Our Team

The Western Australian Ombudsman has a team of approximately 48 staff who provide a responsive, efficient and effective service to our clients, treating them professionally, courteously and with appropriate sensitivity.

The Corporate Executive is comprised of:

  • Chris Field, Ombudsman - Read about the Ombudsman
  • Peter Wilkins, Deputy Ombudsman
  • Andrew Harvey, Assistant Ombudsman, Complaints Resolution
  • Kim Lazenby, Assistant Ombudsman, Administrative Improvements
  • Mary White, Assistant Ombudsman, Strategic Services
  • Julie Roberts, Assistant Ombudsman, Child Death Reviews

The Ombudsman’s office has four key business areas: 

  • The Executive Team, who oversee the operations of the office including the Energy Ombudsman function.
  • The Complaint Resolution Team, who handle enquiries and complaints. This includes three components:
    - the Access and Resolution Team which is responsible for the inital assessment of complaints, resolution of more straight forward cases and the office's telephone enquiry service;
    - the Investigation and Resolution Team which deals with the more complex cases. The team also has responsibility for monitoring compliance by the Corruption and Crime Commission and Western Australia Police with telecommunications intercept legislation; and
    - the Energy Team who investigate complaints made to the Energy Ombudsman.
  • The Administrative Improvement Team has responsibility for a broad range of strategies aimed at improving administrative practice across the public sector.  This team also contributes to the continuous improvement of public administration through monitoring trends and issues and identifying and investigating concerns about public administration affecting the broader community. 
  • The Strategic and Corporate Services Team supports the office in strengthening its strategic focus and governance and responding in a timely and effective way to emerging issues of significant concern. This team includes two components:
    - the Strategic and Communications Services Team who deal with Research and Projects and Communications; and
    - the Business Services Team who deal with Finance and Procurement, Human Resources, Information Technology, Records Management and Reception. As well as undertaking strategic planning projects, it enhances the office’s capacity to communicate effectively with public authorities and the public and to play a leading role in promoting integrity across the sector. It also provides corporate governance and business services to the office.