The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Annual Report was tabled out of session in Parliament today.

Commonwealth Ombudsman Ron McLeod noted that the year had again been a demanding and busy one for his office.

Highlights included:

Performance Overview

‘This is the fifth consecutive year that my office has received more than 20 000 complaints’ said Mr McLeod. ‘While many issues these days are resolved by reference back to the in-house agency complaint handling units that have been created in most Commonwealth agencies in recent years this is about double the number of complaints handled at the start of the 90’s.’

‘A major customer survey conducted during the year showed a high proportion of people were satisfied with our efforts.’

Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and the Australian Taxation Office continued to be the focus of the bulk of complaints. However the number of complaints received in each case was lower than last year.

Complaints about the Department of Immigration increased for the fourth consecutive year, with delays in processing visa applications and immigration detention issues attracting the greatest number of complaints. This year’s small increase should, however, be regarded as a positive outcome given that the number of applications for visas has been at record levels, the number of illegal entrants held in detention facilities increased dramatically and the Department had the added responsibility of administering the Kosovar humanitarian program.

‘I am keen to ensure that my office provides the same grade of service to people outside metropolitan areas, and to members of the community who are isolated for one reason or another’ said Mr McLeod. ‘Consequently I am pleased that I have been able to increase our outreach activities in the past year.’

Taxation

Taxation was a major preoccupation during the year. The implementation of the GST placed a considerable strain on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Customs Service and the Treasury based GST Start-Up Assistance Office.

‘These agencies were charged with implementing unprecedented change in an environment of high community expectation and a degree of anxiety coupled with considerable political and media interest. Taxpayers also faced hurdles in readying themselves for these changes and were entitled to expect reasonable standards of responsiveness and consideration from government agencies’ said Mr McLeod. ‘On the whole it is my view that the implementation of the GST occurred very smoothly for the vast majority of taxpayers with my office receiving only a relatively small number of complaints up to the end of June 2000.’

‘Complaints about the new tax system have increased significantly since then particularly in relation to Business Activity Statement processing and GST deregistrations. This is to be expected in a new system but I will be watching the complaint trends carefully as the new arrangements bed down’ said Mr McLeod.

‘The ATO’s actions in relation to mass marketed tax schemes have continued to give rise to many complaints. I am particularly concerned about the level of accountability in the tax and financial planning professions and would support any steps aimed at making the professions more accountable for the advice they give tax payers.’

In-house Agency Complaint Management

‘I would like to encourage agencies to maintain the positive attitude towards complaints associated with the introduction of service charters and to ensure that their clients are aware of the complaint handling processes available. To this end this year my office initiated reviews of a number of major agency complaint handling areas, with generally pleasing results’ continued Mr McLeod.

Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and the ATO Problem Resolution Service processes are sound, although some refinements and suggestions for improvement have been identified. An examination of the Job Network complaint handling processes is underway. Results to date also suggest a satisfactory outcome.

An investigation of the Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme identified a number of deficiencies that were quite widely reported when the report into this issue was released in July. A range of measures have been put in place to improve the effectiveness of the scheme.

Media Contact

Media 02 6276 3759
Email – Media@ombudsman.gov.au

Date of release: 25 October 2000

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      The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Annual Report was tabled out of session in Parliament today.

      Commonwealth Ombudsman Ron McLeod noted that the year had again been a demanding and busy one for his office.

      Highlights included:

      Performance Overview

      ‘This is the fifth consecutive year that my office has received more than 20 000 complaints’ said Mr McLeod. ‘While many issues these days are resolved by reference back to the in-house agency complaint handling units that have been created in most Commonwealth agencies in recent years this is about double the number of complaints handled at the start of the 90’s.’

      ‘A major customer survey conducted during the year showed a high proportion of people were satisfied with our efforts.’

      Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and the Australian Taxation Office continued to be the focus of the bulk of complaints. However the number of complaints received in each case was lower than last year.

      Complaints about the Department of Immigration increased for the fourth consecutive year, with delays in processing visa applications and immigration detention issues attracting the greatest number of complaints. This year’s small increase should, however, be regarded as a positive outcome given that the number of applications for visas has been at record levels, the number of illegal entrants held in detention facilities increased dramatically and the Department had the added responsibility of administering the Kosovar humanitarian program.

      ‘I am keen to ensure that my office provides the same grade of service to people outside metropolitan areas, and to members of the community who are isolated for one reason or another’ said Mr McLeod. ‘Consequently I am pleased that I have been able to increase our outreach activities in the past year.’

      Taxation

      Taxation was a major preoccupation during the year. The implementation of the GST placed a considerable strain on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Customs Service and the Treasury based GST Start-Up Assistance Office.

      ‘These agencies were charged with implementing unprecedented change in an environment of high community expectation and a degree of anxiety coupled with considerable political and media interest. Taxpayers also faced hurdles in readying themselves for these changes and were entitled to expect reasonable standards of responsiveness and consideration from government agencies’ said Mr McLeod. ‘On the whole it is my view that the implementation of the GST occurred very smoothly for the vast majority of taxpayers with my office receiving only a relatively small number of complaints up to the end of June 2000.’

      ‘Complaints about the new tax system have increased significantly since then particularly in relation to Business Activity Statement processing and GST deregistrations. This is to be expected in a new system but I will be watching the complaint trends carefully as the new arrangements bed down’ said Mr McLeod.

      ‘The ATO’s actions in relation to mass marketed tax schemes have continued to give rise to many complaints. I am particularly concerned about the level of accountability in the tax and financial planning professions and would support any steps aimed at making the professions more accountable for the advice they give tax payers.’

      In-house Agency Complaint Management

      ‘I would like to encourage agencies to maintain the positive attitude towards complaints associated with the introduction of service charters and to ensure that their clients are aware of the complaint handling processes available. To this end this year my office initiated reviews of a number of major agency complaint handling areas, with generally pleasing results’ continued Mr McLeod.

      Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and the ATO Problem Resolution Service processes are sound, although some refinements and suggestions for improvement have been identified. An examination of the Job Network complaint handling processes is underway. Results to date also suggest a satisfactory outcome.

      An investigation of the Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme identified a number of deficiencies that were quite widely reported when the report into this issue was released in July. A range of measures have been put in place to improve the effectiveness of the scheme.

      Media Contact

      Media 02 6276 3759
      Email – Media@ombudsman.gov.au

      Date of release: 25 October 2000