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Report on giving effect to the recommendations arising from the Investigation into the handling of complaints by the Legal Services and Complaints Committee
On 21 September 2022, the Western Australian Ombudsman and President of the International Ombudsman Institute released his report on giving effect to the recommendations arising from the Investigation into the handling of complaints by the Legal Services and Complaints Committee.
Following a request to the Ombudsman by the Honourable John Quigley MLA, Attorney General, to consider the handling of complaints by the Legal Profession Complaints Committee (the LPCC), the Ombudsman completed an investigation into the handling of complaints by the LPCC on 11 December 2020.
In the report of the investigation (the Investigation Report), the Ombudsman set out a series of opinions regarding the handling of complaints by the LPCC. Arising from these opinions, the Ombudsman made thirteen recommendations to the LPCC. This report sets out the steps taken by the now Legal Services and Complaints Committee (LSCC) to give effect to the Ombudsman’s recommendations.
The Investigation Report identified serious problems with the timeliness of the LSCC’s handling of complaints as well as its lack of key performance indicators, inadequate public reporting and lack of a modern electronic system for complaints management. Accordingly, it is pleasing that the response to the Investigation Report by the LSCC has been timely and effective.
Western Australian Ombudsman Chris Field said:
“Following over a decade of indications that the LSCC would institute an electronic complaints management system, in the Investigation Report I recommended that the LSCC implement an electronic complaints management system by no later than the end of the financial year 2021-22 and should aim to do so by December 2021. The LSCC has given effect to my recommendation and implemented an electronic complaints management system, slightly ahead of the time I recommended, ending over a decade of delay. In the Investigation Report, I further recommended that the LSCC achieved the closure of very aged complaints. Again, the LSCC has done so, and again ahead of the time that I recommended”.
“Overall, the LSCC has either given effect, taken steps to give effect, or steps have been proposed to give effect, to all thirteen recommendations in the Investigation Report”.
Source: Office of the Western Australian Ombudsman, Australia
