BARRY PRISMALL, Examiner
THE State Ombudsman’s office is weighed down with a backlog of work that is causing months of delays to case reviews.
With only 19 staff and budget funding this financial year of $1.4 million, the office is dealing with an average 130 cases a staff member each year.
State Treasury has reviewed resources in the office, and while declining to show the Ombudsman’s office its report Treasury deemed that current funding and resources were adequate.
The backlog means that while the office is required to review appeals under the freedom-of- information laws in a 30-day time frame, some cases have not been dealt with since they were lodged in January.
The Examiner lodged an appeal in March against a department refusing to provide information under FoI provisions. The Ombudsman’s office has advised that the appeal is still in the queue to be dealt with, although the office has obtained all relevant information from the department.
The Ombudsman’s office is one of only two agencies actively reviewing government operations, the other being the Audit Office.
Ombudsman Simon Allston runs a multi-skilled office, with several functions including the general Ombudsman’s role, Health Complaints Commissioner and the Energy Ombudsman.
The latest budget papers show that less than 40 per cent of health complaints are being finalised within the 45-day statutory period and only 60 per cent are being resolved within three months. Read more here
