Ombudsman releases report on complaint handling in Australian airports

Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman, Dr Vivienne Thom, today released a report into how Australian Government agencies handle complaints from air passengers.

‘In 2005, we received an increased number of complaints from passengers at airports about the actions of airport officials’, said Dr Thom. ‘The circumstances of each complaint varied, but there was a common theme—an inability by the passengers to identify the officers complained about and the agencies to which the officers belonged.’

The general conclusion of the report is that complaint handling in airports can be improved. Dr Thom said there are changes that can be put into practice to make complaint-handling systems more visible and accessible for passengers. ‘Agencies should also work more closely together on handling complaints and in sharing complaint information’, Dr Thom said.

‘As aviation security requirements and passenger numbers continue to increase, there will be more complaints from passengers about officials’, said Dr Thom. ‘It is important that government agencies have efficient and fair systems in place to deal with those complaints.’

The four key areas for improvement in complaint systems in airports are:

  • Accessibility—how easily passengers can make a complaint
  • Visibility—whether passengers can identify an official
  • Learning from complaint handling—whether organisations use complaints to improve their performance
  • Inter-agency collaboration—how agencies work together to assist passengers with problems.

As part of the investigation, the Ombudsman obtained information and comments from six Australian Government agencies:

  • Australian Customs Service
  • Australian Federal Police
  • Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
  • Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources
  • Department of Immigration and Citizenship
  • Department of Transport and Regional Services.

The recommendations in the report are aimed at all the participating agencies. Not all the recommendations have been accepted by all the agencies, however all the agencies recognise the importance of dealing with complaints consistently and effectively.

The report is available at www.ombudsman.gov.au.