The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is an independent Officer of the New Zealand Parliament appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives for a five-year term under the Environment Act 1986. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment replaced the Commission for the Environment, a Government agency which was formed in 1972.
Parliamentary Ombudsman is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In each case, the terms refer both to the office of the parliamentary ombudsman and to an individual ombudsman.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), legally the Commission for Local Administration in England and formerly known as the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), investigates complaints from members of the public about councils and some other some other authorities and organisations providing public services in England. It also investigates complaints about registered adult social care providers. It is the last stage of the complaints process, for people who have given the council or provider opportunity to resolve the issue first. It is a free service. Similar duties are carried out by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Ombudsman. The current (interim) Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is Paul Najsarek, whose appointment commenced on 1 April 2023.
The Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet.
The Office of Ombudsman is a Hong Kong statutory authority, established on 1 March 1989, charged with ensuring that Hong Kong is served by a fair and efficient public administration that is committed to accountable, openness and quality of services. It operates mainly by investigating and giving recommendations to government departments.
The Pensions Ombudsman is the official ombudsman institution responsible for investigating complaints regarding pensions in the United Kingdom. The Pensions Ombudsman is a non-departmental public body stewarded by the Department of Work and Pensions, and the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman are appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The Ombudsman is an independent commissioner; he and his staff are not civil servants. His brief is to resolve disputes of fact or law and to investigate claims of maladministration. Unusually for UK Ombudsmen, the Pensions Ombudsman's determinations are binding on the parties and enforceable in the County Court. There is a right of appeal to the High Court on a point of law. In England the High Court's permission has to be obtained for an appeal.
The Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament which creates a public right to access information held by government bodies. It is New Zealand's primary freedom of information law and has become an important part of New Zealand's constitutional framework.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the organisation that handles complaints about public services in Scotland. The Ombudsman service is independent of government and with a duty to act impartially.
Sir Cecil Montacute "Spike" Clothier KCB QC was a lawyer who served as a Judge of Appeal on the Isle of Man, and then as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales. He was later the first Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority.
A Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represents the public interest in the Republic of India. The current Chairperson of Lokpal is Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar. The Lokpal has jurisdiction over central government to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries and for matters connected to corruption. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 with amendments in parliament, following the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare in 2010. The Lokpal is responsible for enquiring into corruption charges at the national level while the Lokayukta performs the same function at the state level. The age of Lokpal on the date of assuming office as the chairperson or a member should not be less than 45 years.
The Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
An ombudsman, ombud, ombuds, bud, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament.
In the United States, there is no unified federal ombudsman service. The role of handling complaints against federal authorities has to some extent been unofficially incorporated into the role of the US Member of Congress. This informal job has become increasingly time-consuming. It is subject to criticism on the grounds that it interferes with a legislator's primary duty, namely to read and be knowledgeable about a bill before casting his or her vote.
Sir John Fraser Robertson was the Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand from 1986 to 1994. In this role, he was responsible for investigating complaints against central and local government agencies, including Ministers of the Crown.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
Sir William Kennedy Reid KCB is a retired civil servant who was Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales between 1990 and 1996.
Sir Michael Sydney Buckley is an English retired civil servant who was Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales between 1997 and 2002.
The Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
A children's ombudsman, children's commissioner, youth commissioner, child advocate, children's commission, youth ombudsman or equivalent body is a public authority in various countries charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of children and young people, either in society at large, or in specific categories such as children in contact with the care system. The agencies usually have a substantial degree of independence from the executive, the term is often used differently from the original meaning of ombudsman, it is often an umbrella term, often used as a translation convention or national human rights institutions, dealing with individual complaints, intervening with other public authorities, conducting research, and – where their mandate permits them to engage in advocacy – generally promoting children's rights in public policy, law and practice. The first children's commissioner was established in Norway in 1981. The creation of such institutions has been promoted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and, from 1990 onwards, by the Council of Europe.
