Ombudsmen
An ombudsman is a person who can assist to protect your interests in your dealings
with:
Ombudsmen can handle complaints and will attempt to find solutions that satisfy
everyone. Ombudsmen resolve disputes through consultation and negotiation, and,
if necessary, by making formal recommendations to the most senior levels of government.
The Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association (ANZOA) website provides a list of government and industry ombudsmen.
Government Ombudsmen
A government ombudsman can consider your complaint if you think you have been treated
unfairly by a government department or agency.
Each State and Territory has a government ombudsman who can listen to your complaints
about a State or Territory government agency and local council. Some examples
of the types of complaints they can look at are problems with:
- schools
- child care centres, and
- policing (except the Australian Federal Police).
There is also a Commonwealth Ombudsman who can assist you if your complaint is about
the administrative actions of a Commonwealth Government agency. Some examples
of the types of complaints the Commonwealth Ombudsman can consider are problems
with:
- Centrelink
- Veterans’ Affairs benefits
- child support payments
- the Australian Defence Force
- the Australian Federal Police
- freedom of information , and
- immigration
- the postal industry
- taxation.
Industry Ombudsmen
An industry ombudsman can assist you if you have dispute with a service provider,
such as:
- a disagreement about electricity or phone bills
- concern about unfair contracts
- concern about poor service
External Dispute Resolution Schemes
Some industries provide external dispute resolution (EDR) schemes, which are generally
operated by industry ombudsmen. EDR schemes offer you a cheap and flexible
way to resolve a dispute. Under EDR, you do not have to pay anything if your
complaint is unsuccessful.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains a
list of EDR schemes they have approved.