AUSTRALIA | NSW Ombudsman has tabled Annual Report 2020-21 in Parliament

The report, tabled by New South Wales (NSW) Ombudsman Paul Miller, discusses the 24,733 contacts received by the office, including detailed data and general observations about 13,315 actionable complaints. Together, these provide a picture of the issues faced by NSW citizens receiving services from NSW Government agencies, statutory bodies and certain community-service providers, including the government’s response to COVID-19.

An annexure provides an overview of the office’s findings on those complaints that have resulted in investigations, including a number that have not previously been made public. The investigations cover issues as diverse as asbestos compliance action; responsibilities regarding potentially contaminated land; the imposition of water and sewage management fees; and strip searches of young people in custody.

The report also discusses the office’s monitoring and review functions, including:

• monitoring and assessment of Aboriginal programs
  
  
• delivery of certain community services and related programs, such as child protection and homelessness
  
  
• implementation of previous recommendations on school suspensions and HSC disability provisions and the Surveillance Devices Commissioner

The full report can be downloaded on the NSW Ombudsman website.

Source: Office of the New South Wales (NSW), Australia