Frequently asked questions
This page is a good place to start if you have any queries about the Office of the Ombudsmen. If you can’t find the information you are looking for, please feel free to telephone us on 0800 802 602.
General questions
- Does making a complaint to an Ombudsman cost anything?
- How long will it take an Ombudsman to investigate my complaint?
- Does an Ombudsman deal individually with each complaint?
- Are the Ombudsmen connected to the Banking and Insurance Ombudsmen?
- How are the Ombudsmen funded?
- How many staff members does the Office of the Ombudsmen have?
- Where does the word "Ombudsman" come from and is it gender-specific?
Complaints about government agencies
- Who can complain to an Ombudsman?
- Who can I complain about?
- What can I complain about?
- Do I have to give my name?
- How do I make a complaint?
- What should I include in my complaint to an Ombudsman?
- What happens to my complaint?
- Can an Ombudsman award compensation?
- Can an Ombudsman provide me with legal advice?
Official information complaints
- What is official information?
- Who can request it?
- How long do official information requests take?
- What can I complain to an Ombudsman about?
- How do I make a complaint?
- What should I include in my complaint?
- What happens to my complaint?
- I want to obtain personal information about myself - should I contact an Ombudsman or the Privacy Commissioner?
General questions
No, the Ombudsmen’s services are provided free of charge.
Some complaints may be resolved within the space of a couple of days through informal enquiries with the agency concerned. Other complaints may be more complex and take longer to resolve. For the year ended 30 June 2006, it took:
- an average of 50 working days to resolve complaints about central and local government agencies under the Ombudsmen Act;
- an average of 84 working days to resolve complaints made under the Official Information Act; and
- an average of 62 working days to resolve complaints made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
During the year to 30 June 2006, we received 9,708 complaints or requests for guidance and assistance. We generally have approximately 900 or so cases open at any given time.
The Ombudsmen have a number of investigating officers who assist with the investigation of complaints. However, an Ombudsman considers and signs most of the correspondence to complainants and agencies and all provisional or final views on particular complaints.
In New Zealand, the banking and insurance industries have adopted an Ombudsman complaints process. However, the Banking Ombudsman and the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman are stand-along organisations. Although the Banking Ombudsman and Insurance and Savings Ombudsman may use similar investigation techniques, they have no formal connection to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
In order to use the term “Ombudsman”, it is necessary to satisfy a number of criteria and obtain the permission of the Chief Ombudsman before using the title.
Ombudsmen are appointed by Parliament and are independent Officers of Parliament (as is the Auditor-General and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment). Each year, Parliament itself votes money for the operation of each Officer of Parliament, including the Ombudsmen. This is done on a separate basis to the funding that the government of the day seeks for the operation of individual government ministries and departments. The cost of running the Office of the Ombudsmen for the year ended 30 June 2006 was $5.511 million.
As at 30 June 2006, the Office of the Ombudsmen had 49 staff (46.8 full time equivalents), excluding the Ombudsmen. Some staff assist with administrative matters but most staff are investigating officers who assist the Ombudsmen with their investigations. Investigating officers have backgrounds in a number of areas, including government administration, law, education, taxation and local government.
The term ‘Ombudsman’ is taken directly from the Swedish language, the former in Norse being ‘umbodhsmadr’, which means ‘grievance person’. As such, the word is gender-neutral – a woman, Ms Beverley Wakem, is one of the present Ombudsmen.
Complaints about government agencies
Anyone can complain to an Ombudsman, whether it be an individual member of the public, a group of people or a company. If you don't want to make the complaint yourself, you can ask anyone - a friend, relative, solicitor, MP, or anyone else - to make the complaint on your behalf.
If you think you have been treated unfairly by a central or local government agency, an Ombudsman may be able to assist you. Under the Ombudsmen Act, an Ombudsman can investigate complaints about the actions and decisions of central and local government agencies. We receive complaints against:
- government departments, such as ACC, WINZ, CYFS, the Ministry of Education and the Department of Labour;
- city, district or regional councils;
- school Boards of Trustees;
- polytechnics, universities and other tertiary education institutions;
- district health boards;
- prisons; and
- many other statutory bodies subject to the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction.
If you are unsure whether an agency falls within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, you should telephone us on 0800 802 602.
An Ombudsman can investigate the administrative acts, decisions, omissions or recommendations of central and local government agencies.
You can complain to an Ombudsman if you believe any administrative act, decision, omission or recommendation was illegal, unreasonable, unjust, oppressive, improperly discriminatory, based on a mistake or fact or law or was wrong.
No, but an Ombudsman is unlikely to be able to investigate your complaint unless you are prepared to disclose your name.
You may wish to start by telephoning us for advice on 0800 802 602. Alternatively, you can lodge your complaint by letter, email, fax, phone or by using our online complaint forms. Further information is available under "how to lodge your complaint".
If you have any difficulty in writing your complaint, telephone us for advice or assistance.
It is important that you briefly explain your concerns in your own words. Your complaint should contain enough information to allow an Ombudsman to assess the circumstances and decide how best to assist you. Point clearly to the act or decision that you want an Ombudsman to investigate. Provide as much relevant documentation as possible, including copies or letters or documents that show you have already attempted to resolve the complaint with the agency concerned. Describe what outcome you are looking for.
Your complaint will be acknowledged promptly.
An Ombudsman will decide whether or not it can be investigated. If your complaint cannot be investigated, we will tell you why and may direct you to other review agencies that may be able to assist.
If your complaint can be investigated, an Ombudsman will seek information from the agency concerned about the subject matter of your complaint.
We will keep you informed throughout the investigation.
As the end of the investigation, an Ombudsman will form a preliminary view on whether the agency has acted unreasonably or unfairly.
If an Ombudsman decides that your complaint can’t be upheld, you will have an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.
If an Ombudsman decides that your complaint is justified, the agency will be advised of the view and provided with an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made. Where a complaint is found to be justified, an Ombudsman may recommend that the agency take action to remedy the complaint.
Although an Ombudsman has no power to compel an agency to accept a recommendation, most recommendations are accepted.
Many complaints are resolved without the need for a recommendation. In some cases, we may be able to satisfactorily resolve your complaint through telephone enquiries with the agency concerned. If it appears that we can resolve your complaint in this way, we will not usually conduct, or continue with, a formal investigation.
An Ombudsman will decide whether or not it can be investigated. If your complaint cannot be investigated, we will tell you why and may direct you to other review agencies that may be able to assist.
If your complaint can be investigated, an Ombudsman will seek information from the agency concerned about the subject matter of your complaint.
We will keep you informed throughout the investigation.
As the end of the investigation, an Ombudsman will form a preliminary view on whether the agency has acted unreasonably or unfairly.
If an Ombudsman decides that your complaint can’t be upheld, you will have an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.
If an Ombudsman decides that your complaint is justified, the agency will be advised of the view and provided with an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made. Where a complaint is found to be justified, an Ombudsman may recommend that the agency take action to remedy the complaint.
Although an Ombudsman has no power to compel an agency to accept a recommendation, most recommendations are accepted.
Many complaints are resolved without the need for a recommendation. In some cases, we may be able to satisfactorily resolve your complaint through telephone enquiries with the agency concerned. If it appears that we can resolve your complaint in this way, we will not usually conduct, or continue with, a formal investigation.
No, an Ombudsman does not award compensation. If an Ombudsman decides that your complaint is justified, an Ombudsman may recommend that the agency concerned take some action to remedy the complaint. This may include recommending that the agency offer you an ex-gratia payment in recognition of any loss or inconvenience you may have suffered. An Ombudsman has no power to compel an agency to accept a recommendation. However, most recommendations are usually accepted by agencies. If a recommendation is not accepted, an Ombudsman may decide to report the matter to Parliament.
No, an Ombudsman is not able to provide you with legal advice. If you require legal advice, you may wish to contact a solicitor or your local community law centre (www.communitylaw.org.nz).
An Ombudsman is an independent investigator and therefore also does not act as your advocate.
Official information complaints
Official information means any information held by:
- government Ministers in their official capacity (information which is held by Ministers in a private capacity or in their capacity as members of a political party is not "official information");
- government departments, organisations and state owned enterprises;
- the Police;
- city, district or regional councils;
- school boards of trustees, universities, polytechnics and other tertiary education institutions;
- public health authorities, such as district health boards; and
- any other agency subject to the Official Information Act or the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
For further information, go to "What is official information?"
Who can request official information?
The following people and organisations can request official information under the Official Information Act:
- New Zealand citizens and permanent residents;
- people who are in New Zealand; and
- companies or body corporates that are either incorporated in New Zealand or have a place of business in New Zealand.
These requirements do not apply to requests made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. Under that Act, "any person" is entitled to request official information held by a local government agency. "Person" is defined in section 2(1) of that Act as including "a corporation sole, and also a body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate."
How long do official information requests take?
An agency must respond to a request "as soon as reasonably practicable", and in any case not later than 20 working days after having received the request. See the OIA and LGOIMA Response Calculator to see when a response must be sent.
Under section 15A of the OIA (section 14 of the LGOIMA), an agency may extend the time period for responding to a request if:
- the request is for a large quantity of information or requires a search through a large quantity of information, and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the agency; or
- consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.
An agency can only extend the time limit once. If an agency intends to extend the time limit, it must notify you of the extension within 20 working days of receiving your request. If you are unhappy with the decision of an agency to extend the time limit for responding to your request, you can complain to an Ombudsman about that extension.
If you do not receive a response to your request within 20 working days, or by any extended time limit set by the agency, your request is deemed to have been refused and you may complain to an Ombudsman about that refusal.
For more information about making official information requests, go to "How to make an official information request".
If you are unhappy with the response to your request, or you have not received a response, you can complain to an Ombudsman.
An Ombudsman can investigate:
- decisions to withhold information or to delete information from documents released to you;
- delays or extensions to the time limits for responding to requests;
- charges for supplying information;
- the manner in which information has been made available;
- release of information subject to conditions;
- the response to a request for a statement of reasons for a decision affecting the requester; and
- the response to a request for documents setting out the rules or guidelines by which a decision has been made;
- the response to a request by a body corporate for information about itself.
You can lodge your complaint by letter, fax, email, phone or by using our on-line complaint forms. For further information, go to "how to lodge your complaint".
When making your complaint, it would be helpful if you could provide:
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a copy of your letter of request or details of your verbal request; and
-
a copy of the agency's reply to your request.
If you have not received a reply to your request, provide details of when and where you made it.
An Ombudsman will give your complaint careful and impartial consideration and decide whether your request for information has been dealt with properly.
Where a complaint is found to be justified, an Ombudsman may recommend that the agency concerned take certain action to remedy your complaint (such as to release some, or all, of the information at issue or to reduce, or waive, any charge for the supply of the information).
If an Ombudsman forms the view that information should not be withheld, it is not the Ombudsman who releases the information. In such cases, the Ombudsman recommends that the agency concerned release the information.
An Ombudsman’s recommendation becomes binding on the agency 21 working days after it has been made, unless:
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in the case of central government agencies, the Governor-General, by Order in Council, decides otherwise; or
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in the case of local government agencies, a resolution directing otherwise is made at a meeting of that agency.
In some cases, the agency concerned may decide to release the information at issue during the course of an Ombudsman’s investigation. If this happens, the investigation may be discontinued on the basis that your complaint has been resolved.
I want to obtain personal information about myself - should I contact an Ombudsmen or the Privacy Commissioner?
Unless, you are a company or other incorporated body, a request for personal information about yourself is covered by the Privacy Act. Enquiries about such requests should be made to the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.org.nz/home.php).
Enquiries about any other requests should be made to the Ombudsmen.