Policies

To ensure consistency of work practices throughout the office as well as ensuring that staff understand the Ombudsman's views on how the office should fulfil its vision, mission and goals, a range of policies have been developed. Each policy is a statement or instruction from the Ombudsman that sets out the way particular issues are to be addressed or particular decisions are to be made.

Policies relating to conditions of work for staff outline the Ombudsman's commitment to maintaining certain conditions of work as a best practice public sector employer. Where required, by the conditions of service award or by principles of ethical practice, these policies have been developed in consultation with staff.

A complete list of office policies can be found in our Summary of Affairs. Although some policies are confidential or sensitive, most of our policies are available to the public. They can be obtained by contacting the office.

The following are some of the core policies that direct the work of our office.

• Code of Conduct
• Compliments and Complaints
• Conflict of Interests
• Guarantee of Service
  

For a more comprehensive list of our policies, click on the link below:

More policies

Register of government contracts

All contracts the public sector enters into with the private sector valued over $150,000 are required to be recorded in the register of government contracts, which is published on the Government tender's website. The details of each contract is required to be entered into the register within 60 days of the contract coming into effect, and must remain on the register for 30 days or until the contract is complete, which ever is longer.

There are also additional disclosure requirements for contracts resulting from direct negotiations where there has not been a tender process and for contracts with the private sector valued over $5 million.

The Ombudsman has not entered into any contracts with private sector bodies valued over $150,000. If or when such contracts are established, we will publish them in a register of government contracts and include:

• the name of the contractor and any related company involved in the contract
• the start date and duration of the contract
• the goods and services to be provided under the contract
• the amount payable to the contractor
• any renegotiation provisions
• tender methods if applicable, and
• any payment provisions for operational or maintenance services under the contract.