Ombudsman Act 1974

Two or more relevant agencies may enter into an arrangement for the referral of complaints between them (a complaint referral arrangement).

Under a complaint referral arrangement—

any agency that is party to the arrangement may be authorised to refer to any other such agency any complaint received by it that appears to be within, or partly within, the other agency’s jurisdiction, and

a complaint that is within, or partly within, more than one agency’s jurisdiction may be referred to one of them, some of them or all of them.

A complaint may be referred under a complaint referral arrangement regardless of any action that has been taken in relation to the complaint by the agency that received it.

Despite subsection (2), a complaint may not be referred from one agency to another except with the express consent of the complainant.

Subject to the terms of the complaint referral arrangement, the referral of a complaint discharges the agency that received the complaint from any further obligations with respect to the complaint to the extent to which the complaint is not within its jurisdiction, but does not prevent that agency from continuing to deal with the complaint to the extent to which the complaint is within its jurisdiction.

A complaint that is referred to an agency under this section is taken to have been duly made to that agency under the relevant complaints legislation.

An agency has the same immunities with respect to a complaint that it refers to another agency under this section as it has with respect to any complaint that it deals with under the relevant complaints legislation.

Any report in relation to complaints dealt with by a relevant agency that is prepared by the agency for the purposes of—

the relevant complaints legislation, or

Division 7.3 of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018,

(Repealed)

This section does not limit the operation of any other Act under which an agency is authorised or required to refer complaints to another agency.