Commonwealth Ombudsman 109-07010000

The Ombudsman’s Office seeks to ensure transparency and fairness in the way people are treated by government departments and agencies. They do this by considering and investigating customer complaints and examining programmes on their own motion. The Ombudsman’s Office aims to resolve investigations impartially, informally and quickly.

The Ombudsman Act 1976 provides the Ombudsman’s Office with wide powers, similar to those of a Royal Commission. The Ombudsman’s Office can request information from agencies, question officers, inspect documents and enter Commonwealth premises.

A person dissatisfied with the actions or decisions of Services Australia may lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman’s Office.

Complaints can be made in person, by telephone, letter, or via the online complaints form on the Ombudsman’s Office’s website.

Before investigating complaints, the Ombudsman’s Office normally expects complainants to have first approached Services Australia to resolve their issue, or seek a review of the decision.

The Review Investigations team is the single point of contact for the Ombudsman’s Office when dealing with Services Australia.

The Review Investigations team manages investigations received from the Ombudsman’s Office and refers these to the most appropriate business area/s to prepare a draft response.

If contacted by the Ombudsman’s Office, transfer them to the Review Investigations team. See the Resources page for a link to the Review Investigations team intranet page which contains further information.