Ombudsmen in Australia

Ombudsman in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Defence Force Ombudsman, Immigration Ombudsman, Postal Industry Ombudsman, Law Enforcement Ombudsman, VET Student Loans Ombudsman, Overseas Students Ombudsman and the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman. Many industries, such as aged care, banking, energy and water, telecommunications, etc., also have ombudsmen or similar bodies that assist with dispute resolution.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman in Australia was established in 1977. The Ombudsman can investigate complaints from people who believe they have been treated unfairly or unreasonably by an Australian Government department / agency or prescribed private sector organisation, including Australia Post, Centrelink, Child Support and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Defence Force Ombudsman, Immigration Ombudsman, Postal Industry Ombudsman, Law Enforcement Ombudsman, VET Student Loans Ombudsman, Overseas Students Ombudsman, the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman and the National Student Ombudsman. Through an arrangement with the Government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the ACT Ombudsman. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the Office) also delivers an International Program, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to improve the governance and accountability in the Asia-Pacific region, and supports and monitors the administration by other agencies of the Public Interest Disclosure (PID) scheme established under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. In addition, the Ombudsman has a number of statutory oversight functions in relation to law enforcement agencies' use of special powers, including those under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and Part 1AB of the Crimes Act 1914. The current Commonwealth Ombudsman is Iain Anderson.

The various states in Australia have (variously described) state Ombudsman offices, with similar jurisdiction as described above, except over state government authorities. There is much collaboration in an academic sense between Ombudsman in Australia, given the highly similar nature of their roles (despite differing jurisdictions). The offices frequently work on joint projects, such as those managing unreasonable conduct of complainants.

The first NSW Ombudsman was appointed in 1975 and the legislation became operative in May that year. Since then, there have been many changes – public authorities have merged and separated and there have been seven different Ombudsman. The current NSW Ombudsman, Paul Miller PSM, was appointed in May 2021.

The Ombudsman for the Northern Territory is independent of Government and provides a free service to the public. The acting Ombudsman is Brenda Monaghan.

The SA Ombudsman is a completely independent official who has comprehensive power to investigate government departments and authorities and local government councils. The office provides 'free, impartial, informal and timely resolution of complaints to promote fairness, openness and good public administration in South Australia'. The current Ombudsman is Emily Strickland.