Section 1 Organisation Overview

Roles and Functions

The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the office) exists to safeguard the community in its dealings with Australian Government agencies, and some private sector organisations, and to ensure that administrative actions by those agencies are fair and accountable.

The Ombudsman has four major statutory functions:

  1. Complaint investigations: conducting reviews of, and investigations into, the administrative actions of Australian Government officials, agencies and their service providers on receipt of complaints from individuals, groups or organisations. The role includes investigating the actions of registered private providers of training for overseas students and registered private postal operators.
  2. Own motion investigations: on the Ombudsman’s own initiative, conducting investigations into the administrative actions of Australian Government agencies. These investigations often arise from insights gained through the handling of individual complaints and our other oversight responsibilities.
  3. Compliance audits: inspecting the records of agencies such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Crime Commission to ensure compliance with legislative requirements applying to selected law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
  4. Immigration detention oversight: under section 4860 of the Migration Act 1958, reporting to the Immigration Minister on the detention arrangements for people in immigration detention for two years or more (and on a six-monthly basis thereafter). Our reports, as well as the Minister’s response, are tabled in the Parliament. In addition, as Immigration Ombudsman we also oversee immigration detention facilities through a program of regular announced and unannounced visits to detention centres.

Handling complaints and conducting own motion investigations are traditional ombudsman activities; they account for most of the work done by the office. The guiding principle in an investigation is to examine whether an administrative action is unlawful, unreasonable, unjust, improperly discriminatory, factually deficient, or otherwise wrong. At the conclusion of an investigation, the Ombudsman may recommend that corrective action be taken by an agency, either specifically in an individual case or more generally, by a change to relevant legislation, administrative policies or procedures.

Our office seeks to foster good public administration within Australian Government agencies by encouraging principles and practices that are sensitive, responsive and adaptive to the needs of members of the public. The office is impartial and independent and does not provide advocacy services for complainants or for agencies.

The Ombudsman may consider complaints about most Australian Government departments and agencies, and most contractors delivering services to the community for, or on behalf of, the Australian Government.

In addition, the Ombudsman Act 1976 confers six specialist roles on the Ombudsman:

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is the ACT Ombudsman in accordance with section 28 of the ACT Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (Cth). The role of ACT Ombudsman is performed under the Ombudsman Act 1989 (ACT) and is funded under a services agreement between the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the ACT Government. The ACT Ombudsman annual report is submitted separately to the ACT Legislative Assembly.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman may be appointed as the Norfolk Island Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act 2012 (Norfolk Island).

Organisational Structure

The national offices of the Commonwealth, ACT and Norfolk Island Ombudsman are co-located in Canberra. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman also has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The office has arrangements in place with the Northern Territory Ombudsman and the Tasmanian Ombudsman to provide Commonwealth Ombudsman services in Darwin and Hobart respectively.

The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman are statutory officers appointed under the Ombudsman Act. Employees are engaged pursuant to the Public Service Act 1999. Senior Assistant Ombudsmen are Senior Executive Service Band 1 employees.

The Executive and Senior Management structure as at 30 June is provided at Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1: Executive and Senior Management structure at 30 June 2013

Figure 1.1

This figure shows the pyramidal structure and reporting lines for the Executive and Senior Management at 30 June 2013. Along the bottom line are Senior Assistant Ombudsman: Mr Rodney Lee Walsh is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Justice, Finance and Territories; Ms Helen Fleming is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Community Services and Legal; Ms Doris Gibb is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Immigration and Overseas Students; and Mr Peter Edwards is Senior Assistant Ombudsman (acting) for Operations. All the Senior Assistant Ombudsman report upward through the Deputy Ombudsman (acting), Mr George Masri. The Deputy Ombudsman reports upwards to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Mr Colin Neave. Also along the bottom line is Ms Lynette MacLean, senior manager for Corporate Services, who reports directly to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

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      Commonwealth Ombudsman Annual Report 2012—13 | Section 1

      Section 1 Organisation Overview

      Roles and Functions

      The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the office) exists to safeguard the community in its dealings with Australian Government agencies, and some private sector organisations, and to ensure that administrative actions by those agencies are fair and accountable.

      The Ombudsman has four major statutory functions:

      1. Complaint investigations: conducting reviews of, and investigations into, the administrative actions of Australian Government officials, agencies and their service providers on receipt of complaints from individuals, groups or organisations. The role includes investigating the actions of registered private providers of training for overseas students and registered private postal operators.
      2. Own motion investigations: on the Ombudsman’s own initiative, conducting investigations into the administrative actions of Australian Government agencies. These investigations often arise from insights gained through the handling of individual complaints and our other oversight responsibilities.
      3. Compliance audits: inspecting the records of agencies such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Crime Commission to ensure compliance with legislative requirements applying to selected law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
      4. Immigration detention oversight: under section 4860 of the Migration Act 1958, reporting to the Immigration Minister on the detention arrangements for people in immigration detention for two years or more (and on a six-monthly basis thereafter). Our reports, as well as the Minister’s response, are tabled in the Parliament. In addition, as Immigration Ombudsman we also oversee immigration detention facilities through a program of regular announced and unannounced visits to detention centres.

      Handling complaints and conducting own motion investigations are traditional ombudsman activities; they account for most of the work done by the office. The guiding principle in an investigation is to examine whether an administrative action is unlawful, unreasonable, unjust, improperly discriminatory, factually deficient, or otherwise wrong. At the conclusion of an investigation, the Ombudsman may recommend that corrective action be taken by an agency, either specifically in an individual case or more generally, by a change to relevant legislation, administrative policies or procedures.

      Our office seeks to foster good public administration within Australian Government agencies by encouraging principles and practices that are sensitive, responsive and adaptive to the needs of members of the public. The office is impartial and independent and does not provide advocacy services for complainants or for agencies.

      The Ombudsman may consider complaints about most Australian Government departments and agencies, and most contractors delivering services to the community for, or on behalf of, the Australian Government.

      In addition, the Ombudsman Act 1976 confers six specialist roles on the Ombudsman:

      • Defence Force Ombudsman, to investigate action arising from the service of a member of the Australian Defence Force
      • Immigration Ombudsman, to investigate action taken in relation to immigration administration (including monitoring immigration detention)
      • Law Enforcement Ombudsman, to investigate conduct and practices of the Australian Federal Police and its members
      • Postal Industry Ombudsman, to investigate complaints about Australia Post and private postal operators registered with the Postal Industry Ombudsman scheme
      • Taxation Ombudsman, to investigate action taken by the Australian Taxation Office
      • Overseas Students Ombudsman, to investigate complaints from overseas students about private education providers in Australia.

      The Commonwealth Ombudsman is the ACT Ombudsman in accordance with section 28 of the ACT Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (Cth). The role of ACT Ombudsman is performed under the Ombudsman Act 1989 (ACT) and is funded under a services agreement between the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the ACT Government. The ACT Ombudsman annual report is submitted separately to the ACT Legislative Assembly.

      The Commonwealth Ombudsman may be appointed as the Norfolk Island Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act 2012 (Norfolk Island).

      Organisational Structure

      The national offices of the Commonwealth, ACT and Norfolk Island Ombudsman are co-located in Canberra. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman also has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The office has arrangements in place with the Northern Territory Ombudsman and the Tasmanian Ombudsman to provide Commonwealth Ombudsman services in Darwin and Hobart respectively.

      The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman are statutory officers appointed under the Ombudsman Act. Employees are engaged pursuant to the Public Service Act 1999. Senior Assistant Ombudsmen are Senior Executive Service Band 1 employees.

      The Executive and Senior Management structure as at 30 June is provided at Figure 1.1.

      Figure 1.1: Executive and Senior Management structure at 30 June 2013

      Figure 1.1

      This figure shows the pyramidal structure and reporting lines for the Executive and Senior Management at 30 June 2013. Along the bottom line are Senior Assistant Ombudsman: Mr Rodney Lee Walsh is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Justice, Finance and Territories; Ms Helen Fleming is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Community Services and Legal; Ms Doris Gibb is Senior Assistant Ombudsman for Immigration and Overseas Students; and Mr Peter Edwards is Senior Assistant Ombudsman (acting) for Operations. All the Senior Assistant Ombudsman report upward through the Deputy Ombudsman (acting), Mr George Masri. The Deputy Ombudsman reports upwards to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Mr Colin Neave. Also along the bottom line is Ms Lynette MacLean, senior manager for Corporate Services, who reports directly to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.