Agency Outline

The Ombudsman operates under the Ombudsman Act 1978 and is responsible for enquiry and investigation into complaints regarding the administrative actions of Tasmanian government agencies, local councils and a range of other public authorities. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve individual grievances and address systemic issues arising from administrative matters in the public sector. Through independent, objective and impartial investigations, the Ombudsman promotes fairness and equity and aims to bring about improvements in the quality and standard of public administration.

The Ombudsman also has a number of other responsibilities including:

·       Energy Ombudsman under the Energy Ombudsman Act 1998;

·       Coordinator of the Official Visitors Scheme under the Corrections Act 1997;

·       Principal Official Visitor under the Mental Health Act 2013;

·       providing administrative support for the Mental Health and Prison Official Visitors Programs; and

·       implementing the Right to Information Act 2009, the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 and the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2002.

The Health Complaints Commissioner operates under the Health Complaints Act 1995 and is responsible for promoting and protecting health rights, resolving complaints between health care users and providers and seeking improvements in the delivery of health services in Tasmania. The Commissioner achieves this through the conciliation, investigation and assessment of complaints, encouraging parties to resolve complaints between themselves and assisting providers to develop procedures to resolve complaints.

The Custodial Inspector is appointed by the Governor of Tasmania under the Custodial Inspector Act 2016 to provide independent, proactive, preventative and systemic oversight of custodial centres. The focus of the Inspector is on systemic issues relating to the management, control and security of the State’s prisons and youth detention centre and the care and welfare of prisoners and detainees.

This chapter provides financial information about the Outputs to be delivered by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2022‑23 and over the Forward Estimates (2023‑24 to 2025‑26). Further information about the Office is provided at www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au and www.healthcomplaints.tas.gov.au.

 

Key Deliverables

Table 21.1 provides a summary of the Budget and Forward Estimates allocations for key deliverables within the Office.

Table 21.1:       Key Deliverables Statement

	2022‑23   Budget	2023‑24 Forward Estimate	2024‑25 Forward Estimate	2025‑26 Forward Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Health Complaints Commissioner Funding ‑ Patient rights and public safety	307	307	307	307
Scoping of OPCAT business operation requirements	344	....	....	....

Health Complaints Commissioner Funding ‑ Patient rights and public safety

Complaint resolution is a major function of the office of the Health Complaints Commissioner, which seeks to resolve complaints collaboratively between the parties. This initiative provides for the appointment of an additional Senior Investigation Officer and a Complaint Resolution Officer to improve the Office’s ability to respond to enquiries and resolve complaints.

Scoping of OPCAT business operation requirements

The Custodial Inspector is Tasmania’s National Preventative Measure under the OPCAT Implementation Act 2021, appointed to monitor all places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other ill treatment. This initiative provides capacity for additional resourcing and consultancy services to scope the requirements for Tasmania’s compliance with obligations under the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

 

Output Information

Outputs of the Office of the Ombudsman are provided under the following Output Groups:

·       Output Group 1 ‑ The Office of the Ombudsman.

Table 21.2 provides an Output Group Expense Summary for the Office.

Table 21.2:       Output Group Expense Summary

	2021‑22	2022‑23	2023‑24	2024‑25	2025‑26
			Forward	Forward	Forward
	Budget	Budget	Estimate	Estimate	Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Attorney‑General and Minister for Justice
Output Group 1 ‑ The Office of the Ombudsman
1.1 Decisions on Complaints Referred to the Ombudsman and Health Complaints Commissioner and Right to Information1	3 945	5 190	4 825	4 900	4 986
	3 945	5 190	4 825	4 900	4 986
TOTAL	3 945	5 190	4 825	4 900	4 986

Note:

1.    The increase in this Output reflects additional expenditure for 2022‑23 Budget initiatives.

Output Group 1:    The Office of the Ombudsman

1.1 Decisions on Complaints Referred to the Ombudsman and Health Complaints Commissioner and Right to Information

This Output provides for the independent and impartial resolution of complaints and the investigation of systemic issues relating to public administration, health care and energy services.

Table 21.3:       Performance Information ‑ Output Group 1

Performance Measure1	Unit of  Measure	2019‑20 Actual	2020‑21 Actual	2021‑22 Target	2022‑23 Target
Enquiries Finalised ‑ Ombudsman, Health Complaints and Energy Ombudsman2,3	Number	1 685	1 848	1 816	1 906
Complaints Finalised ‑ Ombudsman, Health Complaints and Energy Ombudsman2,4	Number	1 223	1 375	1 781	1 870
Cases Finalised per FTE5,6	Number	156	184	245	186
Complaints to Ombudsman, Health Complaints and Energy Ombudsman Resolved in Less Than Three Months2,4	%	80	79	80	80
Health Complaints Assessed Within Statutory Period of 45 days7	%	82	79	80	80
Health Complaints Assessed Within the Extended Statutory Period of 90 days7	%	91	88	90	90

Notes:

1.    The number of Right to Information applications and the average time to complete RTI decisions is not included in the performance information.

2.    The Office expects the number of enquiries and complaints finalised to increase by approximately five per cent in 2022‑23.

3.    The Enquiries Finalised figures include out of jurisdiction enquiries received by the Office.

4.    The Complaints Finalised figures include Public Interest Disclosure notifications.

5.    'Case' includes enquiries and complaints managed by the Office.

6.    FTEs include all investigation staff and corporate administration support. FTEs exclude Official Visitor and Custodial Inspectorate staff who do not manage cases.

7.    This period includes time waiting for responses from health providers and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

 

 

 

Detailed Budget Statements

Table 21.4:       Statement of Comprehensive Income

	2021‑22	2022‑23	2023‑24	2024‑25	2025‑26
			Forward	Forward	Forward
	Budget	Budget	Estimate	Estimate	Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Revenue and other income
Appropriation revenue - operating1	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
Other revenue from government	93	167	....	....	....
Other revenue2	557	557	557	557	557
Total revenue	3 896	5 141	4 776	4 851	4 937
Total income	3 896	5 141	4 776	4 851	4 937
Expenses
Employee benefits1	3 079	4 007	3 889	3 947	4 017
Depreciation and amortisation	32	32	32	32	32
Supplies and consumables1	739	1 054	805	820	833
Other expenses	95	97	99	101	104
Total expenses	3 945	5 190	4 825	4 900	4 986
Net result	(49)	(49)	(49)	(49)	(49)
Comprehensive result	(49)	(49)	(49)	(49)	(49)

Notes:

1.    The increase in Appropriation revenue ‑ operating, Employee benefits and Supplies and consumables reflects additional funding and associated expenditure for 2022‑23 Budget initiatives.

2.    Other revenue relates to the Energy Ombudsman Complaint Levy applied to Tasmanian energy entities to fund the operations of the Energy Ombudsman.

3.     

Table 21.5:       Revenue from Appropriation by Output

	2021‑22	2022‑23	2023‑24	2024‑25	2025‑26
			Forward	Forward	Forward
	Budget	Budget	Estimate	Estimate	Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Attorney‑General and Minister for Justice
Output Group 1 ‑ The Office of the Ombudsman
1.1 Decisions on Complaints Referred to the Ombudsman and Health Complaints Commissioner and Right to Information1	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
Office of the Ombudsman
Total Operating Services	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
Appropriation Rollover	93	167	....	....	....
Total Revenue from Appropriation	3 339	4 584	4 219	4 294	4 380
Controlled Revenue from Appropriation	3 339	4 584	4 219	4 294	4 380
	3 339	4 584	4 219	4 294	4 380

Note:

1.    The increase in this Output reflects additional revenue from appropriation for 2022‑23 Budget initiatives.

Table 21.6:       Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June

	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
			Forward	Forward	Forward
	Budget	Budget	Estimate	Estimate	Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Assets
Financial assets
Cash and deposits	324	383	383	383	383
Receivables1	19	48	48	48	48
	343	431	431	431	431
Non‑financial assets
Other assets	406	464	432	400	368
	406	464	432	400	368
Total assets	749	895	863	831	799
Liabilities
Payables	7	10	10	10	10
Employee benefits	595	568	585	602	619
Total liabilities	602	578	595	612	629
Net assets (liabilities)	147	317	268	219	170
Equity
Accumulated funds	147	317	268	219	170
Total equity	147	317	268	219	170

Note:

1.    The increase in Receivables in 2023 reflects revised estimates based on 30 June 2021 actuals.

 

Table 21.7:       Statement of Cash Flows

	2021‑22	2022‑23	2023‑24	2024‑25	2025‑26
			Forward	Forward	Forward
	Budget	Budget	Estimate	Estimate	Estimate
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash inflows
Appropriation receipts ‑ operating	3 246	4 417	4 219	4 294	4 380
Appropriation receipts ‑ other	93	167	....	....	....
Other cash receipts	557	557	557	557	557
Total cash inflows	3 896	5 141	4 776	4 851	4 937
Cash outflows
Employee benefits	(2 744)	(3 627)	(3 465)	(3 507)	(3 559)
Superannuation	(318)	(363)	(407)	(423)	(441)
Supplies and consumables	(739)	(1 054)	(805)	(820)	(833)
Other cash payments	(95)	(97)	(99)	(101)	(104)
Total cash outflows	(3 896)	(5 141)	(4 776)	(4 851)	(4 937)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents held	....	....	....	....	....
Cash and deposits at the beginning of the reporting period	324	383	383	383	383
Cash and deposits at the end of the reporting period	324	383	383	383	383