Ombudsman Act 1972

The Inspector appointed under Schedule 4 of the

annual reviews examining the operations of the Ombudsman during each financial year;

reviews relating to relevant complaints received by the

other reviews on the Inspector's own motion or at the request of the Attorney‑General or the Crime and Public Integrity Policy Committee established under the Parliamentary

Without limiting the matters that may be the subject of a review, the Inspector—

must, in the case of an annual review, consider the following in relation to the financial year to which the review relates:

whether the powers under this Act were exercised in an appropriate manner (including whether undue prejudice to the reputation of any person was caused);

whether the practices and procedures of the Ombudsman were effective and efficient;

whether the Ombudsman carried out the functions of the Ombudsman under this Act in a manner that was likely to assist in the proper exercise of administrative powers in the State; and

may examine any particular exercises of power by the Ombudsman;

may make any recommendations to the Ombudsman or to the

For the purpose of conducting a review under this section, the

Before commencing an annual review, the Inspector must publish a notice calling for public submissions to be made (within a specified period of not less than 1 month and in a manner specified in the notice) in relation to the operations of the Ombudsman during the financial year to which the annual review is to relate.

A notice under subsection (4) must be published on the Inspector's website and in the Gazette and may be published in any additional manner determined by the Inspector.

The Ombudsman must ensure that the Inspector is provided with such information as the Inspector may require for the purpose of conducting a review.

A review conducted at the request of the Crime and Public Integrity

On completing a review, or at any time during a review, the

refer a matter to a law enforcement agency for further investigation and potential prosecution;

refer a matter to an inquiry agency or a public authority for further investigation and potential disciplinary action against a public officer for whom the agency or authority is responsible;

if the Inspector finds that undue prejudice to the reputation of any person was caused by the Ombudsman, the Inspector may—

publish any statement or material that the Inspector thinks will help to alleviate that prejudice; or

recommend that the Ombudsman pay an amount of compensation to the person.

Before referring a matter under subsection (8), the Inspector must notify the

On referral of a matter to another agency or authority, the

Subject to subsection (12), a report on an annual review must—

specify how many relevant complaints were made during the financial year to which the report relates; and

specify how many reviews were conducted by the Inspector in relation to relevant complaints during the financial year to which the report relates; and

describe the types of relevant complaints made during the financial year to which the report relates (in terms of the type of conduct being complained of) and specify how many complaints of each such type were made and describe the outcome of those complaints.

The Inspector—

must, in preparing a report on a review, consider the effect of the proposed report on any complaint, report, assessment, investigation or referral under this Act; and

must not include information in a report if publication of the information would constitute an offence against section 29A.

A report on a review must be delivered to the President of the

in the case of an annual review examining the operations of the

in any other case—as soon as practicable after completion of the review.

The President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the