Archived news items6 December 2007 Ombudsman releases Report of Reviewable Deaths in 2006 Volume 2: Child DeathsThe report contains an account of our work and activities and is made pursuant to s43 of the Community Report of Reviewable Deaths in 2006 Volume 2: Child Deaths
5 December 2007 Ombudsman releases the Law Enforcement (Controlled Operations) Act Annual Report 2006 - 2007This report is provided to Parliament on the Ombudsman's work and activities under the Law Enforcement (Controlled Operations) Act for the preceding 12 months. This report is submitted in compliance with this obligation. The Act sets out a range of particulars about the authorities granted by the law enforcement agencies that must be included in the report. In particular, section 23(2) requires details of the authorities that were granted or varied, the nature of the criminal or corrupt activities against which they were directed and the number of persons - both law enforcement officers and civilians - who were authorised to engage in controlled activities in respect of each authority. It also requires information about the activities that are actually engaged in and the number of persons involved. It should be noted that s 24(1) of the Act imposes certain restrictions upon the information that may be included in this report. Law Enforcement (Controlled Operations) Act Annual Report 2006 - 2007
30 November 2007 Ombudsman releases Report of Reviewable Deaths in 2006 Volume 1: Deaths of people with disabilities in careThe report contains an account of our work and activities and is made pursuant to s43 of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993. The report includes data collected, and information relating to, reviewable deaths that occurred in the period ending December 2006. The report includes material on developments and issues current at the time of writing. Report of Reviewable Deaths 2006 Volume 1 Deaths of people with disabilities in care
18 April 2007 Ombudsman monitoring state anti-terror lawsOn 18 April 2007, the Ombudsman released an issues paper for the review of Parts 2A and 3 of the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002, which deal with preventative detention and covert search warrants. We have identified what we consider to be the main issues concerning the powers conferred on police officers and others, and invite you to respond to the questions included in the paper. Your comments on any other aspect of the exercise of the powers under review are also welcome. Please send submissions by Friday 15 June 2007 to: Terrorism (Police Powers) Act Review
Ombudsman review of DNA sampling and other forensic proceduresA report on the Ombudsman’s four year review of DNA sampling and other types of forensic procedures was tabled in Parliament today. The report deals with forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 and follows the Ombudsman’s 2004 report on the DNA sampling of convicted offenders. To view a copy of the Ombudsman's media release, click on the link below. Ombudsman review of DNA sampling and other forensic procedures To view a copy of the report, click on the link below.
13 December 2006 Ombudsman reports on policing of domestic violenceOn 13 December 2006, the NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour tabled in Parliament a special report on the policing of domestic violence. To view a copy of the Ombudsman's press release click on the link below. Ombudsman reports on policing of domestic violence To view a copy of the report, click on the link below. Domestic violence: improving police practice
11 December 2006 Ombudsman releases issues paper on Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Act 2005On 11 December 2006, the Ombudsman released an issues paper on his review of the Law Enforcement (Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Act 2005. This paper provides some background to the events that led to the introduction of the legislation; outlines the key legislative provisions; identifies issues for discussion; and requests submissions from interested members of the community. We would particularly welcome comments from those directly affected by these powers or who live in areas where the powers have been used. We are interested in your views about the impact of the powers on the community and the effectiveness of the powers. We have identified what we consider to be the main issues concerning the powers conferred on the police, and invite you to respond to the questions we raise in this paper. Your comments on any other aspects of the legislation and its operation are also welcome. Any submissions or correspondence relating to this review should be sent to: Click on the link below to view a copy of the guidelines. Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Public Safety) Act 2005
8 December 2006 Ombudsman releases guidelines on complaint handling at universitiesOn 8 December 2006 the Ombudsman released best practice guidelines on complaint handling at universities. Click on the link below to view a copy of the guidelines. Complaint handling at universities: best practice guidelines
29 November 2006 Ombudsman releases report on reviewable deaths of childrenOn 29 November 2006, the NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour tabled in Parliament volume two of his annual report of reviewable deaths of certain children. To view a copy of the Ombudsman's press release click on the link below. Ombudsman report on the reviewable deaths of children To view a copy of the Ombudsman's press statement click on the link below Ombudsman's report of reviewable deaths —Child deaths
22 November 2006 Ombudsman releases report on the deaths of people with disabilities in careOn 22 November 2006, the NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour tabled in Parliament volume one of his annual report of reviewable deaths of people with disabilities who lived in the care of disability services or licensed boarding houses. To view a copy of the Ombudsman's press release click on the link below. Ombudsman report on the deaths of people with disabilities in care To view a copy of the Ombudsman's press statement click on the link below Ombudsman's report of reviewable deaths — people with disabilities in care
15 November 2006 6th National Investigations SymposiumThe Ombudsman and the Independent Commission Against Corruption organise and host a symposium for investigators every second year. This year's symposium held on the 2-3 November was a sell out with a huge waiting list for places. The symposium featured 36 presentations from some of the country's leading practitioners. Key note speakers were the Hon Terrence Cole AO RFD QC Royal Commissioner who spoke on 'Corruption" and Guy Dehn, the Director of the United Kingdom whistleblowing organisation, Public Concern at Work who spoke on "Taking whistleblower protection seriously". Click on the link below to view the 2006 Symposium papers. 6th National Investigation Symposium papers The next symposium will be held in November 2008.
25 October 2006 Ombudsman releases 2005-2006 annual reportOn 25th October 2005, NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour tabled his 2005-2006 Annual Report in Parliament. To view a copy of the press releases, click on the link below: You may download an electronic copy of the report in the 'Publications' section of this website, or order a hard copy by contacting our Publications Officer on 02 9286 1072.
5 October 2006 Ombudsman review of adult detainees lawThe Children (Criminal Proceedings) Amendment (Adult Detainees) Act 2001 was designed to limit the number of adults (18 years and over) held in juvenile justice centres. Prior to its introduction, the District and Supreme Courts could direct people convicted as juvenile offenders to serve the whole of their sentence in juvenile detention. There was no upper age limit on the court’s discretion. The Act removed this discretion. A juvenile offender convicted of a serious children’s indictable offence (such as murder or aggravated sexual assault) can no longer remain in juvenile detention beyond 18 unless the court finds special circumstances or the non-parole period expires within six months of their 18th birthday. No person can remain in juvenile detention beyond 21 years and six months. The Ombudsman was required to keep under scrutiny the operation of the Act for its first three years. His November 2005 report was tabled by the Attorney General on 5 October 2006. The key finding of the review was that the Act did not achieve its objective of reducing the number of young adults held in juvenile detention during the first three years of operation. During the review period:
For a copy of the Ombudsman’s review of adult detainees law, click on the link below Ombudsman review of adult detainees law
25 Sep 2006 Re-appointment of OmbudsmanOn 6 September 2006, her excellency the Governor and the Executive Council re-appointed the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, for a further term of seven years. The re-appointment was publicly announced in the NSW Government Gazette of 15 September 2006.
21 Sep 2006 Sold out! 6th National Investigations SymposiumThe 6th National Investigations Symposium, to be held in November at Manly in Sydney, is now fully booked. Oil-For-Food Inquiry Commissioner, the Hon. Terence Cole QC will be a keynote speaker at the symposium. Guy Dehn, the director of the leading UK organisation Public Concern at Work, will also be giving a keynote address on Whistelblowing as a global issue. Over 30 other presentations will be given by leading investigation practitioners at the two day symposium. The bi-annual event is co-organised by the NSW Ombudsman, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Institute of Public Administration Australia (NSW). Click here to download a copy of the program.
12 Sep 2006 Ombudsman review of drug detection dogsThe power to use drug detection dogs to aid police officers in the detection of drug offences, particularly drug supply, was clarified and expanded by the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001 (‘the Drug Dogs Act’), which commenced on 22 February 2002. The Drug Dogs Act required the Ombudsman to monitor the use of drug detection dogs for a period of two years. Our review of the police use of drug detection dogs attracted unprecedented community interest, as evidenced by the number of telephone enquiries, complaints and submissions that we received. Our review found that despite the best efforts of police officers, the use of drug detection dogs has proven to be an ineffective tool for detecting drug dealers. Overwhelmingly, the use of drug detection dogs has led to public searches of individuals in which no drugs were found, or to the detection of (mostly young) adults in possession of very small amounts of cannabis for personal use. These findings have led us to question whether the Drug Dogs Act will ever provide a fair, efficacious and cost effective tool to target drug supply. Given this, we have recommended that the starting point, when considering this report, is to review whether the Drug Dogs Act should be retained at all. For a copy of the review report, click on the link below. Ombudsman review of drug detection dogs
3 August 2006 Misconduct at the NSW Police CollegeRecent media reports have made public allegations of significant misconduct of police officers at the NSW Police College. Much of the material reported is sourced from documents obtained by a journalist following an application in May 2005 to NSW Police under freedom of information laws. It is significant that in December 2005, the application was refused, on the basis that any disclosure may be prejudicial to the proper working of NSW Police. It was only after the Ombudsman reviewed this decision that documents were recently provided to the journalist. This report provides further information about complaints at the Police College. This includes problems we have identified about how some of these complaints have been managed, and solutions to improve outcomes for any future complaints. A robust complaints system is essential to ensure that police officers conduct themselves properly. Recently, NSW Police has suggested changes to wind back the complaints system, so that the Ombudsman and Police Integrity Commission would have a role only in the most serious matters. This report demonstrates the danger of this proposal. In particular, it would compromise our capacity to review systems and processes which can prevent police misconduct, and to hold police to account for their improvement. For a copy of this report, click on the link below. Misconduct at the NSW Police College
29 June 2006 DADHC: Monitoring standards in boarding houses On 29 June 2006 the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, tabled in Parliament a special report DADHC: Monitoring standards in boarding houses. This report concerns an inquiry by our office into the monitoring of licensed residential centres— also known as licensed boarding houses — against the requirements of the Youth and Community Services Act 1973 (‘YACS Act’) and the conditions of the licence by the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (‘DADHC’). The report also considers DADHC’s current arrangements for responding to boarding houses that should be licensed under the YACS Act, but are not. The purpose of this report is to outline findings from our inquiry that highlight serious problems with the way boarding houses are licensed and monitored in NSW. Some of these problems relate to a failure by particular regions within DADHC to properly carry out their monitoring responsibilities. However, even where monitoring has occurred in accordance with DADHC’s requirements, we have found limitations in the monitoring system because of uncertainty as to whether certain standards can be legally enforced. We have also found inadequate safeguards for protecting people with a disability who live in unlicensed boarding houses. For a copy of this report, click on the link below. DADHC: Monitoring standards in boarding houses
Services for children with a disability and their families On 31 May 2006 the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, tabled in Parliament a special report Services for children with a disability and their families. This is a report on our investigation into the way the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) implemented its policy for children and young people with a disability. A particular focus of this report was on how DADHC was supporting families at risk of giving up the care of their child. For a copy of this report, click on the link below. Services for children with a disability and their families
16 February 2006 Free workshop for community workersCome and join us for an informative half-day workshop and find out about the Ombudsman’s role in:
You will be able to:
Workshop date:
(Workshop from 9:30am to 12pm, light lunch to follow) Venue: Level 24, 580 George Street, Sydney 2000This workshop has now been fully booked. For future workhshop dates, call Lisa Du on 9286 1008, or send an email to ldu@ombo.nsw.gov.au
7 December 2005 Ombudsman's second Reviewable Deaths Annual ReportThe NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour today released his annual report into reviewable deaths in 2004. It documents the review of 104 reviewable child deaths and 93 reviewable disability deaths. You may download an electronic copy of the report in the 'Publications' section of this website, or order a hard copy by contacting our Publications Officer on 02 9286 1072.
Release of four review reportsIn November four of the Ombudsman's review reports were tabled in Parliament by relevant ministers. These include:
You may download an electronic copy of the report in the 'Publications' section of this website, or order a hard copy by contacting our Publications Officer on 02 9286 1072.
Ombudsman releases 30th Annual ReportOn 13th October 2005, NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour tabled his 2004-2005 Annual Report in Parliament.
Ombudsman releases special report to Parliament: Improving the quality of land values issued by the Valuer GeneralOn 5th October 2005, NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour reported to Parliament on his investigation into the quality controls employed by the Valuer General to ensure the accuracy of land valuations in NSW.
Calling for papersThe National Investigations Symposium (NIS) is a two-day event that attracts over 180 delegates from across Australia, the South Pacific and South East Asian regions. The 6th NIS will be held in Sydney on 2-3 November 2006 at the Manly Pacific Hotel, Manly.
Winner of the Ombudsman postcard design competition announced!During Youth Week 2005 representatives from the NSW Ombudsman join in the fun of 4 youth festivals across NSW. Amongst all the live, hip hop, and funk music, the Ombudsman’s Officers made themselves available to talk to young people, and give information about the Ombudsman’s work.
|
| NSW Ombudsman |  |
Feedback | Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | NSW Government |