The Ombudsman helps the community in its dealings with government agencies.
We handle complaints against government agencies and undertake investigations and inspections. We also encourage good administration by giving feedback and training to agencies. We will initiate our own investigations where we see the need.
Independent and impartial, we focus on fairness for all.
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From the Newsroom
February 26, 2015
Wellington Office Moving Premises
As our functions and workload have been progressively increasing, we've now come to a point where we've outgrown our current Wellington premises - so we're on the move. Fortunately, our new premises are in the same building and only a few floors down. From next Tuesday, 3 March 2015 you will be able to find us on Level 7, Solnet House, 70 The Terrace, Wellington 6011. Our email and telephone contact details will remain the same. Our Wellington Office will be closed on Friday 27th February and Monday 2 March for our busy shifting weekend. However, our Auckland and Christchurch offices will be operating as normal and any phone calls will be re-routed to these offices. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
February 10, 2015
New Ombudsman opinion
The Ombudsman has released his opinion on a complaint about a requirement imposed on tradesmen by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board to complete continuing professional development courses (CPD courses) each year as a pre-condition to being re-licensed. Professor Paterson considered that it was reasonably open to the Board to conclude that the gazetted notices promulgating the CPD requirements were valid; that the Board had consulted adequately about its proposal to require completion of the CPD courses each year; and that it was reasonably open to the Board to conclude that the courses were "necessary", and did not "impose undue costs" on tradesmen, in terms of section 32 of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006. The Ombudsman noted that "the public protective purpose of the legislation, and the potential impact on public health, mean that a niggardly approach should not be taken to srutinizing the validity of CPD requirements prescribed by the Board". You can read the opinion here.
January 30, 2015
Update on the Chief Ombudsman's review of Official Information Act practices
Responses to the first part of our agency and Ministers survey were due by today (30 January), but we have granted a number of extensions where necessary. We are now expecting to have received all responses by 16 February, and the second part of the survey will be sent out before that date.
We are also finalising our plans for inviting public input to the review, and we will provide another update on that shortly.
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