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Who we are
You can contact us if you have a complaint about Tasmanian state or local government administration.
We are independent. We don't take sides. We act in the public interest to resolve complaints and improve the standard of Tasmanian public administration.
Some of the issues we look into include:
- the actions of Tasmanian government departments and agencies
- the provision of local government services
- the treatment and welfare of people in prison
- administrative actions of state-owned businesses and government business enterprises.
Our role
The Ombudsman is an independent officer. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Governor of Tasmania and is answerable to the Parliament of Tasmania.
Our role is to investigate the administrative actions of Tasmania’s public authorities to ensure that their actions are lawful, reasonable and fair.
We work in an independent, impartial and objective way to resolve complaints. We also try to address wider problems in order to improve the quality and standard of Tasmanian public administration.
The authorities within our jurisdiction include government departments, local councils, water and sewerage corporations, prisons, state-owned companies and government business enterprises.
We can investigate issues when we receive a complaint. We can also investigate issues on our own initiative (these are called 'own motion' investigations).
Our functions
The Ombudsman's functions are defined in the Ombudsman Act 1978 (Tas). This Act says the Ombudsman’s role is to enquire into and investigate complaints about the administrative actions of Tasmanian government departments, local councils and a range of public authorities.
The Ombudsman also has roles under other Tasmanian laws. For example, the Ombudsman:
- reviews decisions of public authorities and provides guidance under the Right to Information Act 2009
- investigates complaints made by people about energy service providers under the Energy Ombudsman Act 1998
- reviews and investigates matters that have been disclosed under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2002
- investigates complaints under the Personal Information Protection Act 2004
- investigates complaints made by customers about water and sewerage service providers under the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008
- examines compliance by Tasmania Police with the Telecommunications (Interception) Tasmania Act 1999, the Police Powers (Controlled Operations) Act 2006 and the Police Powers (Surveillance Devices) Act 2006
- reviews certain decisions of the Commissioner of Police under the Witness Protection Act 2000
- reviews decisions about the release of information under the Adoption Act 1988
- functions as the Health Complaints Commissioner under the Health Complaints Act 1995 and receives complaints about health service providers.
Our statement of commitment to child and youth safety
We are committed to keeping children and young people safe. This commitment covers all the work of our Office, including our roles as the Ombudsman, Health Complaints Commissioner, Custodial Inspector, Energy Ombudsman, National Preventive Mechanism and the Official Visitors program.
We believe every child and young person has the right to feel safe and to be safe. Keeping them safe is everyone's job and we take this seriously. We have zero tolerance for child abuse and harm.
Read our full statement of commitment (PDF, 106.5 KB).
Our history
Around the world, the role of an Ombudsman has been performed for centuries to ensure people are governed fairly and in accordance with the law. Ombudsman offices were created in all Australian states during the 1970s. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman was established in 1977.
Tasmania's first Ombudsman, CR (Dick) Woodhouse, was appointed in May 1979. His office received 588 complaints in the first year. Forty-five years later, in 2024, our office received 833 complaints. The current Ombudsman is Dr Grant Davies.
A list of previous Ombudsmen can be found here.
About the Ombudsman
Dr Grant Davies was appointed Tasmania’s Ombudsman and Health Complaints Commissioner in July 2025. He brings over 25 years of experience in public service and has a strong background in resolving complaints and overseeing health services.
Before this role, Dr Davies served as South Australia’s Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner from 2018. He has also held senior positions in Victoria, including Deputy Commissioner and Health Services Commissioner in the Office of the Health Services Commissioner, and Director of Projects at Safer Care Victoria.
Dr Davies began his career as a registered nurse in general and radiation oncology settings, and in acute palliative care units. He later contributed to health policy development in Queensland and Victoria. He also held national roles in overseeing aged care services, including as Investigations Manager at the Federal Office of the Aged Care Commissioner.
He joined the Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying at Flinders University in 2019.
Dr Davies holds a Bachelor of Nursing (ACU), a Master of Arts (Research) (QUT), and a PhD (Melbourne) in applied ethics. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
As with previous Ombudsmen, Dr Davies also serves as the Health Complaints Commissioner. In this role, he acts independently of government to promote and protect the rights of consumers, and to help resolve issues between consumers and providers of health services.
In addition, Dr Davies is Tasmania’s Custodial Inspector, Energy Ombudsman, de facto Tasmanian Information and Privacy Commissioner, Coordinator of the Official Visitor programs and Tasmania’s National Preventive Mechanism.
Dr Davies is a member of the following bodies:
- Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association: The peak body for Ombudsmen in Australia and New Zealand.
- Australia and New Zealand Energy and Water Ombudsman Network (ANZEWON): The aim of ANZEWON is to share information such as training, systems, processes and systemic issues arising from complaints. The network works towards as much consistency as possible between schemes.
- Association of Information Access Commissioners: comprising Information Commissioners and Ombudsmen from Australia and New Zealand.
- International Ombudsman Institute (IOI): Established in 1978, IOI is a global organisation for cooperation among more than 150 Ombudsman institutions.
Careers
Our careers page offers information about job vacancies and internships.