CHAPTER 4 | a national operation

Benefits of a national operation

Cooperation with State and Territory Ombudsman offices

There is an Ombudsman established in each government jurisdiction in Australia—in effect, there are nine public sector Ombudsmen. Cooperation between the offices is essential, in part to promote a common cause, but also in terms of efficient complaint handling. Many people with a complaint about government are unaware whether the complaint should be directed to the Commonwealth or a State or Territory Ombudsman. Cooperation and a close working relationship between the Commonwealth and other Ombudsmen are easier to maintain because of the national structure.

In five jurisdictions—Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia—the Commonwealth and State Ombudsman offices are co-located and share a common reception desk. The Commonwealth Ombudsman discharges the role of ACT Ombudsman. In the other two states—New South Wales and Victoria—there is a close cooperative relationship between the State and Commonwealth Ombudsman offices.

Cooperation with State Ombudsman offices is also achieved through training. For example, during the year our Sydney office staff attended the NSW Ombudsman's training program on dealing with difficult people. Our office also continued its participation in the Joint Initiatives Group, which comprises representatives of agencies that handle complaints or disputes and meets regularly to discuss issues of common interest. The Group conducts an annual program of seminars, which this year looked at alternative dispute resolution.

Generally, our interaction at a regional level with staff from other ombudsman and comparable agencies enables us to learn a great deal about government and complaint handling. This experience is then fed back in to our national operation.

Accessibility to the public

Though only a small proportion of complainants visit our offices, our experience is that many more people have greater confidence in the ability of the office to resolve their complaint if it is handled locally. Local presence can be a symbolic and representational issue, but there is a practical side as well. Sometimes a complaint can be better understood or more easily addressed if there is local knowledge of the government office or activity about which a complaint has been made.

Another aspect of public accessibility is that it can be important for a complaint-handling agency to be in contact with community 'gatekeepers', such as the representatives of community groups, non-government organisations, professional societies and parliamentary offices. This will be a focus of our outreach program being developed in 2004–05, and is something that is more easily handled at the local level.

A further point—indeed, a distinct theme in complaints to the Ombudsman—is that some complainants express dissatisfaction with their experience in contacting a government call centre. By creating a national office structure we have sought to downplay any sense of remoteness.

Consultation with Australian Government agencies

The main agencies against which we receive complaints have a diversified national structure similar to our own. Complaint handling operates more smoothly if there is a good working relationship between the Ombudsman's office and the relevant government agency. This working relationship is promoted at the local level with regular meetings being held with agency complaint-handling staff to improve communication and cooperation, and to discuss complaint issues and trends. When new programs are being trialled at a State or regional level, we are often briefed in advance in case unforeseen problems arise.

Responsiveness to regional differences in Australian Government administration

Problems people encounter with government are not necessarily the same on a national basis. There can be regional differences: problems experienced in an office in one state are not always the same in another. Some issues have a regional identification too, such as the immigration detention facilities. The familiarity by Ombudsman staff of the local circumstances means we are better able to deal with regional differences through our own regional offices.

Diversity in staff

Staff within the Ombudsman's office have a diversity of qualifications, skills and experience; they come from a cross-section of cultural backgrounds, and government and private sector organisations. This is important, given the variety of complaints the staff handle covering a broad spectrum of departments, agencies and members of the public. As a national organisation, recruiting from a nationwide pool of job applicants provides us with the opportunity to attract a diverse range of people.

The diversity of experience spread over eight offices can be advantageous when the need arises to transfer staff from one office to another on a permanent or temporary basis. For example, when the Assistant Ombudsman of our Adelaide office left after 16 years in mid-2003, we were able to replace him temporarily with an acting Assistant Ombudsman drawn from another office who had a similar depth of experience.