❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the Ombudsman's handling of complaints, including resolution rates, reasons for complaint lodgement numbers, improvements in processing time, and early resolution approaches. The Ombudsman's office provided the response, clarifying their processes and reporting methods.
AnsweredQoN 2031Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to complaints lodged with the Ombudsman, and I ask: (a) of the 1,882 complaints lodged with the Ombudsman in 2013-14, how many were resolved in favour of the complainant; (b) what is the reason for only 1,882 complaints being lodged with the Ombudsman from 9,263 enquiries to the office in 2013-14; (c) what changes have been made by the Office of the Ombudsman to achieve a 48 per cent reduction in the time to finalise complaints in 2013-14 compared to 2012-13; and (d) detail the early resolution approach used by the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate and resolve complaints?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 February 2015
Responded by
Leader of the House representing the Premier
Response time
117 days
Ombudsman Western Australia is an independent agency and does not report to the Premier. The following answer has been provided by the Ombudsman:
(a) Ombudsman Western Australia reports a range of outcomes arising from complaints made to Ombudsman Western Australia, but does not report a category of outcome of 'resolved in favour of the complainant'.
(b) For enquiries about matters that are within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, staff of Ombudsman Western Australia provide information about the role of the Ombudsman and how to make a complaint. For approximately half of these enquiries, the enquirer is referred back to the public authority in the first instance to give it the opportunity to hear about and deal with the issue. This is often the quickest and most effective way to deal with the issue. Enquirers are advised that if their issue is not resolved by the public authority, they can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. For enquiries that are outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman, staff of the Ombudsman Western Australia assist members of the public by providing information about the appropriate body to handle the issue they have raised.
(c) The timeliness and efficiency of complaint handling by Ombudsman Western Australia has substantially improved over time due to a major complaint handling improvement program introduced in 2007-08. Building on the program, Ombudsman Western Australia developed and commenced a new organisational structure and processes in 2011-12 to promote and support early resolution of complaints. There have been further enhancements to complaint handling processes in 2013-14, in particular in relation to the early resolution of complaints.
(d) Where it is possible and appropriate, Ombudsman Western Australia uses an early resolution approach to investigate and resolve complaints. This involves staff of Ombudsman Western Australia contacting the public authority to progress timely resolution of complaints that appear to be able to be resolved quickly and easily. This gives public authorities the opportunity to provide a quick response to the issues raised and to undertake timely action to resolve the matter for the complainant and prevent similar complaints arising again.
(a) Ombudsman Western Australia reports a range of outcomes arising from complaints made to Ombudsman Western Australia, but does not report a category of outcome of 'resolved in favour of the complainant'.
(b) For enquiries about matters that are within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, staff of Ombudsman Western Australia provide information about the role of the Ombudsman and how to make a complaint. For approximately half of these enquiries, the enquirer is referred back to the public authority in the first instance to give it the opportunity to hear about and deal with the issue. This is often the quickest and most effective way to deal with the issue. Enquirers are advised that if their issue is not resolved by the public authority, they can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. For enquiries that are outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman, staff of the Ombudsman Western Australia assist members of the public by providing information about the appropriate body to handle the issue they have raised.
(c) The timeliness and efficiency of complaint handling by Ombudsman Western Australia has substantially improved over time due to a major complaint handling improvement program introduced in 2007-08. Building on the program, Ombudsman Western Australia developed and commenced a new organisational structure and processes in 2011-12 to promote and support early resolution of complaints. There have been further enhancements to complaint handling processes in 2013-14, in particular in relation to the early resolution of complaints.
(d) Where it is possible and appropriate, Ombudsman Western Australia uses an early resolution approach to investigate and resolve complaints. This involves staff of Ombudsman Western Australia contacting the public authority to progress timely resolution of complaints that appear to be able to be resolved quickly and easily. This gives public authorities the opportunity to provide a quick response to the issues raised and to undertake timely action to resolve the matter for the complainant and prevent similar complaints arising again.
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