The Commonwealth Ombudsman has been involved in international initiatives from the first year of operation. The first international activities were very much the reverse of where we are today.

At the start, it was the Commonwealth Ombudsman who looked for assistance from the experience and systems of international colleagues in the strengthening of the office. In the first year this was provided through a study visit to the Office of the Ombudsmen in Wellington, New Zealand, and through attending the second Australasian Ombudsmen’s Conference held in Perth in September 1977.

In the second year of operation, the Commonwealth Ombudsman received assistance from the Chief Ombudsman and his fellow Ombudsmen in New Zealand, the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Fijian Ombudsman. By year three, the roles began to change and the Commonwealth Ombudsman provided a staff member to the Ombudsman Commission of PNG to assist in a special investigation.

This pattern of cooperation and collaboration amongst Ombudsmen in our region has proceeded over the years to the point now where the Commonwealth Ombudsman is fully engaged in whole-of-government activities that promote good governance within the Asia-Pacific region. The Ombudsman now has an international program based on collaboration with other Ombudsman offices in the Asia-Pacific region to share experiences and competences with others.

In 2007, the Commonwealth Ombudsman is:

• in partnership with the Ombudsman Commission of PNG in a twinning program of staff exchanges and specialist input between the two offices
  
  
• the lead Australian Ombudsman in a partnership with the National Ombudsman Commission of Indonesia, with further support from the New South Wales and Western Australian Ombudsmen, in helping provide greater access across a larger portion of Indonesia to more effective and sustainable ombudsman and other complaint management services
  
  
• the lead Ombudsman in a collaborative effort that includes the New South Wales and New Zealand Ombudsmen to develop a professional peer network for mutual support to assist the Ombudsmen of the Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.