Ombudsman Act 2001

Unless this section otherwise provides, a complaint about an administrative action of an agency—

may be made orally or in written form; and

may be made by any person, or by any body of persons, whether incorporated or not (complainant), apparently directly affected by the action; and

must be made within 1 year after the day the complainant first had notice of the action.

For subsection (1)(c), a complainant is taken to have had notice of the action at the time the complainant might reasonably be expected to have had notice of the action.

Despite subsection (1), the ombudsman may—

decline to investigate an oral complaint until the complaint is put in writing; or

accept a complaint made for a complainant by a person apparently representing the complainant; or

accept a complaint after the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(c) if the ombudsman considers it is proper to accept the complaint because special circumstances exist; or

accept a complaint even though the complaint may not on its face be against an administrative action or agency if the ombudsman considers there is a likelihood that the cause for complaint arose from an administrative action.

The ombudsman may, if the ombudsman considers it necessary for achieving the objects of this Act for a particular complaint, give a person the help necessary to put the complaint in writing.

However, if the person who could have made a complaint under this Act has died or the ombudsman considers the person can not, for any reason, act for himself or herself, the complaint may be made by an individual who is, in the ombudsman’s opinion, suitable to represent the person (also a complainant).

Also, if a person making the complaint is in custody or detention, the relevant custodian must ensure all necessary steps are taken to facilitate the making of the complaint.Maximum penalty for subsection (6)—100 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

In this section—relevant custodian means—

if the person making the complaint is in the custody of the chief executive (corrective services)—the chief executive (corrective services); or

otherwise—the person in charge of the place of custody or detention.