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who wish to claim a refund of the Goods and
Services Tax (GST) on goods purchased before
departing Australia, to present themselves at the
airport’s TRS counter at least 30 minutes prior
to their flight’s scheduled departure time.
The stated purpose of the rule is to ensure
people claiming a refund allow sufficient time to
do so, so that flight departures are not delayed.
The department has acknowledged that the
30 minute rule is not supported by legislation
and says it is considering how changes
to the processes at the TRS facilities can
be implemented.
The Ombudsman made two recommendations:
• that, as an interim measure,
the department should take all reasonable
steps to ensure that travellers who wish
to claim a TRS refund are able to do so in
a way that is consistent with the law.
• that the department considers the
permanent use of the drop box facility
at TRS facilities at all international points
of departure, and takes all necessary
steps to ensure the appropriate
regulations are in place to give effect
to this arrangement.
The department accepted the recommendations
and the office will monitor the implementation
of these changes in 2016–17.
Liaison and
stakeholder engagement
The office continues to meet regularly with
the department to discuss systemic issues and
matters of interest to both agencies. The office
also received briefings from the department
where detailed information was requested on
a specific issue.
The office continued a program of community
roundtable meetings as well as liaison with
advocacy groups such as the Refugee Council
of Australia.
The office also hosts quarterly meetings
with the heads of the Australian Human
Rights Commission, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, the Australian Red
Cross and Foundation House.
Compliance monitoring
In 2015–16 the office continued its ongoing
own motion investigation into the department’s
(now the Australian Border Force—ABF)
compliance activities involving locating, detaining
and removing unlawful non-citizens. The
investigation provides the government and the
public with assurance that the ABF’s processes
are lawful and in accordance with good practice.
This is important as a departmental delegate
may approve warrants allowing immigration
officers to enter and search premises under
s 251 of the Migration Act 1958. The office
presented sessions to compliance staff on
the functions of the Ombudsman’s office and
observed field compliance operations in the
following locations:
• Griffith—August 2015
• Melbourne—November 2015
• Adelaide—June 2015
• Perth—June 2015.
The office observed that the ABF officers in
the field act in a professional manner, and the
office did not identify any areas of significant
or systemic concern. However, some areas
for improvement were identified. The office
recommended that the ABF:
• ensures that when detaining a person,
departmental officers secure and tag the
detainee’s valuables in bags and provide
a receipt to the detainee
• affords detainees a reasonable
opportunity to secure and dispose
of their assets before their removal,
where practical
• examines options to allow the ABF to
seize identity documents not belonging
to household members
PART 4—WHAT WE DO
2015–16 | COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT | 45