CHAPTER 8challenges in complaint handling

Outreach into regional areas

In the 2004 Budget, the Australian Government made a commitment to support a four-year program of regional outreach in the Ombudsman's office. The program commenced in 2004–05. A core objective of the program is to raise awareness of the Commonwealth Ombudsman's role and services through visits to regional centres. We also distributed information in a targeted manner to key community networks, including through regional media where appropriate.

We achieved our aim of conducting, or participating in, an average of at least one focused outreach activity each week during the year. A total of 65 outreach activities, involving all States and Territories were undertaken.

Although it is difficult at this early stage in the program to evaluate results, we estimate that around 1.2 million Australians were directly exposed to information about the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Highlights of the outreach program during the year included:

• Visits to 40 regional and rural communities: in NSW, to Albury, Ballina, the Hunter Valley, Kempsey, Lismore, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong and Wreck Bay; in Victoria, to Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca, Gippsland region, Horsham, Mildura, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Wangaratta and Wodonga; in Queensland, to Hervey Bay, Mt Isa and Townsville; Mt Gambier in South Australia; and Albany, Bunbury and Broome in Western Australia. In each centre we provided briefings on the role and functions of the office to a broad mix of electorate staff, staff of community and legal aid organisations, chambers of commerce, taxation agents and staff of Australian Government agencies.
  
  
• Participation in community events: these were events attended by large numbers of the general public, including the Wimmera Field Days (estimated 50,000 visitors) in Victoria; the National Multicultural Festival (estimated 20,000 visitors) in Canberra; the Albany Agricultural Show (estimated attendance 17,500), North West Expo (estimated 20,000 visitors) and Wagin Woolerama (estimated 30,000 visitors) in Western Australia; and community fairs in Sydney and Perth.

• Advertising and articles in special newspaper supplements: these appeared in Canberra and Darwin; in the Italian newspaper La Fiamma; and in the Department of Veterans' Affairs publication Vetaffairs.
  
  
• Broadcasting information in ten community languages: this occurred through Centrelink's fortnightly national broadcast program on the SBS national radio network, reaching approximately 296,000 listeners.

Ombudsman staff made presentations at a wide variety of functions to audiences as diverse as multicultural organisations, Australian Defence Force facilities, administrative law seminars and the Country Women's Association of NSW.

We also explored potential outreach partnerships with other complaint organisations and ombudsman offices, and organisations such as chambers of commerce. The latter played a key role in our visit to the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales in June 2005, in helping to organise, and co-hosting, a number of taxation-focused forums for small business.

A priority for the office is to build on our achievements to date and develop a more sophisticated, strategic and targeted outreach program for 2005–06.