FEATURE 2
Papua New Guinea
The Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea was established by the Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea upon independence in 1975. The current Chief Ombudsman is Mr Chronox Manek OL.
A Twinning Program was established between the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Ombudsman Commission in 2005. The Program, which receives funding from AusAID, has supported regular staff exchanges and capacity–building activities between both offices.
A recent project under the Twinning Program was to strengthen the Intake Screening Unit (ISU) of the Ombudsman Commission. The ISU is the front line for receiving complaints. Our Public Contact Team (PCT) in Canberra has a similar function and we have worked together to improve front line services in the ISU.
An important part of effective complaint handling is to deal efficiently with complaints when they are first received. This means, for example, that complaints are quickly sent to the relevant part of the office for investigation, or if the complaint is not in the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, the complainant is advised of this and any other options for dealing with their problem.
In 2006 Jim Farley from our office worked with the ISU to improve letter templates for correspondence with agencies.
Our second ISU placement, Joanne Taylor, is a specialist with our PCT. During a three–month placement at the end of 2008, Joanne was able to share many of the lessons learned from her experience of establishing the PCT. She helped review the recommendations from two previous reviews and, through consultation with staff, determine how best for the ISU to progress.
Joanne also reviewed the systems for managing staff performance, including staff job descriptions and further training requirements. The Ombudsman Commission has invited Joanne back for a further short placement in 2009.
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