Wider improvement
Whanaketanga whānui
The Ombudsman can investigate wider systemic issues where they see the need, even if no one has made a complaint.
© Office of the Ombudsman, 2019
Much of the Ombudsman's work involves dealing with complaints from people about how a particular act or decision has affected them.
However, the acts and decisions of public sector agencies can have more wide-ranging implications or the potential to affect a larger group of people.
The Ombudsman does not need a complaint to start an investigation. A self-initiated investigation is usually prompted by significant systemic issues, where the Ombudsman thinks their intervention has the potential to result in wider improvement.
