Key statistics

Some key statistics in the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s 2009-10 annual report:

Approaches and complaints decreased by 18% to 37,468 (down from 45,719 last year)

Within jurisdiction complaints decreased by 5.7% to 18,313 (down from 19,412 last year)

Whilst raw numbers decreased, there was a 7% increase in complaints as a proportion of approaches and complaints received over the previous year

Complaints related to 150 government agencies (up from 120 the previous year)

15% of complaints received electronically via Ombudsman’s web ‘smart-form’, continuing a trend up from 5.1% in 2003-04

4,489 complaints were investigated (compared to 5,233 the previous year, a 14% decline)

21% (up from 12%) of these complaints required more substantial investigation, with agency error or deficiency identified in 10% of complaints investigated
Through intervention of the office, remedies were recorded in 71% of cases investigated

Revenue from government fell from $19.364 million (2009) to $18.795 million (2010)

The fulltime equivalent (FTE) number of employees fell from 152 to 146 from 2008-09 to 2009-10 (actual employees fell from 171 to 159)

19 ‘own motion’ reports were released compared to an average of less than 10 for each of the five preceding years, highlighting proactive efforts to address systemic issues with agencies

These reports covered areas as diverse as visa applications, quarantine measures, police investigations, child support, accessing government information, tax office powers, asbestos surveys and lost passports.

The office conducted 31 inspections of the records of law enforcement and other agencies, compared to 30 inspections last year

There were 11 submissions to parliamentary inquiries, 10 to major reviews and release of an issues paper

The Ombudsman’s office staff participated in 109 outreach activities across the country, speaking to more than 34,000 people directly representing a 22% increase on the previous year.

Top 10 agencies–an analysis of approaches and complaints

Of the 18,313 approaches and complaints within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction received during the 2009–10 year, the top ten agencies accounted for 84% of total complaints. They were:

Centrelink (5,199 complaints): accounting for 28% of total complaints, not unexpectedly given the high volume and complexity of services. This is also a 28% decrease from last year, probably attributable to absence of stimulus or bonus payments (which have generated large numbers of complaints in recent years).

Australia Post (2,626): has taken second spot from the Child Support Agency, with 14% of complaints and is an 18% increase from last year. Whilst the overall number of complaints to our office is small when compared to the volume of mail delivered daily by Australia Post, there is a significant upward trend. Most issues relate to the method of mail delivery and quality of service in customer contact.

Child Support Agency (2,280): This accounts for 12% of total complaints and 7.8% decrease from last year. Complaint themes included debt management and ‘care percentage’ decisions used in child support assessments.

Australian Taxation Office (1,810): This represents almost 10% of complaints, a rise of 27.3% from the previous year and continues an upward trend. Delays in receipt of refunds, amended assessments and other interactions with the ATO have generated the most complaints from taxpayers and tax professionals. The ATO’s Change Program income tax release was a new source of a significant number of complaints.

DIAC (1,600): This is 8.5% of complaints, and represents an increase of 10% from the previous year. Complaints mainly relate to detention centres, skilled migration changes, security clearances and international student visa processing.

Defence agencies (578): 3.2% of complaints, and a 5% reduction from last year’s figure of 609. Most Defence complaints are about military aircraft noise, weapons firing ranges, redress of grievance processes, re-enlistment, Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Housing.

DEWHA/DCCEE (494): 2.7% of complaints, and a large increase from the 52 complaints received the previous year. Most complaints were about the energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, particularly the solar panel rebate under the Solar Homes and Communities Plan, the solar hot water rebate under the Energy Efficient Homes Package, the Home Insulation Program, and the Green Loans Program. Predominantly the complaints related to poor, delayed or inadequate responses to complainants.

DEEWR (479): 2.6% of complaints, a 16% decrease from last year. Most complaints were about pre-migration skills assessment, advice given by contracted providers, timelines of decisions made under the GEERS – General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme.

AFP (389): 2.1% of complaints, a 10.8% increase from last year. The most common issues concerned inappropriate action, inadequate investigation, officer conduct on duty, and actions about property and exhibits.

Health and Ageing (151): 0.8% of complaints, and small increase from 140 in the previous year. Most complaints were about the quality of DoHA investigations into aged care complaints, communications with the public and access to DoHA services in remote communities.

Media contact: Media 02 6276 3759

Date of release: 2 November 2010

02 Nov 2010: Solving government problems at the root cause

The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s work in 2009–10 continued to focus on solving problems at the root cause, evidenced by investigations and reporting on systemic issues identified through the approaches and complaints received.

‘We continue to focus our work on strategic issues identified from individual investigations, helping to improve government administration,’ Commonwealth Ombudsman Allan Asher said.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman Annual Report 2009-2010 released Monday 1 November 2010, shows that 19 formal reports were published during the year compared to an average of less than ten in each of the previous five years.

The office continued its commitment to promoting good administration, with 11 submissions to parliamentary inquiries, 10 to other major reviews and the release of a key issues paper.

‘This proactive approach is evident in both the increase in the number and associated work involved in the undertaking these own motion reports,’ Allan Asher said.

Our investigations will often examine systemic issues and lead us to make recommendations to government agencies designed to improve policies and procedures.

‘The fact that government agencies are working with us in making changes to administration means that we are heading off problems earlier, before they grow.

‘This need for change and renewal in continually seeking better solutions has always been emphasised by my predecessor, Professor John McMillan. It’s a philosophy which was sustained by the Acting Ombudsman Ron Brent in recent times and the report also makes this clear,’ Mr Asher said.

The introduction of a web ‘smart-form’ in early 2010 continues efforts to facilitate community access to the services of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, supporting an upward course in the receipt of complaints electronically.

Of the near 4,500 complaints investigated by the Ombudsman during the year, an increased number required more substantive investigation. Agency error or deficiency continued to be identified. As in the previous year, intervention by the Ombudsman continued to achieve a positive trend in remedies being found for complainants.

While there was a slight decrease in the number of approaches and complaints within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, the number of agencies about which complaints were received rose from 120 to 150.

‘The increase in the number of agencies points to a renewed upward trend in approaches and complaints, that will continue to challenge resources and access to our services by the Australian community,’ said Mr Asher.