Ombudsman - Fairness for All

Office of the Ombudsman | Tari o te Kaitiaki Mana Tangata


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Newsroom


Ombudsman's Statement of Intent 2013/16

Chief Ombudsman | May 17, 2013

The Office of the Ombudsman's Statement of Intent 2013-2016 has now been released and can be viewed here.

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United Nations completes its visit to New Zealand places of detention

May 9, 2013

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has completed its first visit to New Zealand to explore the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in various New Zealand facilities and the safeguards for their protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. More details about the visit and why the SPT was in New Zealand can be viewed here.

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Chief Ombudsman finds unreasonable delay in processing urgent residence application by Immigration NZ

Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem | April 26, 2013

The Chief Ombudsman has found that Immigration New Zealand acted unreasonably in the manner in which it processed an application for residence.  The complainant had fled from his home country and was living in perilous circumstances a refugee camp in Kenya with his wife and young children.  He and his family had applied to join his sister who was resident in New Zealand.  Read the full story here and Dame Beverley's opinion here

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Ombudsman Quarterly Review - Autumn 2013

April 1, 2013

The Autumn edition of the Ombudsman Quarterly Review is now available.

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Chief Ombudsman launches investigation into school closure consultation process

Dame Beverley Wakem | March 26, 2013

Dame Beverley Wakem has commenced an investigation into the way in which the Ministry of Education conducts consultation on school closures and mergers.  She is asking anyone who has information relevant to her investigation to contact her office.  Read the full media release here

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New Ombudsman opinion released about access to advice concerning partnership (charter) schools

Ombudsman David McGee | March 18, 2013

The Ombudsman has released his opinion and recommendations on the decision of the Associate Minister of Education to refuse to release the advice he had received relating to the development of partnership (charter) schools policy.  You can read the opinion and recommendations here

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New Ombudsman opinion released about notices issued by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board

Ombudsman David McGee | March 15, 2013

The Ombudsman has released his final opinion and recommendations arising from an investigation into complaints he received about a disciplinary levy, continuing professional development, licensing conditions and refusal of licensing for non-payment of fee or levy by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.  You can read the opinion here

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Immigration NZ offers remedy to Pacific overstayers following Chief Ombudsman's investigation

Chief Ombudsman | March 12, 2013

A remedy has been offered by Immigration New Zealand following an investigation into how immigration officers dealt with permit requests made under s 35A of the Immigration Act 1987 between 15 November 2004 and 31 March 2005 by people who were unlawfully in New Zealand and who wished eventually to apply for residence under the residual places policies.  Details of the remedy, and how to access it, can be viewed here. These details are also available in Fijian, Fijian Hindi, Kiribati, Samoan, Tongan and Tuvaluan.

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Second chance at visas for some Pacific people following Ombudsman immigration investigation

Chief Ombudsman | March 12, 2013

Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem says Pacific people who believe they were not treated fairly when Immigration New Zealand implemented policies enabling Pacific residency quotas may now get another chance to be considered. Read the full media release here

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25 years of LGOIMA

March 1, 2013

The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) commenced operation in New Zealand 25 years ago today. For more information about the importance of this birthday read here.

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Press Releases


Ombudsman's Office workload doubles

The Ombudsman's annual report, tabled in Parliament today, shows that cases on hand at any one time have grown from an average of 800 to 1700.

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Ombudsmen concerned about trend to avoid the application of the Official Information Act

The Ombudsmen in their annual report note the worrying trend of agencies seeking to exclude certain types of information from the OIA.

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Earthquake Commission under scrutiny from Ombudsman

The Ombudsmen say in their annual report that they're keeping a watching brief on EQC after complaints increased steeply this year.

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'Learning to complain' teaching resources now available

The Ombudsman is part of a group of specialised New Zealand complaint handling organisations that has developed resources for teaching the language of complaint to new speakers of English. The resources are available free online for anyone to use from today.

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