AUSTRALIA | Senior Leadership Visit to Jakarta

The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Mr Iain Anderson, visited the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) in Jakarta, Indonesia from 15-16 March 2023. This was the first in-person meeting between the offices since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The partnership between the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the Office) and ORI was established in 2000 and is one of the longest-running relationships between an Australian and an Indonesian government agency.

Mr Anderson met with the ORI Ombudsmen for high-level discussions on the value of the partnership, past activities, challenges and future opportunities. Mr Anderson also met with ORI staff who have participated in partnership activities over the years and spoke at an ORI staff seminar, alongside ORI Ombudsman, Dr. Johanes Widijantoro, and Mr Sam Porter, Counsellor for Economic Governance and Infrastructure at the Australian Embassy.

The visit provided opportunities for the Office to learn from ORI and Indonesia’s experience in complaint handling, through a briefing from ORI’s social media team and a visit to the operations centre to see the Indonesian National Online Complaint Management System, Lapor!, in action. Mr Anderson also met with staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and Trade at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and DFAT’s development partner, Prospera, to discuss the Office’s partnership with ORI and our work in Indonesia.

The Office looks forward to continuing its partnership with ORI, including delivering a range of activities to support ORI staff.

Source: The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Australia