Who we are
The Swedish Parliament first used the word 'ombudsman' in its modern sense when in 1809 it established the office of Justitie-ombudsman, who was to function as a defender of the people in their dealings with government. Since then, similar offices have been established in over 100 countries worldwide, most of which are affiliated with the International Ombudsman Institute.
In Australia, there is a Commonwealth Ombudsman as well as State and Territory ombudsman. The present Commonwealth Ombudsman is Professor John McMillan, who was appointed in 2003.
An increasing concern with service quality and customer satisfaction in a range of industries has led to the introduction of a wide variety of dispute resolution and complaint schemes, which assist consumers to settle their differences with suppliers of goods and services informally and quickly.
In addition, a number of industry ombudsman have been appointed, whose responsibility it is to protect citizens’ interests in their dealings with a variety of service providers, especially in industries previously owned or regulated by governments, for example telecommunications, energy, banking and insurance. [top]
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