Peak body seeks a halt to misuse of the term Ombudsman

The Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association (ANZOA) — the peak body for Ombudsman in Australia and New Zealand — is calling for stronger controls of the use of the term Ombudsman.

ANZOA is supporting its call with a policy statement, setting out six essential criteria — addressing independence, jurisdiction, powers, accessibility, procedural fairness and accountability — which it says the public are entitled to expect of any office described as an Ombudsman.

In releasing ANZOA's Essential Criteria policy statement, ANZOA Chair, Fiona McLeod, said, "Where problems arise in an industry or an area of government services, the call for an 'ombudsman' commonly follows. In itself, this is not a problem — indeed it is a testament to the high level of public respect for the independence, integrity and impartiality of Ombudsman offices.

"ANZOA's concerns lie with the increasing inappropriate use of the term 'ombudsman' to describe bodies that do not conform to — or show an understanding of — the accepted Ombudsman model and its 200 year history.

"The term Ombudsman is understood by the public as signifying an independent office, which primarily has a complaint handling and investigation function.

"Using the term 'ombudsman' to describe an office with regulatory, disciplinary and/or prosecutorial functions confuses the role of Ombudsman with that of a regulatory body. This criticism applies to Fair Work 'ombudsman', the recently proposed Supermarket 'ombudsman', and the proposed National Legal Services 'ombudsman', announced last week, which applies the term Ombudsman to a broad range of functions that have, until now, been performed by State legal service commissioners.

"The concept of Ombudsman is being stretched and the confidence of the Australian public in the role and independence of the Ombudsman institution is at risk of being undermined and diminished.

"An 'ombudsman' office under the direction or control of an industry or a government minister is not independent. An office set up within a company or government agency is an 'internal ombudsman' is not independent.

"In New Zealand, the term Ombudsman is protected by legislation. This is not the case in Australia.

"No Australian organisation should misuse the term. We urge anyone considering an 'ombudsman' proposal — Commonwealth, State or Local Government, Regulator, Industry, University or other Non Government boy — to consult with ANZOA early in the process, to ensure the proposed office meets the necessary criteria for use of the term."

ANZOA Policy Statement setting out Essential Criteria for describing a body as an Ombudsman and media release.