FAQs

We investigate complaints about actions and decisions of Australian Government agencies to see if they are wrong, unjust, unlawful, discriminatory or unfair. We also seek remedies for those affected by administrative deficiency and we aim to improve public administration.

You can make a complaint at our offices in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

The location of our offices is available on our contact us page.

Appointments are not required but we encourage you to call ahead to ensure a staff member is available to discuss your complaint. Please call ahead on 1300 362 072.

We do not take complaints about tax issues.

Complaints about the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) must be directed to the Tax Ombudsman.

Anyone can make a complaint to us.

If you do not want to, or can’t make the complaint yourself, you can ask someone else to complain on your behalf.

If the person acting on your behalf is not your legal guardian or legal representative, you need to give us your consent for that person to communicate with us when you make a complaint using our online complaint form. You can also call us on 1300 362 072.

Our services are free.

Yes, we accept anonymous complaints. However, if we do not have your contact details, we will not be able to seek further information from you or let you know the outcome of our assessment.

You can make a complaint by telephone, in person, in writing, by fax, or using our online complaint form.

If you do not speak or write English, we can arrange for translation and interpreter services.
Someone else can make a complaint on your behalf, but we may still need to contact you to get your approval to proceed.

There should be enough information for us understand the circumstances of your complaint. When making your complaint, tell us:

• What happened?
• Where did the events take place?
• When (time and date)?
• Who was involved?
• Were there any witnesses to these events? Have you included their details?
• Do you have any evidence, photographs or documents which may be relevant?
• Have you taken any action already in relation to your complaint? What happened?
• What action or outcome would you like to see as a result of your complaint?

We aim to respond to your contact with our Office as quickly as possible, and we seek to finalise 75% of complaints lodged with our Office within 90 working days.

However, our response time will vary depending on which of our functions you are using and who your complaint or enquiry is about.

Each matter is different, and the timing will depend on the type of complaint and how complex it is.

If we find your complaint is justified, we will report the outcomes to you and to the agency, organisation or provider you complained about.

We may recommend that the agency, organisation or provider:

• reconsider or change its action or decision
• that a law, rule or procedure should be changed
• should take any other appropriate action – such as paying compensation for financial loss.

We can’t override decisions or compel agencies, organisations or providers to comply with our recommendations.

Generally, agencies accept our recommendations. If they do not, and we consider it in the public interest to do so, we can make a formal report to the relevant minister, the Prime Minister, or to Parliament.

We are committed to providing you with a service that is respectful, courteous, fair and independent. We will undertake confidential, free and prompt investigations if appropriate.

You can expect us to be helpful, professional and sensitive to your needs.

You can expect that we will communicate with you, explaining what we can and can’t do, telling you about next steps and keeping you informed of progress on your complaint.

Our Service Charter sets out our standards of service in more detail.

We are committed to improving our service to the community, and your views are welcome even if they are critical.

Our investigation
You can discuss the progress of your complaint with the officer conducting the investigation. You are welcome to provide evidence, additional information or your view of the facts and we will give you a full explanation of the decisions that we make and the evidence they are based on.

Review
If you disagree with our final decision, you can ask us to review it. A request for review of a decision form should filled out and submitted within 3 months of being told of our decision.

The review will be conducted by a senior officer who was not involved in the original investigation of your complaint. The review will consider:

• the process adopted by the investigating officer and whether it was fair and adequate to address all the complaint issues you raised
• the merit of the officer's conclusions and whether they were properly explained to you.

The review officer may:

• uphold the decision of the original investigation officer
• change the decision of the original investigation officer
• send the matter back to the original investigation officer or another officer for further investigation.

We endeavour to complete reviews within 30 days. The review officer will send you a letter advising you of the outcome of the review.

We will only review a matter once.