Defence Force
Under our legislation the Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Defence Force Ombudsman. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about the Australian Defence Force (ADF) relating to or arising from present or past service.
You can ask the Defence Force Ombudsman to investigate any administrative action taken by the ADF or other Australian Government agencies which has adversely affected you or your family.
Complaints can be made by serving members or former members of the ADF, as well as spouses and dependants of members or former members. Other people can make complaints on behalf of a member or former member if they have the member's permission.
Serving members with complaints about promotion, demotion, discharge, postings, housing, allowances or other matters affecting their service must first seek redress of their grievance (ROG) through established ADF complaint channels. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can ask the Defence Force Ombudsman for assistance.
The Defence Force Ombudsman can investigate complaints about unreasonable delays in the ADF redress process, or complaints from members who have not been informed about the progress of their complaint at any time during the ADF internal redress process.
Non serving members with complaints related to Veterans' Affairs benefits, compensation, Defence Service Home Loans, or the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme, should try to resolve the problem with the agency before approaching the Defence Force Ombudsman.
If the Defence Force Ombudsman finds that your complaint is justified, he can recommend a remedy, including that the ADF or an Australian Government agency reconsiders or changes its decision; changes its rules or procedures; apologises or in special circumstances, compensates you for financial loss. [top]
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