Ombudsman Western Australia

Helping Public Authorities

The Ombudsman is committed to helping Western Australian public authorities to:

• Improve the quality of their decision making and administrative practices;
• Provide high standards in handling complaints made to their organisation; and
• Respond effectively to complaints made to the Ombudsman.

This section of the website offers guidance for agencies as to how these responsibilities can be met.

Complaints management guidelines

The Ombudsman has developed Complaints Management Guidelines to promote effective complaints management across the sector.

The Ombudsman has a suite of guidelines to assist public authorities to develop effective internal complaints processes and to manage complaints that they receive. Go to information on Effective handling of complaints made to your organisation

Good decision making and administrative practices

The Ombudsman has developed guidelines to assist public authorities to strengthen their decision making and administrative practices. These include:

• Exercise of discretion in administrative decision making;
• Giving reasons for decisions;
• Procedural fairness; and
• Good record keeping.

Responding to complaints made to the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman provides independent and impartial handling of complaints made to the Office by members of the public. Guidelines are available to assist public authorities to respond to complaints and assist in their effective and timely resolution.

Guidelines and Information Sheets

The Ombudsman provides tools and guidance to assist agencies with their internal complaint handling role. Agencies can access these materials on the Guidelines and Information Sheets page of the Ombudsman's website.