Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, today launched the new Postal Industry Ombudsman function.

Representatives from the postal and courier industries joined Senator Coonan and the Postal Industry Ombudsman, Prof. John McMillan in launching the Postal Industry Ombudsman scheme.

The Postal Industry Ombudsman scheme is a voluntary scheme for couriers and postal operators. The Ombudsman will fulfil an important consumer protection function by investigating complaints about members of the scheme, including Australia Post.

Prof. McMillan said that businesses will benefit from joining the scheme. ‘Customers of the postal operator will be able to approach an independent watchdog when things go wrong. Membership of the scheme shows a strong commitment to customer service and a willingness to be accountable to customers. Consumers will have increased confidence in using a business, knowing that there is an external body that can investigate problems and find a resolution.

Senator Coonan, the Managing Director of Australia Post, Mr Graeme John AO, and Prof McMillan spoke at the launch. Prof. McMillan commented that the number of representatives from the postal and courier industry attending the launch augurs well for the Postal Industry Ombudsman function and industry acknowledgement of the benefits of an association with the Ombudsman’s office.

The Postal Industry Ombudsman is a new function for Prof. McMillan, who is also the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Defence Force Ombudsman, the Taxation Ombudsman, the Immigration Ombudsman, the ACT Ombudsman and the Law Enforcement Ombudsman.

The Postal Industry Ombudsman takes the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in a new direction – from handling complaints about government departments and agencies to handling complaints about private sector businesses.

‘All these different functions deal with different issues and require different knowledge – but the same expertise in investigation and complaint handling.’ Prof. McMillan said. ‘Across all jurisdictions we aim to resolve complaints as informally as possible, focusing on a practical solution that is acceptable to both parties.’

Legislation establishing the Postal Industry Ombudsman was passed by Parliament in March this year. The Postal Industry Ombudsman will start operations later in 2006.

Date of release: 10 July 2006