Chapter Contents

Last updated 24 September 2019. This chapter is under review.

click to download a pdf of this chapterComplaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman
Complaints to the Queensland Ombudsman

The ombudsman’s function is to receive and investigate complaints about the administrative actions of agencies. An administrative action is any action about a matter of administration and includes a decision, an act and an omission or failure to act. The ombudsman has the power to investigate complaints for which no other remedy is available.

Any type of complaint can be made to the ombudsman, whether it concerns the legality of an administrative action, a decision or its merits. The ombudsman cannot investigate certain administrative actions and has the discretion to refuse to investigate in other circumstances.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is created by the Ombudsman Act 1976 (Cth) and the Queensland Ombudsman is created by the Ombudsman Act 2001 (Qld).