Our role
We make sure the actions of agencies are fair and responsible by:
- handling complaints
- conducting investigations
- performing audits and inspections
- encouraging good administration.
We consider the way decisions are made by Australian Government agencies and some private entities and make recommendations on how the decision or process could be improved.
We can help resolve your complaint by investigating if the agency, provider or organisation does not change their decision or explain their decision better.
We can also help you to make a formal complaint to the agency, provider or organisation about your issue.
In each case, you can come back to us with your complaint if you are not satisfied with the result.
If you come to us with a complaint we can't help with, we will refer you to the right complaint-handling body.
We have the following specialist roles
We are also responsible for:
- oversight of the Commonwealth Public Interest Disclosure scheme
- inspection and monitoring of certain covert and intrusive powers by police and other law enforcement agencies.
We also have two specialist roles since the Australian Government ratified the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT):