Commonwealth Ombudsman - Annual Report 2009-2010 - Appendixes

Appendixes

On this page

1. Appendix 1 — Freedom of information statement
2. Appendix 2 — Presentations by staff
3. Appendix 3 — Statistics
4. Appendix 4 – Additional reporting on the Postal Industry Ombudsman
5. Appendix 5 — Consultancy services, advertising and market research
6. Appendix 6 — Agency resource statement and resources for outcomes
7. Appendix 7 — Financial statements

Appendix 1 — Freedom of information statement

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) requires each Australian Government agency to publish information about the way it is organised, its powers, the kinds of decisions it makes, the documents it holds, the way members of the public can obtain access to these documents and any arrangements for public involvement in the work of the agency.

The body of this annual report explains the organisation and major functions of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. This statement supplements that general information to meet the requirements of s 8 of the FOI Act. It is correct as at 30 June 2009.

Functions and decision-making powers of the Ombudsman

The Commonwealth Ombudsman was established by the Ombudsman Act 1976 (Ombudsman Act). The Act came into effect on 1 July 1977 and is administered by the Prime Minister. The Ombudsman is also the Defence Force Ombudsman, Immigration Ombudsman, Law Enforcement Ombudsman, Postal Industry Ombudsman, Taxation Ombudsman and ACT Ombudsman.

Staff engaged in the work of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, and the work as ACT Ombudsman are jointly are located in the national office in Canberra. Other offices are located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen are statutory officers appointed under the Ombudsman Act. Staff are employed under the Public Service Act 1999.

Investigation of administrative actions

Following a complaint from a member of the public, or using 'own motion' powers under the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman may investigate the administrative actions of most Australian Government departments and agencies and private contractors delivering government services.

The Ombudsman cannot investigate:

• the actions of government ministers or judges
• most employment-related matters (although the Defence Force Ombudsman can investigate employment-related complaints from current or former members of the Australian Defence Force)
• the actions of some government business enterprises.

The Ombudsman can decide to not investigate complaints that are 'stale' or frivolous, where the complainant has not first sought redress from the agency, where some other form of review or appeal is more appropriate, or where it is considered an investigation would not be warranted in all the circumstances.

The Ombudsman may conduct a complaint investigation as considered appropriate. The powers of the Ombudsman are similar to those of a Royal Commission, and include compelling an agency to produce documents and examining witnesses under oath. Most investigations are conducted with minimal formality.

Ombudsman investigations are private and details are generally not revealed to people who are not legitimately concerned with the investigation. The Ombudsman's office is subject to the FOI Act and the Privacy Act 1988.

Following an investigation, the Ombudsman is required to consider whether the actions of the department or agency were unreasonable, unlawful, improperly discriminatory or otherwise wrong.

When the Ombudsman concludes that an agency has erred, the Ombudsman may report that view to the agency and recommend whatever remedial action the Ombudsman thinks is appropriate. If the agency does not implement that action, the Ombudsman can report to the Prime Minister and to the Parliament. The Ombudsman must inform complainants of the action taken by the office in response to their complaints.

Defence Force Ombudsman

Section 19C of the Ombudsman Act provides that the Commonwealth Ombudsman shall be the Defence Force Ombudsman (DFO). The DFO can investigate complaints from current or former members of the Australian Defence Force about Defence Force employment matters. The DFO cannot investigate most actions connected with disciplinary proceedings or the grant or refusal of an honour or award to an individual. The DFO investigates complaints from serving members only after they have exhausted internal grievance mechanisms, unless there are exceptional circumstances. The DFO also investigates complaints from ex-service personnel or their families.

Taxation Ombudsman

Under s 4(3) of the Ombudsman Act, the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be designated as the Taxation Ombudsman when dealing with matters relating to the Australian Taxation Office.

Immigration Ombudsman

Under s 4(4) of the Ombudsman Act, the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be designated as the Immigration Ombudsman when dealing with matters relating to immigration, including immigration detention. The Ombudsman has a specific statutory role under s 486O of the Migration Act 1958 of reporting to the Minister for Immigration concerning the circumstances of any person who has been in immigration detention for two years or more.

Law Enforcement Ombudsman

Under s 4(5) of the Ombudsman Act, the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be designated as the Law Enforcement Ombudsman when investigating complaints about the conduct and practices of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and its members. There are special procedures applying to complaints about AFP officers contained in the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (AFP Act). Complaints about the conduct of AFP officers received prior to 2007 are dealt with under the Complaints (Australian Federal Police) Act 1981 (Complaints Act). This Act was repealed after relevant provisions of the Law Enforcement (AFP Professional Standards and Related Measures) Act 2006 commenced on 30 December 2006.

The special procedures that applied under the Complaints Act to complaints about the AFP's practices and procedures or the conduct of individual AFP members are explained in previous annual reports.

Complaints about the conduct of AFP officers received after 30 December 2006 are dealt with under the Ombudsman Act. In addition, under the AFP Act the Ombudsman is required to review the administration of the AFP's handling of complaints, through inspection of AFP records, at least annually. An aspect of this responsibility is to comment on the adequacy and comprehensiveness of the AFP's dealing with conduct and practices issues as well as its handling of inquiries ordered by the minister. The results of these reviews must be provided to the Parliament on an annual basis.

The Ombudsman's intercept and surveillance devices audit

Under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 and the Surveillance Devices Act 2004, the Ombudsman can inspect certain records of the AFP, Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), and certain other agencies under specific circumstances, to ascertain whether the agencies have complied with specified record keeping requirements of the Acts.

Audit of controlled operations

In accordance with the Crimes Act 1914, the Ombudsman is required to inspect and report on records of controlled operations conducted by the AFP, the ACC and ACLEI.

Postal Industry Ombudsman

Section 19L of the Ombudsman Act provides that the Commonwealth Ombudsman shall be the Postal Industry Ombudsman (PIO). The PIO deals with complaints about postal service delivery by Australia Post and those private sector postal operators that elect to be members of the PIO scheme.

Complaints about freedom of information

The FOI Act enables the Ombudsman to investigate complaints about actions and decisions by departments and agencies about requests for access to documents under FOI. Details of these complaints are included in the Ombudsman's annual reports and in any additional reports made to the Parliament under s 19 of the Ombudsman Act. The FOI Act s 57(3) provides that an application cannot be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of an FOI decision that is the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman until the Ombudsman has finalised the investigation.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Ombudsman

Under the ACT Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (Cth), the Commonwealth Ombudsman discharges the role of ACT Ombudsman. A services agreement between the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the ACT Government covers the discharge of this role. The work of the ACT Ombudsman is set out in a separate annual report made to the ACT Legislative Assembly pursuant to the Ombudsman Act 1989 (ACT).

Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994 (ACT), the Ombudsman is a proper authority to receive and investigate public interest disclosures in relation to the actions of ACT Government agencies.

Categories of documents held by the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman holds information related to:

• investigations, including complaints, correspondence and consultations with complainants, agencies and other information sources, background material, records of conversation, analysis and advice, and reports
• oversight functions
• the Ombudsman's role as the chief executive of an Australian Government agency with a particular set of responsibilities, in terms of the development or implementation of administrative processes, policy or legislation
• the Ombudsman's management of the office, including personnel, contracting and financial records and information about asset management.

General enquiries and requests for access to documents or other matters relating to FOI may be made in person, by telephone or in writing at any Commonwealth Ombudsman office. Each office is open between 9 am and 5 pm on weekdays. People can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman's office by calling 1300 362 072. (See Contacts in the 'References' section of this report.)

Under s 23 of the FOI Act, the Ombudsman has authorised the Deputy Ombudsmen, all Senior Assistant Ombudsmen, and some Executive Level officers to grant or refuse requests for access. Under an arrangement made outside the Act, the Ombudsman has agreed to officers at and above Executive Level 1 providing limited complaint information if requested by, or on behalf of, a complainant as detailed below.

The Ombudsman's office deals with a moderate number of requests every year under the FOI Act (20 in 2009–10 compared to 24 in 2008–09), mostly for documents related to investigations. Following are some observations about how those requests are handled.

• The office tries to set a good standard of compliance. We do not require a complainant to submit an FOI request prior to Ombudsman staff providing certain kinds of documents:
• documents previously and lawfully provided by or to the complainant by the Ombudsman's office or someone else
• records of telephone conversations involving the complainant
• most database entries relating to the complainant.

• In the course of an investigation, we may provide an agency response to a complainant so that they can better understand the agency's position. It is likely that an investigation file could contain information and documents provided by other agencies—typically, the agency about which a complaint was made. Wherever possible, the Ombudsman will seek the other agency's agreement to transfer to it those parts of the request that relate to its functions. This is done because the other agency is usually much better placed to make an informed decision about the content and context of the documents, in light of their experience in dealing with similar requests.

  A further consideration is that if the request is not transferred, the other agency would have a legitimate interest in making suggestions about the decisions the Ombudsman should make. The Ombudsman would not be bound to accept those suggestions, but they would have to be given considerable weight. From the point of view of the complainant, if there is a complaint about an FOI process, it is probably better that the Ombudsman's office has been involved as little as possible.

Appendix 2 — Presentations by staff

Brent, R. 2009, Integrity agencies: independence and control, presentation to Integrity Agencies Workshop, University of Canberra

• 2009, Minding your own business—policy challenges for decision-makers and strategies for managing risks in the complaint-handling process, presentation to Ombudsman Conference, Canberra
• 2009, Parliament and Administrative Law, presentation to APSC Senior Executive Service Orientation Program, Canberra (multiple presentations)
• 2009, The ACT Ombudsman: 20 years of service, ACT Agency Contact Officers Forum
• 2009, Accountability within the APS framework, National Archives of Australia's Emerging Leaders program
• 2010, Perspectives on leadership: issues for APS leaders, Leadership Development Program for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
• 2010, Inquiries: administrative investigations, presentation by Defence Force Ombudsman and IGADF to ANU College of Law Workshop, Military Administrative Law course
• 2010, Listen closely when the public complains, presentation to Canberra Evaluation Forum
• 2010, Professionalism and ethics in the National Security community, presentation to training program for senior officers from national security agencies

Clendinning, A. 2009, The role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, presentation to visiting Cambodian delegation, Canberra

• 2010, The role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, presentation to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
• 2010, Administrative law and control of Government action, presentation to APSC Senior Executive Service Orientation Program, Canberra

Masri, G. 2009, Commonwealth Ombudsman impact on public administration, presentation as part of Australian Government Solicitor course Excellence in Government Decision-making

• 2009, Connected Government: Challenges in Indigenous Program Oversight, presentation to Commonwealth Ombudsman Conference, Canberra
• 2009, Lessons in Public Administration, presentation to various oversight agencies, Brisbane
• 2009, Commonwealth Ombudsman and Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory: roles, engagement and observations, Government Business Managers conference, Alice Springs
• 2009, Role and approach to social support oversight, presentation to Strengthening Disability Advocacy, Working Together conference, Melbourne
• 2010, Role of Commonwealth Ombudsman, presentation to Centrelink National Managers, Centrelink National Managers conference, Sydney
• 2010, Commonwealth Ombudsman: role and approach to social support oversight, presentation to Social Security Appeals Tribunal full-time members Conference, Sydney
• 2010, Improving Public Administration: Role of Commonwealth Ombudsman, keynote presentation to Law Institute of Victoria Conference, Melbourne

McMillan, J. 2009, 'Off the record' communications, participation in Expert Panel for the NSW Joint Initiatives Group, Occasional Seminar

• 2009, Ten lessons for administration, presentation to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Talking Heads series
• 2009, Career progression in times of uncertainty, presentation to IPAA Young Professional network, National Youth Week
• 2009, Administrative law and government action, multiple presentations to APSC, Senior Executive Service Orientation Program, Canberra (multiple presentations)
• 2009, Administrative law challenges—an Ombudsman perspective, presentation to AIAL Qld Chapter
• 2009, Leadership ethics, multiple presentations to ACT Chief Minister's Department Executive Leadership Program
• 2009, Principles for good governance—learning from mistakes, key note address to Liquid Learning 3rd Annual Ethical Leadership and Governance in the Public Sector Conference
• 2009, Opening address, Leveraging Records and Information Management in your organisation for Better Business Outcomes Seminar
• 2009, Proposed reforms to FOI laws and the establishment of an Office of the Information Commissioner, panel discussions at Privacy Contact Officer Network, Combined FOI Practitioners' Forum/Privacy Contact Officer Network Meeting
• 2009, Values—formation of the Pubic Service, presentation to National Human Rights Consultation Committee, National Human Rights Consultation Public Hearing
• 2009, Independence and control (of integrity agencies), presentation to Legal Workshop, University of Canberra
• 2009, Functions of a 'multi-door' court house, presentation to Law Council of Australia Standing Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium
• 2009, What do we mean by freedom of information and related concepts such as access to information, rights to information and information disclosure, Panel discussions, Pacific Ombudsman Alliance, National Accountability, Transparency and Anti-Corruption Consultation with Palau Stakeholders
• 2009, The 'domino effect' and the importance of being attuned to customer needs and how customer service issues transcend public/private boundaries, presentation to Australian Communications Alliance and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Customer Service Summit
• 2009, Listening closely when the public complains, presentation to ANAO Staff Occasional Seminar
• 2009, Presentation to ANU/ICAC Anti Corruption Course
• 2009, The role of the Ombudsman and managing complaints, presentation to ACT Statutory Office Holders Forum
• 2009, Dealing with the institutions of accountability: anti-corruption agencies, Ombudsman and Audit Office, Presentation to Parliament, Policy, the Press and the Public: Preparing for the Challenges of being a Minister. A Professional Skills Development Course for Parliamentarians from the Pacific Island region
• 2009, Role of the Ombudsman in process of public sector reforms towards good governance, presentation to Asian Ombudsman Association, 11th Asian Ombudsman Association Conference
• 2009, Ethical decision making and accountability, presentation to National Security Executive Development Program
• 2009, The CDDA Scheme: Practical discretionary compensation, moral obligation and lawyers, presentation to AIAL Lunchtime Seminar
• 2009, The new integrity agenda in public administration, presentation to WA Integrity Coordinating Group Forum
• 2009, Learning from mistakes, presentation to L21, Public Sector Leadership Series 2009, Building Public Trust in the Public Service
• 2010, The impact of reform on people who access government-funded community services, presentation to Catholic Social Services, Catholic Social Services national conference
• 2010, Role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, panel discussion at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NIC Senior Officer Course
• 2010, Decisions that go wrong, presentation to ACT Chief Minister's Department, Executive Leadership Program
• 2010, Presentation to 25th Australasian and Pacific Ombudsman Region Conference
• 2010, Presentation to Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Security Intelligence Oversight Conference.

Appendix 3 — Statistics

Explanations of terms used in Appendix 3

Approaches/complaints finalised—approaches/complaints finalised in 2009–10, including some complaints carried over from previous years

Approaches/complaints received—approaches/complaints received in 2009–10

Category 1—resolved without investigation, outcomes include decisions not to investigate and referrals to appropriate agency or authority

Category 2—cannot be resolved at category 1 and require further internal enquiries/research or more information from the complainant, resolved without contacting the agency

Category 3—investigation conducted and agency contacted

Category 4—further investigation conducted, as the complaint/approach was not able to be resolved in category 3

Category 5—further investigation conducted, as the complaint/approach was not able to be resolved in category 4; involves formal reporting processes

Issues—approaches/complaints can contain a number of issues, each requiring a separate decision as to whether to investigate; each issue may result in a separate outcome

Remedies—complaints can contain a number of issues, each requiring separate investigation and possibly resulting in a number of different remedies

Table A1: Approaches and complaints about Australian Government agencies, received and finalised, and remedies 2009–10

Agency	Received	Finalised						Remedies
	Total	No Investigation		Investigated				Action expedited	Apology	Decision changed or reconsidered	Disciplinary action	Explanation	Financial remedy	Law, policy or practice changed	Other non-financial remedy	Remedy provided by agency without Ombudsman intervention	Total
		Category 1	Category 2	Category 3	Category 4	Category 5	Total
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Australian Fisheries Management Authority	4	1	2	1	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority	2	-	1	-	1	-	2	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service	45	20	8	11	4	-	43	3	2	5	-	14	-	3	-	1	28
Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation	1	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry	19	3	7	2	9	23	44	1	1	4	-	2	3	25	1	-	37
National Rural Advisory Council	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation	2	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Attorney-General's
Administrative Appeals Tribunal	29	6	19	2	-	-	27	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Administrative Review Council	2	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Attorney-General's Department	36	16	13	5	2	-	36	2	-	1	-	5	-	-	-	-	8
Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Australian Crime Commission	7	3	4	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service	98	54	26	15	9	-	104	3	1	1	-	18	2	3	-	-	28
Australian Human Rights Commission	15	6	9	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre	5	2	2	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Classification Board	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
CrimTrac	2	1	1	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia	69	29	22	6	8	-	65	6	2	-	-	12	-	2	1	1	24
National Capital Authority	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
National Native Title Tribunal	1	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions	6	3	1	-	2	-	6	-	-	2	-	2	-	-	-	-	4
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Australia Post	2,626	790	1,251	497	53	-	2,591	72	88	50	24	400	151	12	113	7	917
Australian Broadcasting Corporation	7	1	5	1	-	-	7	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Australian Communications and Media Authority	33	11	18	4	1	-	34	3	1	-	-	8	-	-	-	1	13
Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy	15	5	6	4	-	-	15	2	-	-	-	5	-	-	1	-	8
Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency	153	31	55	22	1	-	109	8	1	3	-	4	9	-	-	2	27
Commonwealth Parliamentary Services
Department of Parliamentary Services	2	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Courts
Family Court of Australia	45	23	17	4	-	-	44	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Federal Court of Australia	6	4	1	1	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Federal Magistrates Court of Australia	16	11	1	1	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
High Court of Australia	8	1	4	1	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Defence
Australian Army	111	37	45	20	10	-	112	4	1	6	-	15	1	-	1	1	29
Australian Army Cadets	2	1	2	1	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Australian Navy Cadets	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian War Memorial	1	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Authority	7	1	1	5	-	-	7	1	1	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	5
Defence Housing Australia	31	15	10	7	3	-	35	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	1	-	4
Department of Defence	176	61	60	38	8	-	167	8	2	6	-	24	2	-	-	-	42
Department of Veterans' Affairs	167	52	52	44	20	-	168	6	3	12	-	20	7	-	4	-	52
Royal Australian Air Force	39	12	19	11	1	-	43	-	-	1	-	7	2	-	1	-	11
Royal Australian Navy	43	10	15	12	4	-	41	6	4	2	-	7	1	-	-	-	20
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority	2	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
The Australian National University	11	6	5	2	-	-	13	-	-	2	-	1	-	-	-	-	3
Comcare	72	23	25	22	7	2	79	12	3	3	-	13	3	-	-	-	34
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations	479	195	128	147	24	-	494	9	7	14	-	96	18	5	7	5	161
Fair Work Australia	6	1	2	1	1	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fair Work Ombudsman	53	18	27	5	-	1	51	-	1	-	-	2	-	1	-	-	4
Office of the Workplace Ombudsman	4	1	5	1	1	-	8	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Workplace Authority	4	1	3	2	13	-	19	10	-	1	-	5	-	-	1	-	17
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Australian Antarctic Division	6	2	2	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts	341	139	141	44	21	-	345	22	4	-	-	39	15	7	7	8	102
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority	3	2	1	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Murray–Darling Basin Authority	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
National Gallery of Australia	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
National Library of Australia	1	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Screen Australia	4	-	2	-	1	-	3	1	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	3
Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Aboriginal Hostels Limited	9	5	3	1	-	-	9	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Anindilyakwa Land Council	5	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Central Land Council	1	-	-	2	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs	186	24	37	92	31	1	185	18	5	5	-	113	2	5	11	2	161
Indigenous Business Australia	7	1	6	2	1	1	11	1	-	2	-	2	-	-	1	-	6
Indigenous Land Corporation	-	-	1	-	1	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Northern Land Council	12	1	2	4	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	2	-	3
Registrar of Indigenous Corporations	9	1	6	3	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3
Social Security Appeals Tribunal	86	34	38	12	-	-	84	2	-	1	-	6	-	-	-	-	9
Tiwi Land Council	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3
Finance and Deregulation
Australian Electoral Commission	15	7	4	2	2	-	15	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	4
Commissioner for Superannuation (ComSuper)	29	9	15	5	3	-	32	3	-	3	-	5	-	-	-	-	11
Department of Finance and Deregulation	45	4	15	8	2	2	31	5	1	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	9
Future Fund Management Agency	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)	4	1	1	2	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
Australian Trade Commission	5	2	2	-	1	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	131	70	29	24	3	-	126	6	1	4	-	16	-	1	2	-	30
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Health and Ageing
Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd (The)	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency	2	1	1	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Sports Commission	6	2	2	1	1	-	6	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority	8	4	1	2	-	-	7	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
Department of Health and Ageing	124	56	38	44	13	-	151	11	1	5	-	37	3	7	3	2	69
Food Standards Australia New Zealand	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
National Health and Medical Research Council	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Office of the Aged Care Commissioner	5	-	1	6	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Professional Services Review	2	-	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Human Services
Centrelink	5,199	3,308	817	1,002	150	1	5,278	180	99	142	12	723	178	23	51	61	1,469
Child Support Agency	2,280	1,176	478	497	145	1	2,297	133	99	72	36	490	65	17	45	46	1,003
Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service	18	10	6	-	-	-	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Department of Human Services	2	1	1	-	1	-	3	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Health Services Australia	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Medicare Australia	171	90	45	31	4	1	171	4	6	2	-	19	3	2	4	2	42
Immigration and Citizenship
Department of Immigration and Citizenship	1,600	560	512	456	71	1	1,600	48	30	41	-	102	7	9	19	13	269
Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal	19	6	10	2	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority	16	11	4	1	1	-	17	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	3
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Airservices Australia	12	2	8	2	1	-	13	-	-	1	-	3	-	1	1	-	6
Australian Maritime Safety Authority	1	-	1	1	-	-	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Australian Rail Track Corporation	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Civil Aviation Safety Authority	20	2	8	2	5	-	17	1	2	-	-	5	-	1	-	-	9
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government	43	16	14	4	3	-	37	2	1	1	-	5	-	-	1	-	10
Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
AusIndustry	16	6	10	1	-	-	17	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	2
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australian Research Council	3	-	1	1	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	2
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation	2	2	1	1	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research	67	19	39	7	2	1	68	1	-	3	-	2	6	1	-	-	13
IP Australia	16	6	9	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Prime Minister and Cabinet
Australian Public Service Commission	6	1	4	1	1	-	7	1	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	3
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet	15	5	6	4	-	-	15	1	1	1	-	2	-	1	-	-	6
Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
National Archives of Australia	8	5	1	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Office of the Privacy Commissioner	66	20	40	10	1	-	71	-	-	1	-	6	-	-	-	-	7
Resources, Energy and Tourism
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	2
Snowy Hydro Limited	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Treasury
Australian Bureau of Statistics	51	31	11	6	1	-	49	-	2	1	-	3	-	-	1	1	8
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission	32	8	7	9	4	-	28	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	1	-	6
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority	166	56	57	58	3	-	174	3	-	4	-	31	5	2	5	4	54
Australian Securities and Investments Commission	158	49	69	35	10	-	163	1	4	7	-	8	2	-	4	-	26
Australian Taxation Office	1,810	504	942	114	202	-	1,762	31	30	9	-	83	46	5	25	51	280
Department of the Treasury	7	2	1	4	1	-	8	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	2	-	4
National Competition Council	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Productivity Commission	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Royal Australian Mint	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Superannuation Complaints Tribunal	67	13	39	16	-	-	68	1	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	7
Tax Agents Board	6	3	-	-	2	-	5	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Tax Practitioner's Board	3	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SubTotal	17,407	7,741	5,382	3,417	876	35	17,451	640	408	419	72	2,411	532	136	318	209	5,145
Australian Federal Police	219	62	68	20	11	1	162	12	2	2		6	1	1	3	1	28
Private Postal Operators	11	3	6	1	1	-	11	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	2
ACT Government Agencies	676	367	166	109	18	-	660	11	6	4		32	12	2	1	1	70
Approaches about Out-of-jurisdiction agencies/requests for information	19,155	18,787	363	-	-	-	19,150
TOTAL	37,468	26,960	5,985	3,547	906	36	37,434	663	416	425	72	2,450	546	139	322	211	5,245

Appendix 4 – Additional reporting on the Postal Industry Ombudsman

This appendix provides additional reporting on the Postal Industry Ombudsman (PIO) function as required under s 19X of the Ombudsman Act 1976 (the Act).

Details of the circumstances and number of occasions where the Postal Industry Ombudsman has made a requirement of a person under section 9 (as that section applies because of sections 19R and 19S).

The PIO made no requirements under s 9 during 2009–10.

Details of the circumstances and number of occasions where the holder of the office of Postal Industry Ombudsman has decided under subsection 19N(3) to deal with, or to continue to deal with, a complaint or part of a complaint in his or her capacity as the holder of the office of Commonwealth Ombudsman.

There are no occasions where a complaint or part of a complaint was transferred from the PIO to the Commonwealth Ombudsman under s 19N(3).

Details of recommendations made in reports during the year under section 19V; and statistical information about actions taken during that year as a result of such information.

Australia Post: Determining levels of compensation for loss or damage of postal items (Report No. 1/2010)

The Ombudsman made the following recommendations.

Recommendation 1—Australia Post should as soon as practicable conduct a formal review of the amount of compensation it pays for loss of, and damage to, ordinary post items. The review should address, at least, the following:

• identification of the rationale for the figure being set at $50 in 1987
• whether that rationale is still valid independent of the compensation levels payable for other services, and if not, why not
• identification, if that rationale is still valid, of the compensation level that would be required to fulfil the same purpose at 2010 values.

Recommendation 2—Australia Post should incorporate information about its compensation arrangements and how they have changed over the relevant period in any future price notification to the Australian Competiton and Consumer Commission relating to a proposed increase in the basic postage rate.

Although Australia Post advised that it has no immediate plans to implement the recommendations made in regard to current compensation levels, the corporation nonetheless made an undertaking that it would continue to keep the issue under review as part of its ongoing product/service monitoring.

Australia Post and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passports lost in the mail (Report No. 8/2010)

The Ombudsman recommended that Australia Post:

• review its data capture and analysis capacity as it relates to lost passports, with a view to reporting separately on passport loss by geographical location and type of postal service used
• use plain English in its public information and refer to passports as passports in its terms and conditions and other publications
• review its terms and conditions and Post Guides to ensure clear and consistent treatment of passports in them
• If passports are to be excluded from compensation when carried by the Express Post and Express Post Platinum services, Australia Post should make specific reference to this on relevant envelopes and satchels
• review the availability of Extra Cover to compensate for the basic cost of replacing a lost passport, and ensure that its published material sets out its position clearly and consistently in its terms and conditions.

Table A2: Statistical information on implementation of PIO recommendations 2009–10

Report	Fully implemented	In progress	Yet to begin	Not agreed	Total
Australia Post: Determining levels of compensation for loss or damage of postal items		5			5
Australia Post and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passports lost in the mail	11	2		1

Appendix 5 — Consultancy services, advertising and market research

Consultancy services

The office engages consultants when the expertise required is not available within the organisation or when the specialist skills required are not available without diverting resources from other higher priority tasks. In accordance with procurement guidelines, consultants are selected by open tender, panel arrangements, select tendering or direct sourcing.

Table A3 provides details of consultancy services let by the office during 2009–10 with a contract value (GST inclusive) of $10,000 or more.

Table A3: Consultancy services, 2009–10

Consultant name	Description	Contract price	Selection process (1)	Justification (2)
Dezignteam	Fitout tender & contract administration for Level 5, 14 Childers Street, Canberra	$29,700	Direct	B
Mallesons Stephen Jaques	Legal fees for lease negotiation Level 5, 14 Childers Street, Canberra	$13,772	Panel	B
Total		$43,472

Definitions

(1) Explanation of selection process terms drawn from the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (December 2008):

Open tender—a procurement procedure in which a request for tender is published inviting all businesses that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders. Public tenders are generally sought from the Australian Government AusTender website.

Select tender—a procurement procedure in which the procuring agency selects which potential suppliers are invited to submit tenders. This procurement process may only be used under certain defined circumstances.

Direct sourcing—a form of restricted tendering, available only under certain defined circumstances, with a single potential supplier or suppliers being invited to bid because of their unique expertise and/or their special ability to supply the goods and/or services sought.

Panel—an arrangement under which a number of suppliers, initially selected through an open tender process, may each supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel arrangements. Quotes are sought from suppliers that have pre-qualified on the agency panels to supply to the government. This category includes standing offers and supplier panels where the supply of goods and services may be provided for a pre-determined length of time, usually at a pre-arranged price.

(2) Justification for decision to use consultancy:

A—skills currently unavailable within agency

B—need for specialised or professional skills

C—need for independent research or assessment.

Advertising and market research

Advertising is used to publicise the office's services. No advertising campaigns were undertaken in 2009–10. The office's advertising strategies were designed and conceived in-house. Payment of $29,669 including GST was made to Adcorp. The vast bulk of this expenditure was on recruitment notices.

Appendix 6 — Agency resource statement and resources for outcomes

Table A4: Ombudsman office resource statement, 2009–10

	Actual available appropriations 2009–10 $'000	Payments made 2009–10 $'000	Balance remaining $'000
	(a)	(b)	(a-b)
Ordinary annual services1Departmental appropriation
Prior year departmental appropriation	5,136	5,136	-
Departmental appropriation	18,795	14,617	4,178
S 31 Relevant agency receipts3	1,638	1,638	-
Total	25,569	21,391	4,178
Total ordinary annual services	25,569	21,391
Other services2Departmental non-operating
Equity injections	-	-	-
Previous year's outputs	1,511	1,366	145
Total	1,511	1,366	145
Total other services	1,511	1,366
Total resourcing and payments	27,080	22,757

1 Appropriation Bill (No.1) 2009–10

2 Appropriation Bill (No.2) 2009–10

3 Own source income

Table A5: Resources for outcomes

Outcome 1—Fair and accountable administrative action by Australian Government agencies by investigating complaints, reviewing administrative action and inspecting statutory compliance by law enforcement agencies

	Budget*2009–10 $,000	Actual expenses2009–10 $,000	Variation2009–10 $,000
	(a)	(b)	(a)-(b)
Program 1: Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman
Administered expenses
Departmental expenses
Ordinary annual services (Appropriation Bill No. 1)	18,795	18,795	-
S 31 Revenues from independent sources	1,720	1,511	209
Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year	623	1,152	(529)
Total for Program 1	21,138	21,458	(320)
Outcome 1 totals by appropriation type
Administered expenses
Departmental expenses
Ordinary annual services (Appropriation Bill No. 1)	18,795	18,795	-
S 31 Revenues from independent sources	1,720	1,511	209
Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year	623	1,152	(529)
Total for Outcome 1	21,138	21,458	(320)

	2008–09	2009–10
Average staffing level (number)	151	153

* Full-year budget, including any subsequent adjustment made to the 2009–10 Budget

Appendix 7—Financial statements