15–16

PART 4—WHAT WE DO
Additional reporting on the PIO
function as required under s 19X
of the Ombudsman Act
• Details of the circumstances and number
of occasions where the Postal Industry
Ombudsman has made a requirement of
a person under s 9
The Postal Industry Ombudsman made no
requirements under section 9 during 2014–15.
• Details of the circumstances and number
of occasions where the holder of the
office of the Postal Industry Ombudsman
has decided under subsection 19N (3)
to deal with, or to continue to deal with,
a complaint or part of a complaint in his or
her capacity as the holder of the Office of
the Commonwealth Ombudsman:
There were no occasions where a complaint
—or part of a complaint—was transferred
from the Postal Industry Ombudsman to the
Commonwealth Ombudsman under subsection
19N (3).
• Details of recommendations made in
reports during the year under section 19V;
and statistical information about actions
taking during that year as a result of
such information:
The Postal Industry Ombudsman made no
reports during the year under section 19V.
IMMIGRATION
OMBUDSMAN
Overview
The Immigration Ombudsman investigates
complaints about immigration detention
and general immigration matters, including
Customs, and also monitors the department’s
compliance activities. The office’s statutory
reporting function, for people who have been
detained for more than two years, is a major
part of this oversight function, as is the office’s
program of regular inspections of immigration
detention facilities.
Complaints
In 2015–16 the office received 2341
complaints about the department, compared
with 1913 in 2014–15, an increase of 22 per
cent. Of these, the office investigated 496 (21
per cent).
The reasons the office declined to
investigate included:
• the matter was out of jurisdiction
(for instance it might relate to the
actions of a minister)
• the complainant had not approached the
agency first (the office gives the agency
the opportunity to rectify the matter first)
• matter complained of was more than
12 months old
• there was no prospect of getting a
remedy for the complainant.
Common themes for detention complaints are
similar to those in previous years: loss or damage
to detainees’ property, placement within the
detention network and medical issues such as
access to specialist care, appropriate treatment
for injuries and illness, and delays in the
processing of claims for asylum.
General immigration complaints showed a
large increase regarding delays in granting
citizenship. The office sought a briefing on this
issue and was advised that the department is
taking actions to minimise the delay for people
applying for citizenship, taking into account the
need to ensure that appropriate attention is
given to identity and security matters. The office
is maintaining a watching brief on these delays.
Delays in processing visa applications, as well
as dissatisfaction with visa decisions, remain a
common cause for complaints.
Investigations
In 2015–16 the office finalised an own motion
investigation into the operation of the Tourist
Refund Scheme (TRS).
The office investigated a number of complaints
about the operation of the TRS, in particular
the ‘30 minute rule’. This rule, imposed by the
department, requires departing passengers
44 | COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT | 2015–16