Term |
Definition |
|---|---|
| Australian Federal Police (AFP) complaint categories | Category 1—minor management or customer service matters Category 2—minor misconduct Category 3—serious misconduct Category 4—conduct giving rise to a corruption issue. |
| Approach | A contact with the office about a new matter regarding one of our core business functions (usually classed as Category 1 and 2). |
| Category | Approaches are divided into five categories based on whether the approach is investigated or not, potential sensitivities and the degree of effort required to finalise the approach. |
| Category 1—Initial approach (approach) | An approach that was resolved by a single communication (e.g. referral to a more appropriate agency) and the discretion not to investigate was applied. |
| Category 2—Further assessment (approach) | An approach that required further communication and/or assessment (e.g. internal enquiries/research or more information from the complainant) and the discretion not to investigate was applied. |
| Category 3—Investigation (complaint) | An approach investigated via formal contact with the agency that is the subject of the complaint in order to resolve the matter. |
| Category 4—Further investigation (complaint) | An approach that required two or more substantive contacts with the agency that is the subject of the complaint in order to resolve the matter. |
| Category 5—Formal reports (complaint) | An approach where the matter complained about was identified as significant and an appropriate outcome could not be negotiated with the agency. |
| Closed approach | An approach that has been finalised. |
| Community detention | A form of immigration detention that enables people in detention to reside and move about freely in the community without needing to be accompanied or restrained by an officer under the Migration Act 1958. |
| Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) scheme | A scheme that allows Australian Government agencies under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to provide discretionary compensation to people who have experienced detriment as a result of an agency's defective actions or inaction. |
| Compliance auditing | The action of inspecting the records of law enforcement agencies to determine the extent of compliance with relevant legislation by the agency and its law enforcement officers. |
| Complaint | An approach that has been escalated to Category 3 or above that was investigated and required agency contact to resolve the matter. |
| Controlled operation | A covert operation carried out by law enforcement officers under the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) for the purpose of obtaining evidence that may lead to the prosecution of a person for a serious offence. The operation may result in law enforcement officers engaging in conduct that would otherwise constitute an offence. |
| Cross-agency issue | At times a complaint or investigation may involve more than one agency if, for example, one agency is responsible for a policy for which another agency administers the related program/s. |
| Established complaint | The AFP considers a complaint is 'established' if an AFP investigation concludes in favour of the complainant or against the AFP member. |
| Formal powers | The Ombudsman's powers to investigate the administrative actions of most Australian Government departments and agencies and private contractors delivering government services. The powers of the Ombudsman are similar to those of a Royal Commission, and include compelling an agency to produce documents and examining witnesses under oath. |
| Garnishee | The power to seize money from a third party (such as a bank) to pay a debt. This power is held by some government agencies, such as the Australian Taxation Office and Child Support. |
| Inspection (immigration) | Inspection visits to immigration detention facilities and other places of detention to monitor detention conditions and services provided to detainees. Inspections help to assess whether those services comply with the immigration values and obligations of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and its contracted service providers. |
| Inspection (other) | Inspection or auditing of the records of law enforcement and other enforcement agencies in relation to the use of covert powers, such as telecommunications interceptions, stored communications, surveillance devices and controlled operations. This is one of the Ombudsman's statutory responsibilities. |
| Investigation | Occurs when the office formally contacts an agency about an issue raised as part of a complaint or because the Ombudsman has chosen to use her/his own motion powers. |
| Income management | A scheme that enables Centrelink to retain and manage at least 50% of a person's income support payments. The managed funds can only be allocated to priority goods and services, such as housing, clothing, food, utilities, education and health care. Managed funds cannot be used to purchase prohibited goods such as alcohol, gambling products, tobacco or pornography. The remaining portion of a person's income support is available for them to use as they wish. |
| Jurisdiction | Under the Ombudsman Act, the Commonwealth Ombudsman can investigate the administrative actions of Australian Government agencies and officers. The Act confers six other roles on the Commonwealth Ombudsman: Defence Force Ombudsman, to investigate action arising from the service of a member of the ADF Immigration Ombudsman, to investigate action taken in relation to immigration (including immigration detention) Postal Industry Ombudsman, to investigate complaints against private postal operators 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 Law Enforcement Ombudsman, to investigate conduct and practices of the AFP and its members. The Commonwealth Ombudsman also undertakes the role of the ACT Ombudsman in accordance with s 28 of the ACT Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (Cth). |
| Natural justice | In administrative decision making, natural justice means procedural fairness. |
| Outcome | Our Outcome: Fair and accountable administration by Australian Government agencies by investigating complaints, reviewing administrative action and inspecting statutory compliance by law enforcement agencies. |
| Outcomes | The results, consequences or impacts of government actions. |
| Outcome statements | Statements that articulate government objectives and serve three main purposes within the financial framework: Explain the purposes for which annual appropriations are approved by the Parliament for use by agencies Provide a basis for budgeting and reporting against the use of appropriated funds Measure and assess agency and program non-financial performance in contributing to government policy objectives. |
| Out of jurisdiction (OOJ) | An approach about a matter that is outside the core business functions of the office. |
| Own-motion investigation | An investigation conducted on the Ombudsman's own initiative. |
| Public interest disclosure | Sometimes referred to as 'whistleblowing', this occurs when a person discloses information that demonstrates improper conduct by a public body in the exercise of its functions. |
| Redress of grievance submission | A review by the Commanding Officer available to members of the Australian Defence Force if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the normal administrative processes. Before taking this step, Defence Force personnel are encouraged to first seek resolution of any complaint at the lowest possible level through the chain of command. |
| Remedy | A solution or correction to a problem that is the subject of a complaint. |
| Resolve | The name of the electronic case management system used by the Ombudsman's office. |
| Review rights | Rights a person has if they disagree with a decision made about them, or if they believe they have been treated unfairly by a government agency. They may appeal the decision or ask for it to be reviewed by the agency, and if they are not able to resolve the situation with the agency, they may complain to the Ombudsman. |
| Review (Ombudsman) | A review available to a complainant who disagrees with an Ombudsman decision. They can request the matter be reconsidered by a more senior officer within the office who was not involved in the original investigation. |
| Stored communications | Typically refers to emails and text (SMS) messages, but may include images or video that are electronically stored by a telecommunications carrier or internet service provider. (For instance, an SMS message is stored by a carrier and sent when the intended recipient is able to take the message.) Stored communications access occurs under warrant for the purposes of obtaining information relevant to the investigation of an offence. |
| Surveillance devices | Typically listening devices, cameras and tracking devices that are used to gather information relating to criminal investigations and the location and safe recovery of children. The use of these devices usually requires the issue of a warrant. |
| Systemic issue | A problem that is common throughout an agency or across multiple agencies, often identified through the analysis of similar individual complaints. |
| The office | The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. |
| The Ombudsman | The person occupying the statutory position of Commonwealth Ombudsman. |
| Warm transfer | An assisted phone transfer to another agency. If complainants contact us with a complaint before first approaching the relevant agency, we have an arrangement in place with some agencies such as the ATO and Centrelink to transfer them back to that agency. If their complaint is not resolved there, they can come back to us at that point. |
| Within jurisdiction | An approach about a matter that the office can investigate. |
This is a guide to the report's compliance with the Requirements for Annual Reports as approved by the Joint committee of Public Accounts and Audit under subsections 63(2) and 70(2) of the Public Service Act 1999.
Compliance Index |
|
|---|---|
| Letter of transmittal | iii |
| Table of contents | vi |
| Index | 168–181 |
| Glossary | 158–162 |
| Contact officer | v |
| Internet home page address and internet address for report | v |
| Ombudsman's review | |
| Review by departmental secretary | vii–x |
| Summary of significant issues and developments | vii–x |
| Overview of performance and financial results | 24 |
| Organisational overview | |
| Role and functions | 2 |
| Organisational structure | 4 |
| Outcome and programme structure | 5 |
| Variation of outcome and output structure from Portfolio Budget Statements | N/A |
| Report on performance | |
| Review of performance in relation to outputs and contribution to outcomes | 7–12 |
| Actual performance in relation to deliverables and KPIs set out in PBS/PAES or other portfolio statements | 7–12 |
| Performance of purchaser/provider arrangements | 25 |
| Changes in performance targets, and reasons for the change | N/A |
| Discussion and analysis of performance | 7–12 |
| Significant changes in nature of principal functions/services | N/A |
| Factors, events or trends influencing organisational performance | N/A |
| Contribution of risk management in achieving objectives | 14 |
| Social inclusion outcomes | 27–38 |
| Performance against Service Charter, customer-service standards, complaint data and response to complaints | 6–7 |
| Discussion and analysis of the organisation's financial performance | 24–25 |
| Discussion of any significant changes from the prior year or from budget | N/A |
| Developments since the end of the financial year | N/A |
| Management and accountability | |
| Corporate governance | |
| Corporate governance practices in place | 13–23 |
| Senior Executive and their responsibilities | 13 |
| Senior Management Committees and their roles | 14–15 |
| Corporate and operational planning and associated performance reporting and review | 13–23 |
| Compliance with Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines | 15 |
| Policy and practices on the establishment and maintenance of appropriate ethical standards | 16 |
| Determination of remuneration for SES officers | 13 |
| External scrutiny | |
| Significant developments in external scrutiny | 18 |
| Judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals | 18 |
| Reports by the Auditor-General or parliamentary committees | N/A |
| Management of human resources | |
| Assessment of effectiveness in managing and developing human resources to achieve departmental objectives | 18 |
| Workforce planning, staff turnover and retention | 18 |
| Impact and features of collective agreements, determinations and Australian Workplace Agreements | 21 |
| Training and development undertaken and its impact | 21–22 |
| Occupational health and safety performance | 22–23 |
| Productivity gains | 24–25 |
| Statistics on staffing | 19–21 |
| Collective agreements, determinations and Australian Workplace Agreements | 21 |
| Performance pay | 21 |
| Financial performance | |
| Assets management | 24 |
| Assessment of purchasing against core policies and principles | 25 |
| Consultants | 25 |
| Absence of provisions in contracts allowing access by the Auditor-General | 25 |
| Contracts exempt from AusTender | 25 |
| Financial statements | 112–156 |
| Other | |
| Work health and safety | 22–23 |
| Freedom of information statements | 105 |
| Advertising and market research | N/A |
| Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance | 7 |
| Compliance with agency's obligations under the Carer Recognition Act 2010 | N/A |
| Grant programs | 25 |
| Disability reporting – explicit and transparent reference to agency-level information available through other reporting mechanisms | 23 |
| Information Publication Scheme statement | 105 |
| Spatial reporting | N/A |
| Agency resource statements and resources for outcomes | 110–111 |
One material error has been identified in the Commonwealth Ombudsman Annual Report 2012–13.
On page 110 we stated the Overseas Students Ombudsman had transferred 14 complaints to the Tuition Protection Service. The correct number was 18.