions, entitlements and debt recovery
      • transgression of Defence values (in particular, unacceptable behaviour).

      Our office has received 34 complaints about delays associated with the Redress of Grievance (ROG) process. This is an increase of 14 from the previous year, indicating that the problem of delay remains significant.

      During the year staff from our office travelled to several military establishments and spoke with commanders, administrators and general service members about the role and function of the Defence Force Ombudsman. We have also delivered presentations to service training courses.

      During 2010–11 we received 172 approaches and complaints about the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, four more than the previous year. Throughout 2010–11 we have monitored the success of the department’s internal complaint handling process, established in 2010.

      Immigration Ombudsman

      In 2010–11 we focused our attention on two broad streams of complaints related to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. One related to irregular maritime arrivals and detention issues. The second stream of complaints related to other migration programs and activities, such as General Skilled Migration. It also included complaints about citizenship decision-making and processing.

      During 2010–11 we saw a continued increase in the numbers of irregular maritime arrivals on Christmas Island and their placement in detention facilities located in both remote locations and metropolitan areas on the mainland. As a consequence we expanded our inspection program and faced new challenges in providing detention reviews for individual detainees.

      Despite these challenges we continued our program of inspections of immigration detention facilities, own motion investigations into systemic issues, and ongoing engagement with the department through regular meetings, briefings and consultation on proposed initiatives. This preventive approach is intended to reduce the volume of complaints received about systemic issues and enable the department to quickly implement processes to address underlying problems.

      Overall, we received 2,137 approaches and complaints in 2010–11, a 34% increase from the previous year. This increase is explained by the increased number of irregular maritime arrivals who complained to the office in the course of the year, particularly as a result of our active visits program where more than 90% of detention-related complaints were made.

      Our office is required to review and report to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Parliament on the circumstances of immigration detainees held for more than two years. In addition we have an arrangement with the government to undertake similar reviews for detainees after six, 12 and 18 months. Partly as a result of the significant increase in the number of people in immigration detention, our office will be reviewing the approach we take to oversight of those who have been in detention for that six months to less than two years period.

      Following a visit to Christmas Island, during which he witnessed at first hand regular incidents of self harm and attempted suicide by immigration detainees, the former Ombudsman Allan Asher commenced an investigation into the increasing levels of suicide and self-harm in immigration detention. The investigation should be complete in 2011–12.

      Law Enforcement Ombudsman

      The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Law Enforcement Ombudsman and has a comprehensive role in oversight of Australian Government law enforcement agencies. The Ombudsman deals with complaints made about the:

      • Australian Federal Police (AFP)
      • Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity
      • Australian Crime Commission
      • Attorney-General’s Department
      • Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
      • CrimTrac.

      During 2010–11, we received 349 approaches and complaints relating to the work of the AFP at the ACT community policing (142), national (182) and international (25) levels. This is a slight reduction on the 389 received in 2009–10.

      We noted that the AFP continues to make efforts to improve the quality and consistency of its complaint handling. In particular the standard of adjudications of complaints was high. However, we noted deteriorating timeliness in resolving complaints across all complaint categories. It was also noted that the AFP could better use the information provided by complainants to determine and address systemic problems. We have consistently found that complaints from members of the public have a low rate of being ‘established’ by the AFP.

      Over the next year we will continue to focus our attention on working with the AFP to improve its timeliness in finalising complaint investigations. We would like to see the AFP further embrace complaints from members of the public as a resource for improving their operations and interactions with the wider community.

      Overseas Students Ombudsman

      The Overseas Students Ombudsman began operation on 9 April 2011. Between then and 30 June 2011, it received 161 approaches and complaints.

      It has three clear roles under the legislation:

      • to investigate individual complaints
      • to report on trends and systemic issues in the sector
      • to work with providers to promote best practice complaint handling.

      The largest proportion of complaints (almost one in four) relate to refunds of course fees.

      A theme that appears to be emerging across complaint types is the difficulty providers are experiencing in drafting, maintaining and interpreting the policies they are obliged to have in place in relation to refunds, progress and attendance.

      As a whole, we are pleased to note that providers have been very quick to respond to requests for information from the Overseas Students Ombudsman and to act on recommendations made as a result of complaint investigations. This is an early but positive indicator of the willingness of the sector to work to improve outcomes for all stakeholders.

      With the Overseas Students Ombudsman now in full operation, priorities for the year ahead include continued liaison with industry stakeholders – most particularly students – to ensure that the Ombudsman is accessible and the role understood.

      Postal Industry Ombudsman

      There continues to be a significant upward trend in complaints to us about Australia Post, with complaints more than doubling over the past six years. In 2010–11 we received 3,123 complaints about Australia Post, of which 2,932 were in jurisdiction. These represent 16% of the approaches and complaints within jurisdiction received by the office as a whole – the highest proportion after Centrelink – and a 22% increase on the 2,421 complaints we received in 2009-10.

      It should be noted that the total number of complaints to our office remains small in comparison to the size of Australia Post’s operations.

      The main themes in complaints about Australia Post were: the Customer Contact Centre’s quality of service or information (36%); recurrent mail problems (30%); single event mail problems (27%); post office services, including banking and retail (4%); and corporate, including unfair policy or legislation (3%).

      In relation to the work of the Postal Industry Ombudsman, there is a recovery mechanism whereby investigation costs are recovered by the Government from scheme members, which include Australia Post and registered private postal operators. It is timely to consider whether the current fee model still meets the needs of the scheme and we propose to undertake a review of it in 2011-12.

      In 2010–11, we received 20 complaints about other postal operators.

      Taxation Ombudsman

      The Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates complaints about the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and about the Tax Practitioners Board and Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia.

      In 2010–11 we received 2,589 approaches and complaints about the ATO, an increase of 43% from the 1,810 received in 2009–10. While the overall trend in complaints about the ATO has been increasing (2008–09 complaints were 17% above the previous year and in 2009–10 they increased another 27%), this year’s significant increase was driven largely by complaints about delays in processing income tax returns as a result of the implementation of the ATO’s Change Program. This meant that this year, complaints about the ATO represented 13% of all complaints received by the Ombudsman.

      The ATO itself received a significantly increased number of complaints this year, for the same reason, and responded by diverting resources to reduce the backlog of complaints, issue delayed refunds and correct systems problems. The ATO has undertaken much work and planning to ensure that the same issues do not arise in tax time 2010–11.

      Indigenous issues

      Connecting with the Indigenous community poses a unique set of challenges. A report2 based on research my office commissioned late last year revealed that Indigenous people are unlikely to complain because:

      • they do not know it is possible or acceptable to complain, or to whom they can complain
      • they believe they must accept their lot in life
      • they fear reprisals
      • they dislike confrontation
      • there are language issues
      • complaining brings with it a sense of shame
      • they have poor self-esteem
      • they believe that complaining in itself won’t change anything.

      The research also found that many Indigenous people prefer to use an intermediary whom they know to discuss problems or issues, preferably face-to-face in a familiar location, and only after they have come to trust the impartiality and effectiveness of the complaint-handling process. That is presumably why our outreach teams are effective in gathering complaints from Indigenous people.

      It is our view that at the heart of any attempt to improve social inclusion is effective, two-way communication between agencies and all members of the community.

      The Government has continued its significant investment in and program of reform of Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory (NT). Indigenous Australians in the NT are increasingly impacted by a variety of government programs, services and policies. Increasingly, complaints, feedback and our observations highlight the complexities associated with the three levels of government working together to achieve objectives such as those in place under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing in the NT, and the Alice Springs Transformation Plan. This office is uniquely positioned to ensure that under such arrangements, governments remain focused on delivering citizen-centric and seamless services and programs.

      An Indigenous Communication and Engagement Strategy was started in early 2010 to support the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the ACT Ombudsman in engaging more effectively with Indigenous people and communities in the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and across all States. This work has been informed by research among selected Indigenous communities in urban, regional and remote locations to gain a better understanding of attitudes, cultural influences, levels of awareness and the best ways to engage with the diversity of Indigenous communities.

      The findings suggest that three sections of the Australian community were less likely to be aware of or to access our services:

      • women of all ages, but especially in age groups younger than 55 years
      • young people aged 18 to 24 years and young adults aged 25 to 34 years
      • people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially newly emerging migrant communities.

      The research was completed in late 2010 and is informing the development of more effective visual communication materials and messages. It has also contributed to the style of outreach undertaken by the office in the Northern Territory in its role regarding the Northern Territory Emergency Response and Closing the Gap programs. A report on the research will accompany a report on lessons learnt in engaging and dealing with complaints from Indigenous people, to be completed later in 2011.

      The finding that there are many and significant barriers to Indigenous people making complaints has also confirmed the need for a culturally aware workforce and the value of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan.

      The office is also reviewing its own communication approach, in order to bring improved resources and approaches to our engagement with individuals and stakeholders involved in the development of policy and the delivery of services and programs to Indigenous communities.

      Contacts have been made with representatives of the local ACT Indigenous community to promote greater access to Ombudsman services locally, although this work represents only a small part of what is required to more effectively engage with Indigenous people and communities in the wider Australian community.

      Stakeholder engagement, outreach and education

      A core objective of our stakeholder engagement program continues to be to promote our work and reputation for rigour, fairness and independence. In 2010–11, our staff were involved in 120 outreach activities across all States and Territories, bringing us into direct contact with more than 13,000 people.

      We collaborated with State-based Ombudsman offices, undertaking outreach and complaint clinics with a number of frontline service delivery centres to homeless people in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, and also for women through the Australian Women’s Information Service. Outreach work in support of our complaint-handling role in the Northern Territory Emergency Response was also a high priority, with numerous visits to remote communities, and participation more broadly in the Garma Festival and NAIDOC week activities.

      Regional engagement

      Our engagement with regional ombudsmen and partners continued to strengthen this year. This work is funded by AusAID, and we were pleased that the success of our engagement has been supported through continued AusAID 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, guaranteeing our activities with the Commission until the end of 2011.

      We continued our active engagement with the Pacific Ombudsman, with the Commonwealth Ombudsman elected as Chair of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance. (See further information in Chapter 7— Engagement ).

      Social market research surveys

      The Ombudsman’s office conducts triennial periodic surveys measuring: client satisfaction with our complaint-handling services; public awareness of the role and services of our office; and the experiences of our counterparts in Australian and ACT government agencies in their dealings with our office; as well as Commonwealth Members of Parliament and Senators, and members of the ACT Legislative Assembly. In 2010–11 our office engaged an independent social research consultancy to conduct the surveys.

      Public awareness survey

      The public awareness survey sampled 2487 people living in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas in all States and Territories. The survey was designed to test their awareness of, and attitudes to, the work of the Ombudsman’s office. The field work was conducted in June 2011 through telephone interviews, online surveys and intensive one-on-one discussions with senior representatives of third-sector organisations active as advocates or frontline service providers for vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and communities.

      The findings suggest that three sections of the Australian community were less likely to be aware of or to access our services:

      • women of all ages, but especially in age groups younger than 55 years
      • young people aged 18 to 24 years and young adults aged 25 to 34 years
      • people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially newly emerging migrant communities.

      The research identified three factors: (1) lower awareness of the role and services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and ombudsman services generally; (2) greater uncertainty about their rights as citizens and what might constitute unfair treatment by a government agency, and (3) greater reluctance to complain when they feel they have been treated unfairly or unjustly, or that the decision by a government agency was wrong, unlawful or discriminatory.

      Australian and ACT government agency survey

      Our second survey of the year sought to identify the attitudes and perceptions of ACT Government agencies in their dealings with the ACT Ombudsman’s office, including their satisfaction levels with those dealings. The research was part of a larger survey that sampled all Commonwealth and ACT government departments and agencies about which the Ombudsman’s office had received five complaints or more from the public in the preceding financial year. Seventy-three federal government departments and agencies met this criterion.

      Through anonymous online surveys of the complaint-handling and stakeholder engagement sections in these agencies, supplemented by intensive one-one interviews with senior executive staff, the research identified:

      • a high level of understanding of the roles, powers and authority of the Ombudsman’s office
      • a high level of satisfaction with the Ombudsman’s staff and our procedures in complaint-handling case management and attendant negotiations
      • wide-spread respect and recognition of the Ombudsman’s independence and impartiality
      • a keen interest for the Ombudsman’s office to provide training and seminars on best practice in complaint handling and administrative law
      • a desire for closer liaison with the Ombudsman’s office on complaint and complainant issues and trends through roundtables and feedback forums.

      The Ombudsman’s office is encouraged by this research to further fund its commitment to initiate dialogue and training on better citizen-centric and socially inclusive practices by government.

      Communication and plain language

      The office has embraced the Government’s drive for agencies to use social media and emerging Web 2.0 platforms to more effectively and constructively engage with the community. At the time of reporting final preparations were underway to launch Facebook sites for the Commonwealth and ACT Ombudsman roles. The office already makes regular use of Twitter, with considerable growth in our following over the past year, to promote and inform the public about the work of the office.

      Many of the complaints we receive about government agencies arise from poor communication. One of the forms this takes is writing in bureaucratese rather than plain language, and using jargon, acronyms and abbreviations

      We have held discussions with the Plain English Foundation on what measures might be required to introduce a long-term, Government-wide plain language program.

      The benefits of plain language to all concerned are clear. The time and money saved from the agency’s point of view, and the improved accessibility for users, can be significant.

      According to a briefing paper prepared for the NSW Premier in 2009, NSW agencies that adopted plain English enjoyed the following benefits:

      • a reduction in drafting time of roughly half
      • a reduction in management editing time of around 40 per cent
      • an increase in client satisfaction to a 92 per cent rating.

      International case studies also reveal significant savings. For instance, the US Navy has saved $350 million by moving to plain English memos.

      The Foundation also looked at how to evaluate plain language programs. They measured: an organisation’s writing; perceptions about writing; and actual outcomes of writing. In one instance they used the rate of follow-up correspondence as an evaluation measure and found that the number of complaints halved.

      Internal management

      During 2010–11 we continued to refine our work practices, with ongoing reference to lessons learnt from the previous client satisfaction survey and using detailed analyses conducted by our business improvement team. A number of internal working groups were also established to explore ways to improve complaint handling, better internal communication, and systems for complaint reviews.

      Some of the continued initiatives were:

      • use of our five category complaint-handling structure and administrative deficiency workflow
      • ongoing activity by the quality assurance audit panel to complement other quality assurance processes
      • review of and improvements to our approach to handling requests for reviews of our decisions
      • ongoing monitoring of office workflows to assist in learning and development opportunities for staff and the evaluation of business practices.

      An interim enterprise agreement was implemented for the period 25 November 2010 to 30 June 2011, following the lapse of the existing agreement on 1 October 2010. Discussions on a new enterprise agreement were commenced before the end of the financial year.

      In 2010–11 the office’s operating revenue was $21.666 million and operating expenses were $21.400 million, resulting in a surplus of $0.226 million. The office received an unqualified audit opinion on its 2010–11 financial statements.

      The year ahead—outlook 2011–12

      Last year, in April 2010, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that as part of the National International Student Strategy, international students would have access to an independent statutory complaints body. In the instance of a complaint or education provider (for example, a private education provider) not being covered by a State’s statutorily independent complaint mechanism, the Commonwealth Ombudsman will act as the external complaint mechanism.

      In April 2011, this reform was implemented with the Ombudsman becoming the Overseas Students Ombudsman. In 2011–12, we anticipated continued growth in our work and engagement with private education providers and regulators.

      In the past year, the Territories Law Reform Act 2010 introduced a range of reforms to strengthen the governance arrangements for Norfolk Island, including applying Commonwealth administrative law accountability and oversight mechanisms. In this coming year, it is anticipated reciprocal legislation will be passed by the Norfolk Island Government that will see the establishment of the role of Norfolk Island Ombudsman.

      The Government 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 the Commonwealth Ombudsman undertaking integrity and oversight functions for the scheme. Legislation to give effect to the Government response has not yet been introduced into Parliament.

      1. 1 Approaches are any contact with the office; complaints are approaches that are within the office’s jurisdiction.

      2. 2 Improving the services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman to Australia’s Indigenous peoples , prepared by Winangali Indigenous Communications and Research, November 2010