Complaints an Ombudsman can investigate
Under the Ombudsmen Act, an Ombudsman is able to investigate complaints about the administrative acts, decisions, recommendations and omissions of central and local government agencies, such as:
- government departments including WINZ, IRD, ACC, CYFS, the Department of Labour, the Ministry of Education and the Department of Corrections (which includes the prison service);
- city, district or regional councils;
- school boards of trustees;
- universities, polytechnics and other tertiary education institutions; and
- district health boards.
A list of the central and local government agencies that are subject to an Ombudsman's jurisdiction, can be found in the First Schedule of the Ombudsmen Act. If you are unsure whether an agency comes under an Ombudsman's jurisdiction, contact us.
Our information sheets provide further detail about the main government agencies that we deal with and the types of complaints we can investigate.