Ombudsman Act 1978 (Tas)

Ombudsman Act 1978

An Act to make provision for the appointment and functions of an Ombudsman and for the investigation of complaints with respect to administrative action taken by or on behalf of certain government departments and other authorities and for related purposes [Royal Assent 31 January 1979]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART I - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ombudsman Act 1978 .

2. Commencement (1) This section and section 1 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act. (2) Except as provided in subsection (1) , this Act shall commence on a date to be fixed by proclamation.

3. Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – administrative action has the meaning assigned to that expression by section 12 ; aggrieved person, in relation to a complaint, means the person by whom or on whose behalf the complaint is brought and who appears from the complaint to be aggrieved by the action alleged in the complaint; appropriate public authority, in relation to an investigation under this Act, means the public authority by or on behalf of which the action was taken that is the subject of the investigation; Commonwealth jurisdiction means the Commonwealth or a State or a Territory of the Commonwealth; complainant, in relation to a complaint, means the person making the complaint, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of some other person; complaint means a complaint made under section 14 ; conciliator means a person authorised in accordance with section 22A to act as a conciliator; Custodial Inspector means the Custodial Inspector appointed under section 5 of the Custodial Inspector Act 2016 ; Deputy Ombudsman means a person appointed as Deputy Ombudsman under section 8A ; functions includes duties, authorities, and powers; Government Business Enterprise means a Government Business Enterprise within the meaning of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 ; government department means any department established under the State Service Act 2000 , or constituted by any other enactment as a department within the meaning of that Act; Head of Agency has the same meaning as in the State Service Act 2000 ; local authority includes – (a) a single authority, controlling authority or joint authority established under Part 3 of the Local Government Act 1993 ; and (b) any other body or authority, constituted or established by or under an Act, having power to levy, or cause to be levied, a rate on any land; officer of the Ombudsman means a person who is appointed or employed pursuant to section 9 ; Ombudsman, except in relation to sections 5 , 6 and 7 , includes an officer of the Ombudsman for the time being appointed to act as Ombudsman in accordance with section 8 ; principal officer means – (a) in relation to a government department, the Head of Agency or, if there is no Head of Agency, the principal officer of the department; and (b) in relation to any other public authority, the president, chairman, or other principal or presiding member of the authority or, if the authority comprises a single person, that person; public authority means a public authority referred to in section 4 ; record includes any account, deed, writing, or document and any other record of information however compiled, recorded, or stored, whether in written or printed form or on microfilm or by electronic process or otherwise; responsible Minister, in relation to action taken by any public authority, means the Minister charged with the administration of that authority or the enactment in relation to the functions conferred by or arising under which the action was taken; State-owned company means a company incorporated under the Corporations Act that is controlled by – (a) the Crown; or (b) a Government Business Enterprise; or (c) a statutory authority; or (d) another company which is itself controlled by an entity referred to in paragraph (a) , (b) or (c) ; statutory authority means a body or authority, whether incorporated or not, that is established, constituted or continued by or under an Act or under the royal prerogative, being a body or authority which, or of which the governing authority, wholly or partly comprises a person or persons appointed by the Governor, a Minister or another statutory authority but does not include a State Service Agency; (2) For the purposes of this Act – (a) a reference to a public authority includes a reference to the principal officer and each of the members, officers, and employees of the authority; (b) a reference to an officer of an authority includes a reference to a principal officer and an officer appointed by or to the authority under any Act; (c) a reference to a member of an authority includes a reference to the holder of an office created by any Act who, by virtue of his holding the office, is a member of the authority; and (d) a reference to an employee of an authority includes a reference to a State Service officer or State Service employee. (3) For the purpose of the definition of "State-owned company" in subsection (1) , the provisions of the Corporations Act relating to control are taken to apply as if the Crown, Government Business Enterprise or statutory authority, as the case may be, were a corporation under that Act. (4) . . . . . . . .