CHAPTER 6Promoting good administration

Cooperation with other oversight agencies

The Ombudsman’s office can be considered to be one part of the ‘integrity’ arm of government. It is one of a number of independent statutory agencies that discharge a ‘watchdog’ role in relation to the public sector. Some of those agencies have a role similar to the Ombudsman of receiving and investigating complaints from the public, initiating inquiries into systemic issues in government administration, or auditing compliance by agencies with legislative requirements. Examples are the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), the ANAO, the Privacy Commissioner, and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). Given our similar objectives of oversighting and improving government administration, we continue to look for ways to work cooperatively with these agencies, to complement each other’s work and to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity

ACLEI was established in December 2006 to detect, investigate and prevent corruption in the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Federal Police and other prescribed Australian Government agencies with law enforcement functions. We meet as required to share information and discuss issues of mutual interest.

Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security

The Ombudsman and the IGIS continued to work together during the year, discussing common issues that arose in the handling of complaints about Australian Government agencies. For example, a number of complaints in the immigration area relate to delays in processing visa applications due to the time involved in undertaking external security checks. In some cases the check is conducted by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, over which the IGIS has jurisdiction. We liaised with the IGIS and refined our contact and referral procedures relating to the investigation of such cases.

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Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

During the year the Ombudsman and the President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission agreed upon a protocol for complaint handling between our agencies to reduce duplication of effort. We also agreed on a procedure to coordinate visits to immigration detention centres to maximise the opportunities for detainees to raise issues of concern, while reducing the impact on the day-to-day operations of the centres.

Privacy Commissioner

In November 2006 the Ombudsman and the Privacy Commissioner signed an agreement to enable greater cooperation when dealing with privacy-related complaints. The aim of the agreement is to facilitate exchange of information and avoid unnecessary duplication between the two offices. The agreement allows for the exchange of relevant information where both offices are considering the same issue; joint investigation; and the referral of complaints to the other office if it is relevant and the complainant consents.

Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force

The Ombudsman works closely with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) to ensure the most appropriate agency takes carriage of issues within their particular areas of responsibility. This approach has proven effective in dealing with persistent complainants, in finalising complaints that have become protracted, and in avoiding investigation of the same complaint issues by both organisations.

In the past year we have participated in joint training activities. Senior staff from our office regularly gave presentations at IGADF training courses. Similarly, at the invitation of the IGADF, we observed the practices employed during IGADF military justice audits, which are conducted at military units throughout Australia. This experience increased our understanding of military justice issues that the IGADF encounters and provided us with some ideas about how we could use similar techniques and methods in our own Defence investigations.

In April 2007 the IGADF also co-hosted a series of familiarisation visits for Ombudsman staff to Defence facilities around Australia. The visits helped our staff develop a better understanding of Defence issues, such as the pressure which can arise from an increased operational tempo, and the conditions in which many Defence personnel live and work.

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Administrative Review Council

The Ombudsman is an ex officio member of the Australian Review Council, established by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 Part V. The Council provides advice to the government on administrative law issues and reform. During the year the Ombudsman was a member of the Council’s sub-committees responsible for reports on coercive information gathering powers, and complex business regulation, and for the development of a series of Best Practice Guides to Decision Making (to be launched in August 2007). The work of the Council is covered in a separate annual report prepared by the Council.

Meetings with other oversight bodies

We continued to work cooperatively with other oversight agencies by participating in multi-agency forums on issues of mutual interest.

In September 2006 we participated in a forum ‘Responding to the Anti-Terrorism Legislation’ jointly hosted by the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria, the Institute for International Law and the Humanities of the University of Melbourne, and the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Our staff gave a presentation on the role of the Ombudsman in relation to federal counter-terrorism law.

In February 2007 the Acting Ombudsman participated in a Police Accountability Round Table hosted by the Victorian Office of Police Integrity, to discuss police oversight and corruption prevention.

We also met during the year with the Inspector-General of Taxation, and provided information to his office to assist in its inquiries.