CHAPTER 1 | year in review

Introduction

This was the first full year in office for Prof. John McMillan as Commonwealth Ombudsman and Mr Ron Brent as Deputy Ombudsman, both having been appointed in the first half of 2003.

During the year, the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman pursued the objectives set out in the foreword in last year's annual report. Specifically, the objectives were to continue the tradition of the Ombudsman in handling and investigating complaints about government received from members of the public, to distil the wisdom of the office, and to cultivate the established profile of the Ombudsman's office as a key accountability institution in Australian Government.

The essence of the office has not changed. We continue to assess and investigate complaints about the administrative actions of Australian Government departments and agencies and to foster good public administration by recommending remedies and changes to agency decisions, policies and procedures. We also make submissions to government on legislative and policy reform.

'… the Ombudsman has been able to stimulate improvements across the breadth of government administration.'

Building on the experience and insights gained from handling complaints, the Ombudsman has been able to stimulate improvements across the breadth of government administration. Among the areas improved are the quality of decision making, internal complaint handling, transparency, record keeping, communication with the public, and sensitivity to individual needs.

A constant challenge for the office is to maintain a public profile and for the public to know they can turn to the office when problems with government arise. An important step towards meeting this challenge was the opening of a shopfront in Canberra in June 2004. While complaints and inquiries are received through the Ombudsman's eight offices in capital cities around Australia, the opening of a shopfront in Canberra was considered important, both symbolically and practically.

'… visibility is a key component of our relationship with the public.'

Most complaints, inquiries and approaches to the office come through telephone, mail and increasingly via the Internet; however, the shopfront is an important step in reaffirming that public accessibility is a vital aspect of our work and that visibility is a key component of our relationship with the public. It also signifies the continuing commitment of the office to be active in the community in dealing with problems that people encounter with government.