AGY-3474 | Community Services Division [NSW Ombudsman Office]

Full description

The Community Services Division of the NSW Ombudsman Office was established under section 12 of the Community Services Legislation (Amendment) Act 2002. The Division carried out those functions in relation to community services in NSW, which were carried out by the former Community Service Commission. (1)

The Division was headed by the Community and Disability Services Commissioner who became Deputy Ombudsman covering community services provided by:
(a) the Department of Community Services
(b) the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
(c) organisations that are funded, licensed or authorised by the Minister for Community Services, Ageing and Disability Services. (2)

The role of the Division was as follows:
(a) to promote and assist the development of standards for the delivery of community services;
(b) to educate service providers, clients, carers and the community generally about those standards;
(c) to monitor and review the delivery of community services and related programs, both generally and in particular cases;
(d) to make recommendations for improvements in the delivery of community services and for the purpose of promoting the rights and best interests of persons using, or eligible to use, community services;
(e) to inquire, on his or her own initiative, into matters affecting service providers and visitable services and persons receiving, or eligible to receive, community services or services provided by visitable services;
(f) to receive, assess, resolve or investigate complaints;
(g) to assist service providers in improving their complaints procedures;
(h) to assist in the making of complaints by persons receiving, or eligible to receive, community services;
(i) to provide information, education and training, and to encourage others to do so, relating to the making, handling and resolution of complaints about the delivery of community services;
(j) to promote access to advocacy support for persons receiving, or eligible to receive, community services to ensure adequate participation in decision making about the services they receive;
(k) to review the causes and patterns of complaints and identify ways in which those causes could be removed or minimized;
(l) to review the situation of a child in care or a person in care or a group of children in care or a group of persons in care;
(m) to review the systems of service providers for handling complaints; and
(n) to review the causes and patterns of reviewable deaths and identify ways in which those deaths could be prevented or reduced. (3)

Endnotes:
1. NSW Ombudsman web site, www.legislation.nsw.gov.au, Community Services Legislation Amendment Act 2002, Act No. 42
2. NSW Ombudsman, Community Services Division, fact sheet No. 1, p. 1
3. Community Services Legislation Amendment Act 2002, Section 11.