CHAPTER 4 | a national operation

The organisation and operation of a national office

The eight Commonwealth Ombudsman offices range in size from one officer in the Darwin and Hobart offices to 50 officers in the National Office in Canberra.

In 2003–04, the Ombudsman received 17,496 complaints and 9,036 inquiries from around Australia. Nearly 90% were received in the State and Territory offices. As described elsewhere in this report, each of the offices handles a common complaint load, focused mainly on a few Australian Government agencies—Centrelink, the Child Support Agency (CSA), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australia Post, and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

In addition, some of our offices also discharge the role of being the specialist for specific agencies. A profile of each office was given in the 2002–03 annual report. A summary of the composition and workload of each of the eight offices in 2003–04 follows.

• Adelaide a staff of three; received 1,407 complaints and 539 other approaches; agency specialist for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
  
  
• Brisbane a staff of seven; received 3,359 complaints and 2,950 other approaches; agency specialist for the departments of Environment and Heritage, Transport and Regional Services, and Education, Science and Training.
  
  
• Canberra a staff of 33 investigation officers; received 2,519 complaints and 847 other approaches; agency specialist for areas such as Freedom of Information, Australian Customs Service, ATO, Comcare, Department of Defence, Centrelink, CSA, Department of Family and Community Services, law enforcement agencies, DIMIA, and ACT Government agencies.
  
  
• Darwin a staff of one; received 249 complaints and 108 other approaches; agency specialist for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services.
  
  
• Hobart a staff of one; received 496 complaints and 40 other approaches; agency specialist for AusAID.
  
  
• Melbourne a staff of ten; received 3,264 complaints and 1,485 other approaches; agency specialist for the Attorney-General's portfolio and the departments of Treasury, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Finance and Administration, and the Australian Broadcasting Authority.
  
  
• Perth a staff of three; received 1,759 complaints and 666 other approaches; agency specialist for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.
  
  
• Sydney a staff of 11; received 4,443 complaints and 2,401 other approaches; agency specialist for the Department of Health and Ageing, the Health Insurance Commission and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

In various ways the eight different offices function as part of a unified national office. Quarterly meetings of the Regional Managers of each office are held in Canberra to discuss complaint issues, office policy, and training and staff development.

'The eight Commonwealth Ombudsman offices function as part of a unified national office.'

Some of the office committees—such as the Workplace Relations Committee—include a cross-section of staff from different offices. Committees with a national membership played a leading role in some of the projects described elsewhere in this report, such as the development of a strategic plan and a new complaints management system. All staff appointed to the office do introductory training in Canberra. Regular telephone conferences are held between all staff to discuss topical issues, to develop a consistent approach in complaint handling, and to foster shared values and strategic direction.

National integration of the work of the office is also achieved through the complaints management system that is used to record, search and retrieve complaint information. The system enables case records to be transferred efficiently within the State offices as well as from one State office to another, or to a specialist team in Canberra.