Complaints to the Ombudsman (NSW)
The New South Wales Ombudsman is responsible for dealing with complaints by individuals against government agencies, local councils, and community service providers. This page deals with complaining to the ombudsman in New South Wales.
Legislation
The New South Wales Ombudsman is governed by the Ombudsman Act 1974, Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993, and the Ombudsman Regulations 2016.
Role of the ombudsman
The New South Wales Ombudsman has existed since 1975.
The Ombudsman is appointed for a term of up to seven years, with the possibility of this term being extended, and is supported by a Deputy Ombudsman.
The New South Wales Ombudsman exists to ensure that private individuals can have complaints against government departments and agencies investigated independently and in a timely and efficient manner.
The scope and jurisdiction of the Ombudsman has changed in the years since its inception, with more agencies being included in its jurisdiction.
Types of complaints
The New South Wales ombudsman can deal with most complaints against government agencies, local councils, and community service providers. This includes Corrective Services, the Department of Education, and agencies providing homelessness and disability services.
Complaints may be made about unfair, unreasonable or unlawful conduct; complaints about unfair policies or procedures; complaints about unreasonable delays; failure to give reasons for a decision; failure to act on a complaint; failure to manage a conflict of interest.
The Ombudsman does not deal with complaints against private businesses, individuals, or Commonwealth agencies such as Centrelink. Complaints about NSW Police are dealt with by Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), not the Ombudsman.
Making a complaint
If you are considering making a complaint to the New South Wales Ombudsman, it is important to remember that problems should always be sorted out directly with the agency involved if possible.
Contact the agency and inform them of your concerns. They may have a formal process for making a complaint internally. If you are unable to sort out the issue directly with the agency, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman either online or by phone.
Your complaint should outline what happened, when it happened, who was involved, and the outcome you would like. You should provide all documentation of what occurred, such as any correspondence you have had with the agency.
A complaint can be made in your name or anonymously. However, if a complaint is made anonymously the Ombudsman may be unable to investigate it fully.
Complaints process
After the NSW Ombudsman receives a complaint, it will assess the complaint. This will involve deciding whether it is a complaint that the office can handle and assessing whether the actions of the agency were unlawful or objectively unreasonable.
The majority of complaints are resolved directly with the agency involved.
If there is an ongoing relationship between the agency and the complainant, the Ombudsman might offer to conciliate the complaint. This is a voluntary process where the parties attempt to reach an acceptable resolution with the support of an impartial conciliator.
If the situation is very serious, the Ombudsman may commence a formal investigation, however this is uncommon. A formal investigation may take 6 to 12 months to carry out. When it is complete, the ombudsman’s office will report on its findings and may recommend that the agency:
- reconsiders or changes an action or decision
- changes of rule, procedure or law
- pays compensation.
The Ombudsman does not have the power to enforce its recommendations; however, in the majority of cases its recommendations are followed. If an agency does not follow recommendations made by the ombudsman and the matter is systemically serious or has a public interest aspect, the Ombudsman may report the matter to parliament.
If you require legal advice representation in any matter, please contact Go To Court Lawyers.
Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.