In a financial year marred by bushfires, hail and the coronavirus pandemic, Canberrans complained about the chief minister's directorate more than any other government agency or department.
The Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate was hit with 123 complaints last financial year, compared with 114 in 2018-19. Of the 123 complaints, 113 were finalised without investigation.
It wasn't the only government department to see a spike. The Justice and Community Safety Directorate attracted the second-most complaints - 121 - in 2019-20, up from 78 complaints the previous financial year.
In ACT ombudsman Michael Manthorpe's latest annual report, he said: "Together, complaints about CMTEDD, the Community Service Directorate and the Justice and Community Safety Directorate made up 65 per cent of all complaints about ACT agencies."
Below are the top 10 ACT government agencies or departments that received the most complaints in 2019-20.
Most complained about
- Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate - 123 complaints
- Justice and Community Safety Directorate - 121 complaints
- ACT Corrective Services - 117 complaints
- Community Services Directorate - 86 complaints
- Housing ACT - 75 complaints
- Access Canberra - 66 complaints
- Independent statutory offices - 41 complaints
- Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate - 26 complaints
- Public Trustee and Guardian for the ACT - 20 complaints
- ACT Revenue Office - 17 complaints
Mr Manthorpe's office received a total 520 complaints last financial year, 11 per cent more than it did in 2018-19. Of the complaints, 423 were about agencies, and 70 were about ACT Policing.
In the ombudsman's report, he pointed to a particularly dramatic increase in complaints against ACT Corrective Services. Their tally was up 70 per cent from 2018-19, and all the complaints were to do with the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
"Almost all were made by detainees," Mr Manthorpe said.
The ombudsman said reportable conduct notifications had increased slightly in 2019-20.
Under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, organisations - including all schools, childcare services and religious bodies - are required to report allegations of child abuse or misconduct to the ACT Ombudsman.
In the last financial year, his office received 177 reportable conduct allegations from 66 organisations. Of the allegations, 32 were also reported to police.
Mr Manthorpe said that, much like in the 2018-19 financial year, the most common allegations were about "hostile use of force", followed by sexual misconduct and emotional abuse.
He said 138 allegations of hostile use of force had been finalised last financial year, along with 70 allegations of emotional abuse, and 31 allegations of sexual misconduct.
A further 60 allegations were also finalised.
