Office of The Ombudsman

The Ombudsman is an independent authority operating in accordance with
The Ombudsman Ordinance. The office was set up to provide citizens a
means through which an independent person outside the Public Service
can investigate and report on grievances arising from administrative
decisions, acts, recommendations or omissions. The Ombudsman is
directly responsible to the Chief Executive of the HKSAR and performs
important roles in redressing individual grievances against
maladministration in the public sector; making bureaucracy more humane;
lessening the gap between the government and the public; preventing
abuses; acting as the people's watchdog; righting individual wrongs;
indicating the facts when public officers are unjustly accused; improving
the efficiency and quality of service in the public sector; and protecting
human rights. The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over practically all
government departments, except the Hong Kong Police Force and the
Independent Commission Against Corruption, which have their own
separate bodies to deal with complaints from the public.

The Ombudsman can initiate investigations and may publish investigation
reports of public interest. Direct investigations conducted by The
Ombudsman included unauthorised building works in private buildings and
in exempted houses in the New Territories, overcrowding relief in public
housing, accommodation for foreign domestic helpers, emergency
vehicular access in public and private building developments, bursting of
water mains, applications for housing transfer on social grounds, general
outpatient services, government telephone enquiry hotline services, a
student's application to attend a hearing-impaired class, the Fisheries
Development Loan Fund, arrangements for the closure of schools due to
heavy persistent rain, the issue and sale of special stamps and philatelic
products, and the taxi licensing system.

The Ombudsman Ordinance also empowers The Ombudsman to
investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to
Information against departments/organisations in the government. The
code was introduced in March 1995 and gradually extended to all
government departments/organisations by December 1996 with The
Ombudsman as the common independent review body for alleged
breaches.

The office received 6 887 enquiries and 2 729 complaints in 1997,
compared with 6 129 enquiries and 2 870 complaints in 1996. The areas
which attracted substantial numbers of complaints were related to errors
or wrong advice/decisions; disparity in treatment or unfairness; delays;
abuse of power; staff attitude; lack of response to complaints; ineffective
control; negligence or omissions; faulty procedure; failure to follow
procedures and selective enforcement.

The organisations receiving most complaints were the Housing
Department, Correctional Services Department, Lands Department,
Hospital Authority, Urban Services Department, Legal Aid Department,
Post Office, Immigration Department, all registries and administrative
offices of courts and tribunals for which the Judiciary Administrator has
responsibility and the Social Welfare Department. Most of these
organisations have frequent contact with members of the public and are
more vulnerable to complaints than otherss.

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