A lot of the material on our website focuses on complaints. For example, it outlines how to go about making them and which ones we can accept. This page provides information to assist public authorities to respond to our inquiries or investigations.
Responding to an Ombudsman investigation
The Tasmanian Ombudsman is an independent officer appointed by the Governor and answerable to Parliament. This means that we are not advocates for people making complaints, nor do we act for the public authority complained about.
The Ombudsman’s role, as prescribed by the Ombudsman Act 1978 (Tas), is to investigate the administrative actions of public authorities to ensure that those actions are lawful, fair and reasonable.
When you, as a public authority, respond to our inquiries and investigations, we need evidence. Statements or points of view are of little value to us. They don’t help us satisfy ourselves that actions or omissions by public authorities are fair, reasonable and lawful in the circumstances – or not, as the case may be.
So, when providing responses to our investigation staff, please include any and all evidence that you can in the form of documents, footage, pictures or any other form of evidence you have. Copies of relevant policies and procedures are also relevant as well as pointing us in the direction of any applicable legislation. If in doubt, contact us to ask what we need.
Sometimes when public authorities respond to our inquiries, they express concern about providing such information to us. It is worth drawing your attention to section 17 of the Act which says that even when another Act restricts or prohibits the disclosure of information, this does not apply to the inquiries or investigations of the Ombudsman.
What happens when the Ombudsman receives a complaint?
Assessment
The Ombudsman receives complaints and inquiries by telephone, via the complaint form available on our website, or by letter or email.
Investigation Officers (IO) working in the Ombudsman’s team assess complaints to determine that they are within our jurisdiction. This includes making sure the actions referred to in a complaint:
- concern a Tasmanian public authority and administrative actions as defined by section 12 and Schedule 2 of the Act
- occurred within the time limit provided by section 19 of the Act
- have been raised with the agency in question in the first instance
- are not reviewable by a court or a tribunal.
We also have to confirm that the person making the complaint is personally aggrieved by the actions they are complaining about.
The Ombudsman also has the discretion to refuse a complaint when investigation of it is unjustified or unnecessary.
Once a complaint has been accepted, we try to resolve it informally, if possible. This may involve an IO seeking additional information from the agency in question.
Preliminary inquiries
If the complaint requires more detailed consideration, the Ombudsman can elect to conduct preliminary inquiries to decide whether the matter can be resolved informally or whether an investigation will be required. Conducting a preliminary inquiry will usually involve the IO writing to the head of the agency and requesting a response to the issues raised in the complaint. The Act requires the head of the agency to assist the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman’s delegates.
The Ombudsman’s inquiries are based on evidence. The preliminary inquiry process may involve requesting copies of specific documents, copies of policies or even interviewing certain people. Statements of opinion are generally not helpful. Not all information obtained through this process will be made public or released to the person making the complaint. In the interests of transparency, the Ombudsman prefers to be as open as possible. However, any reasonable requests for information to be kept confidential will be considered.
If you are concerned about the information we request, or if you need clarification about the details that you need to provide, you are welcome to contact the IO directly about the matter at any time.
IOs will set a time limit for providing information when a request is made. The Ombudsman understands that sometimes you might need more time to respond. If you need more time, you should make a request to the IO responsible for the inquiry.
After this process, the IO will decide whether the administrative action taken by the agency was reasonable in the circumstances. The person who made the complaint will be told and given an opportunity to comment. If no more relevant information is provided by the person who made the complaint, the agency will be advised in writing that the complaint will be closed. Sometimes, the closure letter will include suggestions that the Ombudsman believes the agency could adopt to improve its administrative actions.
At the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry stage a decision may be made to conduct an investigation.
Investigations
Occasionally, the Ombudsman decides to do a formal investigation. The Ombudsman notifies the agency’s principal officer in writing and requests the agency to produce information or documents. The Ombudsman may also summon and interview witnesses. Generally, the Ombudsman attempts to obtain information cooperatively, but the Act does provide for coercive powers if necessary.
If the Ombudsman is considering making a comment that criticises a particular individual, a copy of that comment and supporting information will be given to the person. This gives the person an opportunity to consider and comment on the finding in the interests of procedural fairness.
At the end of the investigation, the Ombudsman will prepare a preliminary report and deliver it to the agency’s principal officer to allow the agency to respond. Any response by the agency will be considered and included in the report before a final report is sent to the relevant minister.
If the findings of the investigation include recommendations to the agency, the Ombudsman will follow up on these recommendations to make sure they are complied with.
Resources
Good decision-making
Good decision-making offers guidance on how to have systems in place to support fair and consistent decision making. We acknowledge and thank the Queensland Ombudsman for allowing us to make use of their material.
Managing unreasonable complainant conduct
Organisations may find the following resources useful for developing clear and practical strategies to help their staff manage interactions with complainants whose conduct is identified as unreasonable.
- Managing unreasonable complainant conduct – practice manual (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- Unreasonable complainant conduct - fact sheet (PDF, 56.8 KB)
These resources were developed in a collaborative project led by the Australasian Parliamentary Ombudsmen.