FEATURE 1
Indonesia
Indonesia's National Ombudsman Commission was established in 2000 by Presidential decree. Over the past few years we have worked with the Ombudsman and his staff as they strengthened decentralised services across the Indonesian archipelago as well as their central agency functions.
The Indonesian Parliament has now passed legislation to establish an Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia.
The Law on Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia came into effect on 7 October 2008. There is a transition period to convert from the existing Commission to the new office, which is expected to commence late in 2009.
The creation of a statutory basis for the Ombudsman function in Indonesia marks an important change. The result should be an organisation with stronger legal powers, greater independence and a much wider jurisdiction.
Three Australian offices—the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the New South Wales Ombudsman and the Western Australian Ombudsman—have been working with the existing Ombudsman Commission in support of a roadmap for the future. The immediate priority in Indonesia is the appointment of nine new Ombudsmen, who are charged with providing a broad Ombudsman service throughout Indonesia and across its three levels of government. A new structure to support them will also be developed from the existing Commission.
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