Victorian Ombudsman

The Victorian Ombudsman investigates complaints about the administrative actions and decisions taken by Government of Victoria departments and agencies, and local government. Its services are independent, impartial and free. The current Victorian Ombudsman is Deborah Glass. The Victorian Ombudsman’s purpose is to ensure fairness for Victorians in their dealings with the public sector, and to improve public administration. The office of the Ombudsman operates under several different pieces of legislation, the most relevant of these being the Ombudsman Act 1973 . The Victorian Ombudsman is an independent officer of the Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne.

History

The office of the Victorian Ombudsman was established on 30 October 1973, after years of consideration by government. The Victorian Ombudsman was the third Ombudsman office in Australia, following the appointment of an Ombudsman in Western Australia (1971) and in South Australia (1972). Since its inception, the Victorian Ombudsman's office has witnessed and influenced some major changes in the delivery of government services in Victoria (Australia) and in the Victorian public sector. It has drawn the government's attention to significant issues of concern and helped to improve broader public administration by resolving complaints from members of the public.

The position of Victorian Ombudsman has been held by:

• John Vincent Dillon, 1973 - 1980
• Charles Norman Geschke, 1980 – 1995
• Dr Barry Perry, 1995 – 2004
• George Brouwer, 2004 – 2014
• Deborah Glass, 2014 – present

Function

The Victorian Ombudsman has jurisdiction over more than 1,000 Victorian public bodies, including government departments, statutory authorities, professional boards, councils, universities and government schools, prisons, and authorised officers on public transport. In addition, the Victorian Ombudsman can investigate private organisations who have been contracted to perform functions for government agencies. By looking at public administration through the lens of human rights, the Victorian Ombudsman investigates and encourages a culture of human rights compliance across the public sector.

The Victorian Ombudsman’s role is to:

Ensure Fairness

• Independently and impartially resolve complaints
• Encourage fair and reasonable decision making within the public sector

Enhance Accountability

• Independently investigate serious matters
• Report on misconduct and poor administration

Support Continuous Improvement

• Assist agencies to learn from complaints and investigations
• Investigate systemic issues and identify solutions

Protect Human Rights

• Investigate whether an action or decision is incompatible with human rights
• Make it easier for vulnerable people to complain

Publications

As well as resolving complaints, the Victorian Ombudsman tables investigations in the Victorian Parliament. Some of the key investigations since Ombudsman Deborah Glass's appointment include:

• Investigation into Department of Health oversight of Mentone Gardens, a Supported Residential Service (April 2015)
• Investigation into the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Victoria (September 2015)
• Investigation into public transport fare evasion enforcement (May 2016)
• Investigation into the management of complex workers compensation claims and WorkSafe oversight (September 2016)
• Investigation into the transparency of local government decision making (December 2016)
• Investigation into the management of maintenance claims against public housing tenants (October 2017)
• Implementing OPCAT in Victoria: report and inspection of the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (November 2017)
• Investigation into the financial support provided to kinship carers (December 2017)
• Investigation of a matter referred from the Legislative Council on 25 November 2015 (March 2018)
• Investigation into child sex offender Robert Whitehead’s involvement with Puffing Billy and other railway bodies (June 2018)

External Links

• Victorian Ombudsman - Official Website
• Victorian Ombudsman Annual Reports
• About the Victorian Ombudsman
• Powers of the Ombudsman
• Victorian Ombudsman - Legislation We Work Under
• Victorian Ombudsman - What We do
• Ombudsman Act 1973
• Victorian Ombudsman - Facebook
• Victorian Ombudsman - Twitter
• Victorian Ombudsman - LinkedIn

References

This article "Victorian Ombudsman" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Victorian Ombudsman. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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