oversight of the queensland ombudsman...the office of the queensland ombudsman was established in...

Oversight of the Queensland Ombudsman

Report No. 69, 55th Parliament Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee September 2017

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee

Chair Mr Duncan Pegg MP, Member for Stretton (from 14 February 2017)

Mr Mark Furner MP, Member for Ferny Grove (until 14 February 2017)

Deputy Chair Mr Michael Crandon MP, Member for Coomera

Members Ms Nikki Boyd MP, Member for Pine Rivers (from 28 November 2016)

Mr Don Brown MP, Member for Capalaba

Mr Jon Krause MP, Member for Beaudesert

Ms Joan Pease MP, Member for Lytton (until 28 November 2016)

Mrs Jann Stuckey MP, Member for Currumbin

Committee Secretariat Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee

Parliament House

George Street

Brisbane Qld 4000

Telephone +61 7 3553 6641

Fax +61 7 3553 6699

Email [email protected]

Web www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/LACSC

Technical Scrutiny Secretariat

+61 7 3553 6601

Acknowledgements

The committee acknowledges the assistance provided by the Ombudsman and his staff.

mailto:[email protected]


Contents Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... ii

Glossary ................................................................................................................................ iii

Chair’s foreword ..................................................................................................................... v

Recommendation .................................................................................................................. vi

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Role of the committee ................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Purpose and functions of the Queensland Ombudsman .............................................. 1

1.3 Committee’s responsibilities regarding the Queensland Ombudsman ........................ 2

1.4 Recent amendments to the Ombudsman Act ............................................................... 3

1.5 Strategic review of the Queensland Ombudsman ........................................................ 3

2 Oversight of the Ombudsman ........................................................................................... 5

2.1 The committee’s process ............................................................................................... 5

2.2 Oversight meeting with the Ombudsman ..................................................................... 5

3 Review of Annual Report 2015-2016 ................................................................................. 7

3.1 Highlights ....................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Annual Report summary ................................................................................................ 7

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee i


Abbreviations

Annual Report Queensland Ombudsman Annual Report 2015-16

committee Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee

FTE Full-time equivalent

Lakeside Noise Report The Lakeside Noise Report: An investigation of action taken by Moreton Bay Regional Council to regulate noise emissions from Lakeside Motor Racing Circuit released by the Office on 9 November 2015

Office Office of the Queensland Ombudsman

OFSWQ Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland

Ombudsman / Queensland Ombudsman

Mr Phil Clarke

Ombudsman Act Ombudsman Act 2001

PID Public interest disclosure

PID Act Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010

The Workplace Death Investigations Report

The Workplace Death Investigations Report: An investigation into the quality of workplace death investigations conducted by the Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland tabled by the Office on 18 November 2015.

ii Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee


Glossary

Agency A government department, local council or public university that falls within the jurisdiction of the Queensland Ombudsman.

Agreed action An agreed action involves working with the agency and complainant to reach a satisfactory resolution. This is a more effective and timely way to resolve a complaint where an assessment reveals evidence of administrative error.

Assessment The complaint is finalised through research and assessment, without contacting the agency concerned.

Complaint An expression of dissatisfaction about an agency within jurisdiction. Complaints include complaint issues. A complainant may raise more than one issue of complaint in relation to an administrative action or decision.

Complaint finalised A complaint that is closed by the Office after assessment, advice and/or investigation.

Complaint management system

A system for dealing with complaints.

Complaint received A complaint received during the financial year.

Contact Any contact with the Office, irrespective of whether the matter is within or outside jurisdiction.

Enquiry Contact where the person seeks information or assistance but does not make a specific complaint.

Internal review Review of a decision undertaken by the agency that made the initial decision.

Major investigation Significant time and resources is expended on investigating systemic administrative errors.

Maladministration A formal finding of administrative error by the Ombudsman under s.50 of the Ombudsman Act 2001.

Out of jurisdiction matter

A matter that the Office does not have the power to investigate.

Own-initiative investigation

The Ombudsman decides to undertake an investigation into systemic issues in a certain agency without receiving a complaint.

Preliminary assessment

An analysis of a complaint by the Office to determine how it should be managed.

Prisoner PhoneLink With the assistance of Queensland Corrective Services, a free telephone service that allows prisoners direct and confidential access to the Office at set times. This service allows prisoners to contact the Queensland Ombudsman for assistance with a complaint, rather than waiting for staff to visit their correctional centre.

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee iii


Public administration

The administrative practices of Queensland public sector agencies.

Public Interest Disclosure (PID)

A confidential disclosure of wrongdoing within the public sector that meets the criteria set out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010. PIDs commonly include allegations of official misconduct or maladministration.

Public reports A report issued by the Ombudsman under section 50 of the Ombudsman Act 2001 that is tabled in Parliament or publicly released with the Speaker’s authority.

Recommendation Advice given by the Ombudsman to an agency to improve administrative practices. The Ombudsman cannot direct agencies to implement recommendations but they rarely refuse to do so. If agencies do refuse, the Ombudsman can require them to provide reasons and report to the relevant Minister, the Premier, or Parliament if not satisfied with the reasons.

Rectification An investigation that results in the total or partial resolution of the complaint.

Referral When a matter is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, and advice or help is provided to the complainant about the right complaints agency. Recording matters as referrals ceased in 2012-13.

Review The Ombudsman may conduct a review of the administrative practices and procedures of an agency and make recommendation for improvements.

Systemic issue An error in an agency’s administrative process that may impact on a number of people.

iv Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee


Chair’s foreword

The Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee has oversight responsibilities for the Queensland Ombudsman. This report provides information regarding the performance by the Queensland Ombudsman of his functions under the Ombudsman Act 2001.

The committee met with the Queensland Ombudsman, Mr Phil Clarke, and his staff on 10 May 2017. The committee also reviewed the Queensland Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2015-16 which was tabled on 30 September 2016.

On behalf of the committee, I thank the Queensland Ombudsman and his staff who assisted the committee throughout the course of this inquiry.

I commend this report to the House.

Duncan Pegg MP Chair

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee v


Recommendation

Recommendation 1 12

The committee recommends the House notes the contents of this report.

vi Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee


1 Introduction 1.1 Role of the committee

The Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee (committee) is a portfolio committee of the Legislative Assembly which commenced on 27 March 2015 under the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 and the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly.1

The committee’s primary areas of responsibility include:

• Justice and Attorney-General, Training and Skills, and

• Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and Corrective Services.

Section 93(1) of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 provides that a portfolio committee is responsible for examining each bill and item of subordinate legislation in its portfolio areas to consider:

• the policy to be given effect by the legislation

• the application of fundamental legislative principles, and

• for subordinate legislation – its lawfulness.

The committee also has oversight responsibilities for the performance of the functions of the:

• Information Commissioner

• Ombudsman, and

• Queensland Electoral Commissioner.2

This report is provided as part of the committee’s statutory oversight responsibility for the Queensland Ombudsman. 1.2 Purpose and functions of the Queensland Ombudsman

The Office of the Queensland Ombudsman (Office) was established in 1974 to investigate the administrative actions of Queensland government agencies, local councils and universities.

Under the Ombudsman Act 2001 (the Ombudsman Act), the Ombudsman has dual roles:

• to provide a fair, independent and timely investigative service for people who believe that they have been adversely affected by the decisions of a public agency, and

• to help public agencies improve their decision-making and administrative practice.

The majority of investigations arise from complaints received, but the Ombudsman also conducts own-initiative investigations.3

The Ombudsman Act provides the following functions of the Ombudsman:

(a) to investigate administrative actions of agencies –

(i) on reference from the Legislative Assembly or a statutory committee of the Legislative Assembly; or

(ii) on a complaint; or

1 Parliament of Queensland Act 2001, section 88 and Standing Order 194. 2 The committee’s oversight responsibility of the Electoral Commissioner relates to the Electoral

Commissioner’s functions under Part 3 of the Electoral Act 1992 (i.e. electoral redistributions). During the 2015-16 financial year, the committee also had oversight responsibility for the Criminal Organisation Public Interest Monitor under the Criminal Organisation Act 2009. However, this oversight responsibility ceased due to the repeal of the Criminal Organisation Act 2009 on 9 December 2016.

3 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-2016, p 3.

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee 1


(iii) on the Ombudsman’s own initiative; and

(b) to consider the administrative practices and procedures of an agency whose actions are being investigated and to make recommendations to the agency –

(i) about appropriate ways of addressing the effects of inappropriate administrative actions; or (ii) for the improvement of the practices and procedures; and

(c) to consider the administrative practices and procedures of agencies generally and to make recommendations or provide information or other help to the agencies for the improvement of the practices and procedures; and

(d) the other functions conferred on the Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act or any other Act.4

The Ombudsman Act also provides that, subject to any other Act or law, the Ombudsman is not subject to direction by any person about the way the Ombudsman performs his functions under the Ombudsman Act, or the priority given to investigations.5

The Ombudsman may investigate administrative actions of agencies and an administrative action despite a provision in any Act to the effect that the action is final or cannot be appealed against, challenged, reviewed, quashed or called in to question.6

The Ombudsman must not question the merits of a decision, including a policy decision, made by a minister or Cabinet, or a decision that the Ombudsman is satisfied has been taken for implementing a decision made by Cabinet.7

The Ombudsman must not investigate administrative action taken by any of the following:

• a tribunal, or a member of a tribunal, in the performance of the tribunal’s deliberative functions

• a person acting as legal adviser to the state or as counsel for the state in any legal proceedings

• a member of the police service, if the action may be, or has been, investigated under the

Crime and Corruption Act 2001

• a police officer, if the officer is liable to disciplinary action, or has been disciplined under the

Police Service Administration Act 1990

• the Auditor-General

• a mediator at a mediation session under the Dispute Resolution Centres Act 1990

• a person in a capacity as a conciliator under the Health Rights Commission Act 1991 or the repealed Health Quality and Complaints Commission Act 2006

• the Information Commissioner in the performance of the Commissioner’s functions under the Right to Information Act 2009.8

1.3 Committee’s responsibilities regarding the Queensland Ombudsman

In addition to the jurisdiction conferred by the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001, the Ombudsman Act provides that the committee is required to:

• monitor and review the performance by the Ombudsman of the Ombudsman’s functions under the Ombudsman Act

4 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 12. 5 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 13. 6 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 14. 7 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 16(1). 8 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 16(2)(a)-(h). Also note there are other exceptions under the Government

Owned Corporations Act 1993.

2 Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee


• report to the Legislative Assembly on any matter concerning the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman’s functions or the performance of the Ombudsman’s functions that the committee considers should be drawn to the Legislative Assembly’s attention

• examine each annual report of the Office tabled in the Legislative Assembly under the Act and, if appropriate, to comment on any aspect of the report

• report to the Legislative Assembly any changes to the functions, structures and procedures of the Office the committee considers desirable for the more effective operation of the Ombudsman Act

• any other functions conferred on the committee by the Ombudsman Act.9 1.4 Recent amendments to the Ombudsman Act

The Ombudsman Act was amended during 2017 to:

• improve the Ombudsman’s ability to protect complainants and witnesses and obtain and control the release of sensitive information

• add the provision of advice or training to agencies to the functions of the Ombudsman

• provide the Ombudsman with power to direct the principal officer of a local government to table a report by the Ombudsman about the local government at a local government meeting

• provide that a person may not be employed as an officer of the Ombudsman if the person does not consent to a criminal history check

• clarify that a corporation may be appointed to undertake strategic reviews of the Queensland Ombudsman, and

• increase the interval between strategic reviews under the Ombudsman Act from five to seven years.10

The amendments to the Ombudsman Act principally implement recommendations resulting from the last strategic review of the Queensland Ombudsman undertaken in 2012.11 1.5 Strategic review of the Queensland Ombudsman

The Ombudsman Act provides that a strategic review of the Office must be conducted at least every seven years and that the review must include a review of the Ombudsman’s functions and the performance of the functions to assess whether they are being performed economically, effectively and efficiently.12 The Ombudsman Act was recently amended, with effect from 5 June 2017, to increase the time period between strategic reviews from five years to seven years.13

As noted above, the most recent strategic review of the Office was completed in 2012.

In regard to the next strategic review, the Attorney-General has consulted with the committee as required under the Ombudsman Act about the appointment of the reviewer and the terms of reference

9 Ombudsman Act 2001, section 89. 10 See Part 20 (Amendment of Ombudsman Act 2001) of the Court and Civil Legislation Amendment Act 2017

(passed by the Legislative Assembly on 23 May 2017), Hansard, Record of Proceedings, 23 May 2017, pp 1300-1314.

11 See the submission from the Queensland Ombudsman to the committee’s inquiry into the Court and Civil Legislation Amendment Bill 2017, submission 5, p 1. See also the committee’s Report on the Strategic Review of the Queensland Ombudsman, Report No. 15, November 2012.

12 Ombudsman Act, sections 83(2) and (9). 13 See section 83(3) of the Ombudsman Act as amended by section 183 of the Court and Civil Legislation

Amendment Act 2017 (passed by the Legislative Assembly on 23 May 2017 with effect from 5 June 1917), Hansard, Record of Proceedings, 23 May 2017, pp 1300-1314.



for the review. These consultation requirements have now been met.



2 Oversight of the Ombudsman 2.1 The committee’s process

In conducting its oversight functions of the Ombudsman, the committee adopted the following process:

• Provided questions on notice to the Ombudsman

• Published response to questions on notice

• Held a public meeting with the Ombudsman

• Examined the annual report, and

• Tabled its oversight report in the parliament

The committee provided questions on notice to the Ombudsman on 16 February 2017. The responses, received on 13 March 2017, are published on the committee’s webpage.

The committee held a public meeting on 10 May 2017, with the Queensland Ombudsman, Mr Phil Clarke, and the following officers:

• Mr Andrew Brown, Deputy Ombudsman

• Ms Diane Gunton, Director, Corporate Services Unit, and

• Ms Louise Rosemann, Acting Principal Advisor, Public Interest Disclosures. A copy of the transcript of the meeting is also available on the committee’s website.

2.2 Oversight meeting with the Ombudsman

In his opening statement, the Ombudsman focused on the following:

• the apparent contradiction between the continued reduction in the number of contacts with the Office over the last few years and the need for additional resources for the Office

• the reduction in 2016 in the demand for the training program provided by the Office, and

• the completion of the review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PID Act).14

In relation to the first point, the Ombudsman commented:

Over the past six years Ombudsman officers and managers have worked very hard to improve our administrative practices in the office to streamline the handling of all contacts, but particularly out of jurisdiction matters, to try to deal with those matters as expeditiously as possible. At the same time, the number of investigations, particularly complaint investigations, completed has grown steadily over that period of time. The relativity between those two changes is important to understanding the apparent contradiction between the reducing numbers and a call for additional resources.15

In the context of the recent reduced demand for training, the Ombudsman noted:

Training delivery is a significant component of what the office does in trying to work with agency officers to improve their capacity to both manage complaints and deal with and make administrative decisions. In 2016-17 there has been a very significant drop in the demand for training programs in the office. At the end of March 2017 there had been 56 training programs delivered to 825 public officers across both agency specific programs and open programs. This compared to 91 training programs to 1,718 public officers to March 2016—so the comparable period in the previous year. That is a 52 per cent drop in the number of agency officers participating. This change has mostly been reflected in dropping demand for agency specific courses. Open training programs—that is,

14 Public meeting transcript, Brisbane, 10 May 2017, p 1. 15 Public meeting transcript, Brisbane, 10 May 2017, pp 1-2.



programs where we designed them so that the maximum number of agencies, including small agencies, can participate—is generally holding up. Demand for training has improved markedly in the past couple of months.16

In relation to the Ombudsman’s review of the PID Act, the Ombudsman noted that it was a statutory requirement that a legislative review commence within five years of the commencement of the PID Act. On 17 January 2017, the Ombudsman provided a report on the PID Act to the Attorney-General and the Speaker of the House which included 40 recommendations. This report was subsequently tabled by the Attorney-General in the House on 27 February 2017.17

Questions from the committee during the public meeting focused on:

• the interaction between the Office with other integrity agencies like the Auditor-General’s office and the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission

• the reports that the Ombudsman is planning to table in Parliament in the near future

• the possibility of measuring the time taken for each investigation in hours rather than days

• additional details concerning the Ombudsman’s budget bid to the government

• additional background about the decrease in state revenue complaints and the link with complaints involving the State Penalties Enforcement Registry and toll companies

• review of the PID Act and the Ombudsman’s recommendations

• progress in implementation of the recommendations of the Ombudsman’s Lakeside Noise Report: an investigation of action taken by Moreton Bay Regional Council to regulate noise emissions from Lakeside Motor Racing Circuit, and

• practical outcomes from the Ombudsman’s investigation into the current child safety complaints management processes within the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services which was tabled in July 2016.18

16 Public meeting transcript, Brisbane, 10 May 2017, p 2. 17 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 17 May 2017, response to questions on notice from the public meeting on 10 May 2017, p 5. 18 Public meeting transcript, Brisbane, 10 May 2017, pp 3-8.



3 Review of Annual Report 2015-2016 3.1 Highlights

The Queensland Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2015-16 (Annual Report) was tabled on 30 September 2016. The Annual Report noted that the work of the Office over the past year has been ‘substantial and influential’.19 It also noted:

The Office played a vital role helping thousands of Queenslanders achieve fairness in their dealings with the public sector. Also, the Office continued to work with public sector agencies to improve decision-making and enhance complaint management processes.

It is this dual purpose and independence from executive government that makes the Office a powerful contributor to positive change in the public sector. 20

The following areas were highlighted in the Annual Report as key objectives of the Office:

• the fair and reasonable treatment of complaints

• helping public agencies improve decision-making

• empowering people within the community

• being a capable and accountable organisation

• oversight of PIDs, and

• identifying opportunities for the future. 3.2 Annual Report summary

Overview The Annual Report advised on the Ombudsman’s performance in relation to objectives, strategies and performance indicators against the objectives set out in the Queensland Ombudsman’s 2015-19 Strategic Plan. In the Annual Report, the Office reported:

• it helped Queenslanders in their dealings with the public sector and continued to work with public sector agencies to improve decision-making and enhance complaint management processes

• it dealt with 11,294 contacts and finalised 6,919 complaints with 67% being finalised within 10 days of receipt and 94% being finalised within 30 days

• investigations took an average of 48.1 days to finalise, compared to 53.36 days in 2014-15

• as at 30 June 2016, 262 complaints remained open; 66% were matters received within the last 30 days of the financial year and just three complaints were more than 270 days old

• it completed 1,118 investigations with 209 resulting in the total or partial rectification of an issue

• it made 329 investigation recommendations, of which 99% were accepted by the agencies

• it completed two major investigations

• demand for training increased by 5.2% with 162 training sessions being delivered to 2,616 public sector officers and 60 sessions were delivered in regional Queensland

• a new recorded telephone message and referral service for people contacting the Office resulted in a decline by 31% in the number of out of jurisdiction matters (3,651 out of jurisdiction complaints,

19 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 7. 20 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 7.



down from 5,320 in 2014-15)21

• officers visited 25 regional centres, as part of the Regional Services Program which is designed to improve awareness of the Office and access to its services for communities in regional and remote areas

• the number of PIDs across all agencies increased by 9% in 2015-16

• of the 585 PIDs reported to the Office, 88% were about corrupt conduct

• State government departments were the main source of PIDs (59%), followed by statutory authorities (21%) and local councils (14%), and

• it commenced a review of the PID Act.22

In his letter of 13 March 2017 responding to questions on notice, the Ombudsman provided additional complaint statistics for the period from 1 July to 31 December 2016. The Ombudsman advised of the following increases when compared with the same period during the previous year (being from 1 July to 31 December 2015):

• an increase of 32.5% in the number of investigations (from 567 to 751)23

• an increase of 26.9% in the number of investigations resulting in an agency rectification action (from 108 to 137),24 and

• an increase of 31.6% in the number of recommendations for improvements in public administration (from 136 to 179).25

Dealing with complaints

In relation to the Ombudsman’s objective to provide fair and reasonable treatment of people’s complaints, the Annual Report advised that:

• it took an average of six days to complete assessments (exceeding the target of 10 days)

• 92% of investigations were completed within target timeframes (exceeding the target of 90%)

• 100% of complaints were finalised within twelve months of lodgement (exceeding the target of 99%)

• there was a 99% clearance rate for complaints

• 67% of clients were either satisfied or very satisfied with the level of service provided (below the target of 80%), and

• 80% of complaints reviewed resulted in the original decision being upheld (meeting target of 80%).26

The Annual Report advised that 11,294 individuals contacted the Office, of which 71% were about state government agencies, including departments and statutory authorities (4,987), 24% were about local councils (1,687), 5% were about public universities (326) and three complaints were about other authorities.27

21 For further detail regarding the impact of the new recorded telephone message and referral service implemented in November 2015, see letter dated 13 March 2017 to the committee from the Queensland Ombudsman (response to questions on notice), p 3.

22 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 7-9. 23 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, p 1. 24 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, p 2. 25 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, p 2. 26 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 10. 27 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 18.



Of the 6,919 of the complaints that were finalised:

• 5,757 were finalised after a preliminary assessment (this represented 83% of the total number of complaints finalised and was consistent with 84% in the prior year)

• 68 were withdrawn

• 20 were rectified

• 1,556 were declined with advice

• 4,181 (60%) were deemed to be premature (1,279 were directly referred to the relevant agency and 2,902 complainants were provided with referral advice), and

• 1,094 were referred for investigation.28

Furthermore, 3,651 matters referred were outside jurisdiction, 569 general enquiries were received together with 59 requests for a review of an Ombudsman decision. Additionally:

• seven PIDs were identified, together with five newly registered cases.

• the Office continued to identify complaints that were previously received (a ‘continuing complaint’); 547 continuing complaints were identified, being 7.9% of complaints finalised

• people contacted the Office in the following ways: 60% by telephone, 26% on-line, 7% in writing, 5% by Prisoner PhoneLink and 2% in person, and

• an external research agency conducted a telephone survey of clients with recently finalised complaints. It determined that 58% of clients were satisfied with the service provided (an increase from 49% in the previous survey, but less than the target of 80%).29

Improving decision-making

In relation to the Ombudsman’s objective that public sector agencies improve decision-making and complaints management:

• 19% of investigations resulted in public agency rectification actions (exceeding the target of 10%)

• 99% of recommendations were accepted and agreed by agencies (exceeding the target of 90%)

• 95.4% of training participants reported that training would assist their decision-making (exceeding the target of 80%)

• there were 2,616 training participants (exceeding the target of 2,500), and

• there was a 10% growth in subscriptions to Ombudsman publications (exceeding the target of 5%).

The Annual Report advised that 1,118 investigations were finalised from 972 separate cases, which is similar to the previous year. The 1,118 investigations comprised:

• 1,094 complaints (steady from the previous year)

• 17 matters that were the subject of own initiative investigations (down from 31 matters in the previous year), and

• seven matters that were identified as PIDs (down from 15 matters in the previous year).

Of the 1,118 investigations: 14 were withdrawn, 209 were rectified, 616 were found to have no error, 279 did not warrant further investigation, and 40 were directly referred to the relevant agency. Further:

• the Ombudsman finalised 579 investigations into the administrative actions of state agencies, a decrease of 6% compared to the 615 investigations finalised in the previous year

28 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 28-29. 29 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 13-30.



• the Office finalised 376 investigations about the administrative actions of local councils, an increase of 10% compared to the 342 investigations finalised in the previous year, and

• the Office finalised 163 investigations about the administrative actions of public universities, an increase of 1% compared to the 162 investigations finalised in the previous year.

The timeliness of finalising investigations improved to an average of 48.1 days, down from 53.4 days in 2014-15.

The Office made 329 investigative recommendations and directly referred 1,319 complaints to an agency, local council or university. 1,279 complaints were received during preliminary assessment and a further 40 were referred during an investigation. This was a significant increase on the 763 complaints directly referred in 2015.

As part of its administrative improvement role, the Office undertakes reviews to improve the complaint management systems of public agencies. During 2015-16, 20 state departments and 10 local councils were reviewed. As part of this process, the Office undertook desktop reviews of each department’s compliance, finding that 11 departments fully or substantially complied with the reporting requirements and nine departments failed to comply.

The Office responded to 49 administrative improvement advice requests from agencies (13 advice requests from eight local councils and 36 advice requests from 19 state agencies). It produced a range of resources including newsletters, advisories and guides to support training programs, and to assist government agencies and the community. It also provided training programs for state agencies, local councils and public universities to improve public administration, including Complaints Management Training. The demand for training sessions increased from 154 training sessions in 2014-15, to 162 in 2015-16. Those sessions were provided to 2,616 public sector officers, including 60 sessions were held in regional Queensland.30

Empowering people

In relation to the Ombudsman’s objective that individuals be empowered to resolve complaints with public sector agencies, the Annual Report advised that:

• there was a 5% reduction in premature or out of jurisdiction matters (meeting the target of 5%), and

• 31% of premature complaints were directed to the relevant agency (exceeding the target of 20%).

The Ombudsman helps ensure that public agencies act fairly when making administrative decisions. As its services need to be accessible to the whole community, the Office undertook efforts to increase access to complaint agencies:

• by Indigenous communities in regional and remote areas

• by young people

• in regional centres

• by the homeless community

• by multicultural communities

• by prisoners in correctional centres, and

• by people with disabilities.31

30 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 31-48. 31 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 49-54.



Capability and accountability

In relation to the Ombudsman’s objective that the Office be a capable and accountable organisation, the Annual Report advised that:

• 66% of employees were women, 9% had a disability and 16% were from a non-English speaking background

• permanent staff separation was reported at 17% (exceeding the target of less than 7.5%), and

• 2.8% of the salary budget was directed to staff training and development expenditure.32

Public interest disclosure

The PID Act encourages disclosure in the public interest of information about wrongdoing in the public sector. The Office is the oversight agency for the PID Act. A total of 585 PIDs were reported, which is an increase of 9% from the previous year. Most PIDs were about corrupt conduct (87.9%) and employees of entities make the most PIDs (88.3% of all PIDs). State government departments continue to be the main source of PIDs (58.8% of all PIDs made) and 51% of all PIDs are reported in the Brisbane area.

As noted above, it is a legislative requirement that the Ombudsman commence a legislative review within five years of the commencement of the PID Act. On 17 January 2017, the Ombudsman provided its report which included 40 recommendations on the PID Act to the Attorney-General and the Speaker of the House. It was then tabled by the Attorney-General in the House on 27 February 2017.

Financials

The Annual Report advised that the Office ended the 2015-16 financial year in a secure financial position with adequate reserves and forecast income to fulfil its responsibilities.33

In relation to the 2016-17 financial year, the Ombudsman has foreshadowed both in his response to questions on notice and during the public meeting with the committee that training revenue will be ‘significantly below expectations’.34

In relation to the 2017-18 financial year, the Office is anticipating future financial pressures through:

• office accommodation rental increases

• no escalation historically in the state budget for non-salary costs, and

• employee expenses at the approved, full-time equivalent (FTE) establishment, particularly positions remunerated at comparable public service pay levels.35

In this regard, the Ombudsman notes:

The Office has a high level of non-discretionary corporate costs, particularly rental.

A review of forward estimates indicates that the Office will be unable to employ its full 63 FTE officers, remunerated at levels aligned with the broader public sector. Maintaining total expenditure within the approved forward estimates is expected to undermine the Office's capability:

• to maintain Office expertise within its staffing resources

• to provide complaint management services within performance targets

32 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, pp 55-64. 33 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 72. 34 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, response to questions on notice, p 12. See

also the public meeting transcript, 10 May 2017, p 2. 35 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, response to questions on notice, p 12.



• to comply with financial and regulatory reporting and control standards.36

In relation to the Ombudsman’s budget submission for the 2017-18 financial year, the Ombudsman commented in correspondence to the committee:

A budget submission has been made for the 2017-18 financial year seeking additional funding for employee expenses, agency staff and project costs. The submission also includes a request for additional capital funding to maintain the office systems and equipment which are critical for Office operations, some of which have been deferred due to a lack of project management resources.37

Public reports on major investigations

During the financial year 2015-16, the Queensland Ombudsman released two public reports on the following major investigations:

• The Lakeside Noise Report: An investigation of action taken by Moreton Bay Regional Council to regulate noise emissions from Lakeside Motor Racing Circuit (released on 9 November 2015) (Lakeside Noise Report). The committee was advised that in relation to the Lakeside Noise Report, the Moreton Bay Regional Council accepted the five recommendations made in the report.38

• The Workplace Death Investigations Report: An investigation into the quality of workplace death investigations conducted by the Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland (tabled 18 November 2015). This investigation reviewed workplace death investigations undertaken by the Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland (OFSWQ). The investigation found the OFSWQ was deficient in planning investigations, identifying issues and gathering evidence, and providing legal advice to support prosecution decisions. The Ombudsman made 15 recommendations in this report.39

Committee comment

The committee appreciates the assistance and information provided by the Ombudsman and his staff to the committee in its oversight role.

The committee acknowledges the hard work undertaken by the Ombudsman and his staff to achieve the strong outcomes despite the increasing workloads and budgetary considerations. Given the workload and often complex cases that come before the Office, the committee notes that the Office has been continuously improving procedures and practices involved in assessing and investigating complaints. It is also worth noting the efforts made by the Office in continuing to develop its administrative improvement role by providing training and advice to help agencies improve their decision-making and administrative practices.

The committee notes the budget submission made by the Office for the 2017-18 financial year.

36 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, response to questions on notice, p 12. 37 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 13 March 2017, response to questions on notice, p 12. 38 Queensland Ombudsman, correspondence dated 17 May 2017, response to questions on notice from the

public meeting on 10 May 2017, pp 2-3. 39 Queensland Ombudsman, Annual Report 2015-16, p 44.

Recommendation 1

The committee recommends the House notes the contents of this report.


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