News
Homeless people with complex needs may be falling through the safety net of Government-funded homelessness refuges
30 Aug 2022
People who need help with homelessness are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Factors that contribute to homelessness include mental illness or disability, substance abuse or challenging behaviour. However, these same factors can lead to people being excluded or evicted from the refuges that are meant to provide the safety net to support them.
Public housing failures in meeting the needs of tenants with disability
29 Jul 2022
NSW Ombudsman Paul Miller has called for significant improvements to be made to the delivery of public housing disability modifications. His report to Parliament tells the story of 3 public housing tenants who requested reasonable disability modifications to make their homes safe for them.
Insufficient action to implement strip search safeguards for children and young people in detention
13 May 2022
A report of the NSW Ombudsman, Paul Miller, has been tabled in Parliament today (Strip searches in youth detention: a follow-up report under section 27 of the Ombudsman Act 1974) calling on the Government to explain why it has not implemented his recommendations to enact safeguards for the strip searching of children and young people by prison officers.
The Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to investigate when there are related court proceedings
04 May 2022
The report relates to a provision of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment (Family is Culture) Bill 2022, which proposes an amendment to the Ombudsman Act. The amendment concerns the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to investigate complaints in circumstances where there may be related court proceedings. The Bill is currently before the Legislative Assembly, having previously passed the Legislative Council.
Greater transparency needed for NSW Government’s use of machine technology in decision-making
29 Nov 2021
NSW Ombudsman Paul Miller has called for greater visibility of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other machine technology by NSW Government agencies.
In a report tabled in Parliament this morning, the Ombudsman has cautioned agencies that using machine technology in ways that do not accord with standards of lawfulness, transparency, fairness and accountability, could lead to findings of maladministration or potentially unlawful conduct.
Wrong conduct and potential systemic issues in procurement of a contractor to fill a senior executive role
19 Oct 2021
The NSW Ombudsman has made findings of wrong conduct by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) in procuring the services of a contractor to ‘act in’ a vacant senior executive role for a period of around 11 months.
The findings, made under section 26 of the Ombudsman Act, include that the department acted unreasonably by treating the initial contract (and an extension a few months later) as ‘emergency procurements’, and that it had acted contrary to law by not notifying them to the NSW Procurement Board.