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42 Resources Show all

  • Chief Ombudsman's Annual Report 2022/2023

    Annual reports
    This year I have intensified my efforts to reach out to diverse communities around New Zealand. I have also continued my work to help lift good practices across government. This balance between the public and government is an important part of my independent role as an Officer of Parliament, and the need for me to reach out to both has become even more evident in current times.

  • Kia Whaitake | Making a Difference: Investigation into Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections

    Systemic investigations
    Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier released Kia Whaitake | Making a Difference following his self-initiated investigation into how Ara Poutama Aotearoa | the Department of Corrections has responded to repeated calls for improvements in the way prisoners are treated.

  • Chief Ombudsman's Annual Report 2021/2022

    Annual reports
    Watch the introduction in New Zealand Sign Language

  • Inaugural Pūhara Mana Tangata report for 2020/2021

    Annual reports
    The Chief Ombudsman’s Māori panel – Pūhara Mana Tangata – has published a report of its first two years in operation.

  • Annual Report 2020/2021

    Annual reports
    The global COVID-19 pandemic has continued to dominate our lives in the past year, creating new challenges for us all.

  • Oversight: An investigation into the Ministry of Health’s stewardship of hospital-level secure services for people with an intellectual disability

    Systemic investigations
    Executive summary In late 2018, I became increasingly concerned about a continuing shortage of specialised hospital accommodation for people with an intellectual disability requiring secure care and rehabilitation, and about the conditions in

  • Annual Report 2019/20

    Annual reports
    COVID-19. The pandemic which swept the world in 2020 is undoubtedly the defining event of the past year. It has further defined the role of Ombudsman.

  • He Take Kōhukihuki | A Matter of Urgency

    Systemic investigations
    Executive summary My investigation The role of Oranga Tamariki—the Ministry for Children (the Ministry) is to promote the wellbeing of tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau.

  • Off the Record: An investigation into the Ministry of Health’s collection, use, and reporting of information about the deaths of people with intellectual disabilities

    Systemic investigations
    Executive summary The investigation New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities have overall poorer health outcomes compared to people without intellectual disabilities, despite higher than average use of health services.

  • Annual Report 2018/2019

    Annual reports
    It was a busy year. A very busy year. Using almost all measures, the level of our work increased, yet our results were, overall, very pleasing.

  • Annual Report 2017/2018

    Annual reports
    In the past year, we have made some excellent progress in key areas, none more so than by clearing our backlog of complaints, a bugbear both for us and the public. We have been quicker and more efficient in resolving complaints, but with no reduction in the quality or efficacy of our work. Specific cases we have dealt with this year are contained in this report, and they showcase the breadth and depth of the work we are tasked to undertake.

  • Annual Report 2016/2017

    Annual reports
    In 2016/17 we achieved 700 remedies for New Zealanders—‘remedy’ being the legal term for a solution to a problem. This is an increase of 20 percent on the previous year, one of many positive figures in this year’s Annual Report. We also had 149 recommendations for improvement in places of detention accepted.

  • Disclosure: An investigation into the Ministry of Education's engagement processes for school closures and mergers

    Systemic investigations

  • Annual Report 2015/2016 - full report

    Annual reports
    We have already begun to make great strides in the 2015/16 reporting year. Despite overall intake once again increasing, we completed 7% more work than last year and finished the year with 11% less work on hand than at the same time last year. Our overall net clearance rate for complaints was 105%, meaning that we closed 178 more complaints than we received, and so started to make significant inroads into our backlog of aged complaints.

  • Annual Report 2015/2016 - at a glance

    Annual reports
    This document shows our Annual Report for 2015/2016 at a glance.

  • Annual Report 2014/2015 - at a glance

    Annual reports
    This document shows our Annual Report for 2014/2015 at a glance.

  • Annual Report 2014/2015 - full report

    Annual reports
    By 2006 it was becoming clear that we could not sustain the business model we were then operating and the late John Belgrave, then Chief Ombudsman, challenged us to reflect on the theme “Where is the Office Going?” So we began what has seemed like a long journey to modernise the Office.

  • Annual Report 2013/2014 - at a glance

    Annual reports
    This document shows our Annual Report for 2013/2014 at a glance.

  • Annual Report 2013/2014 - full report

    Annual reports
    This year we have begun to reap the benefits of the additional resources granted to us by Parliament for the 2013/14 year onwards, which has enabled us to appoint additional staff to progress the amount of work we are receiving.

  • Information fault lines: accessing EQC information in Canterbury

    Systemic investigations
    A joint report of the Chief Ombudsman and the Privacy Commissioner into the Earthquake Commission's handling of information requests in Canterbury.

  • Annual Report 2012/2013 at a glance

    Annual reports
    This document shows our Annual Report for 2012/2013 at a glance.

  • Annual Report 2012/2013 - full report

    Annual reports
    Our anniversary year has been a period of growth and consolidation. We have taken time to reflect on the significant contribution to our development by all those who have held the office of Ombudsman in the past 50 years. We have also managed an unprecedented increase in demand for our services, drawing on both our traditional practice developed over the previous half century and new ways of prioritising and organising our workflows.       

  • Investigation into Ministry of Education's management of OIA requests about proposed school closures

    Systemic investigations
    This is the report on my investigation under section 13(3) of the Ombudsmen Act into aspects of the Ministry of Education’s management of official information requests about the proposed closure of schools in Christchurch.

  • Annual Report 2011/2012 - at a glance

    Annual reports
    This document shows our Annual Report for 2011/2012 at a glance.

  • Annual Report 2011/2012 - full report

    Annual reports
    In many ways, 2011/12 was a watershed year for us. We received and completed the highest ever number of complaints and other contacts concerning state sector agencies. In particular, we managed a significant increase in official information complaints and complaints relating to the Earthquake Commission.

  • Investigation of the Department of Corrections in relation to the provision, access and availability of prisoner health services

    Systemic investigations
    This own motion report, unlike others we have undertaken, did not arise from specific incidents within the prison system, nor from the number of complaints we receive from prisoners.  Our investigation has identified that prisoners have reasonable access to Health Services and generally they receive healthcare equivalent to members of the wider community. However, the service is not without its problems and in the future, it may not be able to meet the healthcare needs of such a diverse population effectively.

  • Annual Report 2010/2011

    Annual reports
    The past year has seen consolidation of our efforts to improve work practices within the Office and improve our service to complainants and agencies. The final tranche of work to complete the restructuring and renewal of the Office will take place early in the 2011/2012 financial year.

  • Investigation of the Department of Corrections in relation to the complaint procedures of Corrections Inmate Employment

    Systemic investigations
    Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) is a branch of the Department of Corrections’ (the Department) Rehabilitation and Re-integration Services group. It operates various industries at the prisons, which afford prisoners employment while they are in prison. Following the receipt of complaints from prisoners employed by CIE, concern was expressed about how CIE was handling prisoners’ complaints. I was uncertain whether this concern was justified. I decided it was appropriate on my own motion to undertake an investigation into the efficiency and effectiveness of the complaint procedures by which prisoners employed by CIE may complain to the Department about CIE and its staff.

  • Complaints arising out of bullying at Hutt Valley High School in December 2007

    Systemic investigations
    This is a report on an investigation into a series of violent incidents that occurred at Hutt Valley High School in December 2007. The incidents attracted considerable media attention and led to wider studies of bullying in schools by the Commissioner for Children and the Human Rights Commission.

  • Annual Report 2009/2010

    Annual reports
    At the close of the 2009/10 reporting year we find ourselves in a similar position to the agencies we oversee: endeavouring to deliver more and better services with the same (or in some cases fewer) resources.

  • Investigation of the Department of Corrections in relation to an incident of self-harm at Christchurch Women’s Prison and the issuing of strip gowns to prisoners at risk of self harm

    Systemic investigations
    In July 2009, in accordance with the Protocol made pursuant to section 160 of the Corrections Act, I received notification from the Department of Corrections of an incident of prisoner self-harm that had occurred in the At-Risk Unit (ARU) of Christchurch Women’s Prison (CHWO).

  • Investigation of the Department of Corrections in relation to an incident of self-harm at New Plymouth Prison and the Department’s disposable safety razor policy

    Systemic investigations
    On 11 May 2009, the Department of Corrections instituted a new national policy on razor blades for prisoners. The purpose of the policy was to reduce the number of incidents involving razor blades. It applied to those prisoners accommodated in High Security, Remand and Youth Units. These prisoners would no longer be allowed to stockpile or keep issue razor blades. The aim of the policy was interpreted as intending to limit the opportunity for self-harm by misuse of razor blades.