Introduction
This reporting period has been a busy one for the Ombudsman's office. In the course of the year our work included:
- launching a new function with the commencement of the Public Interest Disclosure scheme in January 2014
- addressing more than 17,500 complaints about agencies
- releasing a major investigation into Centrelink service delivery
- preparing to take on new functions in relation to private health insurance and freedom of information complaints announced in the 2014 Federal Budget.
The Budget and the report by the Commission of Audit highlighted the changing environment for public sector agencies. All agencies are operating in a time of fiscal constraint. Now more than ever agencies need to focus on good service delivery, good complaint handling and integrity in public administration.
The purpose of my office is to influence agencies to treat people fairly through our investigation of their administration.
In pursuing this purpose we foster good public administration, provide assurance to the Parliament, Government and the public of the integrity of government operations, and seek outcomes that deliver:
- fairer treatment of people by the agencies we oversight
- accessible, effective and targeted complaint-handling services
- agency compliance with legislation in the use of selected intrusive and coercive powers
- efficient and effective conduct of our business.
Integrity role
The Public Interest Disclosure scheme, which commenced operation on 15 January 2014, is central to our growing integrity role. The scheme seeks to improve accountability and integrity in the Commonwealth public sector by supporting agencies to address suspected wrongdoing.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 confers a number of roles on the Commonwealth Ombudsman to ensure the scheme provides robust protections to public officials who report wrongdoing in the public sector. These include providing assistance and education to agencies and officials subject to the scheme, determining standards for agencies to abide by in dealing with public interest disclosures and, where appropriate, investigating disclosures.
We undertook an extensive programme of work to prepare, and to help other agencies prepare, for the commencement of the scheme. This activity, along with an account of the first six months of the operation of the scheme, is described in detail in this report.
Overall, I am pleased with the commitment agencies have shown to implementing the new scheme within their operations, and their responsiveness to our suggestions for improvement.
Our integrity role is also demonstrated by our extensive programme of inspections and reviews of the use of intrusive and coercive powers by law enforcement and other agencies. We finalised 44 reports following this year's programme.
Our expertise in this area has allowed us to expand our work with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to include monitoring the department's use of warrants under the Migration Act 1958 to enter and search premises.
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS)
The work of this office complements the work of IGIS, who has jurisdiction to investigate matters in respect of the six intelligence agencies prescribed under the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986.
During the reporting period my staff increased engagement with their counterparts in IGIS. This engagement led to discussions of future collaboration and improvements in the flow of information between the two offices. We also refreshed the memorandum of understanding with IGIS.
Reports and investigations
We formally investigated 2,340 complaints during the reporting period and commenced a number of own motion investigations. Many of these required the preparation of reports that were provided to agencies or made public. The examples below highlight the significance of this part of our work.
In April 2014 I released a report of a major investigation into service-delivery complaints about the Department of Human Services' (DHS) Centrelink programme. Centrelink continues to be the subject of a high number of complaints to our office.
We readily acknowledge the introduction of a range of innovative service-delivery options to help Centrelink's customers, particularly in the area of online services. DHS has also improved its management of in-person enquiries at Centrelink service centres.
However, while complaints by Centrelink customers are relatively few in comparison to the programme's total number of interactions, we continue to receive a steady stream of complaints about it.
The report features 40 case studies which illustrate the problems that led 9,600 Centrelink customers to complain to this office between January 2012 and September 2013, and includes 12 recommendations to address the problems.
DHS responded positively to the report and has agreed to implement all of the report's recommendations, either in full or in part.
A major project complementing this work is an investigation into agency complaint management. The investigation represents the most comprehensive snapshot of Commonwealth complaint handling that has ever been done by this office and will be the subject of a formal report due to be released later this year.
The report aims to describe the existing state of complaint management and provide an evidence base to revise our Better Practice Guide to Complaint Handling.
Complaint trends
Complaints remain central to our business. In 2013–14 we received 23,529 complaints and other approaches (such as requests for publications or other information), compared to 26,474 in 2012–13.
Complaints about agencies within our jurisdiction remained steady. A total of 17,577 in-jurisdiction complaints were received in 2013–14, compared to 18,097 in 2012–13.
Of these, 75% related to four agencies: the Department of Human Services (Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support), Australia Post, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and the Australian Taxation Office.
Australia Post attracted an increased volume of complaints compared to the previous year – 4,053 in 2013–14, compared to 3,667 in 2012–13.
The number of out-of-jurisdiction complaints received this year was 5,952 compared to 8,377 in 2012–13, a decrease of 29%. Out-of-jurisdiction complaints continue to fall following measures taken in previous years, including changes to our telephone queuing and automessaging system implemented in December 2012.
Functional changes
As announced in the 2014 Federal Budget, and subject to the passage of legislation, we expect to take on responsibility for the handling of freedom of information complaints from 1 January 2015 and the functions of the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman from 1 July 2015.
The Government also announced that responsibility for tax-related complaints currently dealt with by my office would be transferred to the Inspector-General of Taxation. The transfer requires changes to the legislation of both agencies, but until legislation is passed, complaints about the Australian Taxation Office will continue to be dealt with by my office.
We have also continued to prepare to take on the role of Norfolk Island Ombudsman following the passage of the Ombudsman Act 2012 (Norfolk Island).
Leadership
Constrained resources across the public sector bring into relief the critical need for sound leadership at all levels of the Australian Public Service. We have focused on enhancing the leadership skills of our staff through formal training and by drawing on the wealth of leadership experience that exists within agencies.
We have implemented a leadership 'insight series', which involves guest speakers from other agencies sharing their thoughts about leadership, and providing access to current thinking from other areas of the Australian Public Service.
We have also developed a new People Plan to help us maintain a capable and adaptive workforce to deliver on our strategic objectives and business goals. The plan addresses the way we attract and retain the right people and develop and motivate our workforce.
Our staff have also worked to show leadership in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Australians.
Staff participated enthusiastically in the launch of our Reconciliation Action Plan in March 2014 by Reconciliation Australia Co-Chair, Dr Tom Calma AO. The plan formalises actions and targets with the objective of building respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous peoples.
The office is delivering on its commitment to improve awareness of, and access to, Ombudsman services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians through an ongoing programme of outreach, and in recognising and marking significant Indigenous events.
Conclusion
Changing expectations of government and citizens about the delivery of public services, including to 'do more with less', pose challenges for all public sector agencies.
While being responsive to those challenges, it is critical to maintaining ongoing confidence in the Australian Public Service that standards of good public administration and integrity of government operations are sustained and enhanced.
I look forward to my office contributing to that effort through our complaint handling, examination of systemic issues, consideration of integrity issues, and inspections role.
Colin Neave
Commonwealth Ombudsman