Students and young people
Got a problem with an Australian Government agency?
The office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is an independent agency with the power to investigate complaints about Australian Government departments and agencies.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the ACT Ombudsman and can investigate student complaints about assessment, appeals or general complaint-handling at the Australian National University, the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology. Complaints about universities and technical colleges in other states or territories can be made with the relevant ombudsman office for that state or territory. See the Related sites box in the sidebar on the right.
We will listen. We won’t take sides
The Commonwealth Ombudsman encourages good conduct and fair decision making by Australian Government agencies.
We can investigate these agencies to see if they are doing the right thing by everyone who has dealings with their services, including students and young people.
If you are unhappy about the way you have been treated by an Australian Government agency, or their employees, you can complain to us.
Our services are free, fair and independent.
We understand that complaining can be scary, so we want to help you overcome some of the barriers you may feel are stopping you from complaining. This website offers answers to frequently asked questions, tips and advice, an explanation of what you can expect from us and an online complaint form.
Your complaints matter
The Commonwealth Ombudsman can help you fix decisions that are wrong, unjust, unlawful, discriminatory or unfair. Your complaints may also help us to identify systemic problems in government administration that affect other people just like you.
The Ombudsman can initiate investigations based on trends in the complaints we receive. These investigations can lead to significant improvement in the delivery of government services and programs.
Our reports and recommendations are usually delivered to agency heads and government ministers for action, but when necessary, they can be escalated directly to the Prime Minister.
The Ombudsman produced 20 own motion (self-initiated) reports in 2009. These reports and more are available on this website under Publications and media.
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