The powers and jurisdictions of The Ombudsman include investigation of complaints of maladministration against all government departments (except the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption) and 17 major statutory organisations - the Airport Authority, Employees Retraining Board, Equal Opportunities Commission, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Society, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, Hospital Authority, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, Legislative Council Secretariat, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Securities and Futures Commission, Urban Renewal Authority and Vocational Training Council.

Members of the public or body corporates are allowed to lodge their complaints directly to The Ombudsman. The Ombudsman exists as an independent channel for redressing individual grievances and the public can decide if they want to lodge their complaints to The Ombudsman, or to the organisations directly or to other complaint channels.

Investigations can be initiated on The Ombudsman's own volition, without any complaint being received, and she can publish unnamed investigation reports of public interest at any time.

The Ombudsman has the power to investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information by the Hong Kong Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force and the Secretariats of the Independent Police Complaints Council and Public Service Commission, in addition to the government departments and organisations under The Ombudsman's jurisdiction.

However, there are some restrictions to The Ombudsman's powers under the ordinance. For instance, she will not normally investigate complaints which have a statutory channel for appeal or objection, or where a similar complaint has been investigated and no maladministration has been found, or complaints which are trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith.

The office can only investigate into complaints lodged by the parties directly aggrieved by the matters concerned. Complaints can be lodged in writing or by electronic mail. Post-free complaint forms are obtainable at the Office of The Ombudsman and district offices of the Home Affairs Department. Complainants can visit the Office of The Ombudsman in person to seek assistance. To make The Ombudsman's services more readily accessible to the public, starting from March 2001, the office also accepts complaints lodged by telephone when the complaints are simple or when the complainants have difficulty to express themselves in writing. All complaints lodged with the office are treated in the strictest confidence.

Following the introduction of the direct access system and the expanded powers and jurisdictions of The Ombudsman in June 1994, the numbers of enquiries and complaints lodged to the office have increased sharply. In the reporting year 2004/05, the Office of The Ombudsman received 11,742 enquiries and 4,654 complaints. The areas which drew substantial numbers of complaints were related to error, wrong advice/decision, disparity in treatment, unfairness, delay, negligence, omission, lack of response, ineffective control, rudeness, unhelpfulness, abuse of power, etc. Naturally, those organisations that have frequent contact with members of the public may prompt more complaints.

The Ombudsman is empowered to take a more proactive approach in handling problems of potentially wide public interest and concern by conducting self-initiated direct investigations. A total of 52 direct investigations had been completed by the office by April  2005.

Conducting direct investigations is often lengthy and time-consuming due to the complexity of the problems involved. However, as prevention is always better than cure, one direct investigation will benefit many persons and will also help prevent recurrence of repeated complaints.

The Ombudsman has always advocated taking complaints as a management tool in achieving higher service standards and improving public administration. To inculcate this positive complaint culture, the Office introduced the INCH Programme in 1996. It provides an opportunity for complainee organisations to reflect on the service environment and make improvements and adjustments where necessary in the first instance, while speedily addressing the major concerns and grievances of the complainants. The number of complaints concluded after referral under the INCH Programme was 209 in 2004/05.

Mediation is a means of conflict resolution through a neutral third party and is fast gaining ground among ombudsman institutions. It enables complaints to be dealt with timely and results in greater satisfaction among complainants and organisations concerned. This is in line with the ombudsman concept in striving for a resolution to a problem rather than a finding of fault. The aim of mediation is to foster a 'mutually satisfactory' situation, i.e. both the complainant and the organisation concerned should not necessarily have a feeling of loss at the end of the process.

Mediation is a confidential and voluntary process by both parties who can withdraw at any time. The failure of a particular mediation would not necessarily bring about nor preclude subsequent investigation of the whole or any part of a complaint. The matter would be re-assessed on its merits. The mediation service was launched in April 1997 as part of the office's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods with the hope of reinforcing societal cohesion and fostering understanding between disputing parties. It has been welcomed by both complainants and organisations. Six complaints were successfully concluded by the mediation process in 2004/05.

The Ombudsman Awards were established in 1997. They acknowledge the positive and supportive stance of public sector organisations to the goals of The Ombudsman's investigations in bringing about improvements in the quality of service and promotion of fairness in public administration. The Awards are presented annually to those organisations whose efforts in complaint management are exemplary and praiseworthy.

In an effort to further develop the spirit of The Ombudsman Awards, the Office has extended the Awards to individual public officers in 1999 to give recognition to those officers who display a commendable degree of fairness, impartiality and efficiency in the performance of their duties over a continuous period of time. In 2000, the Awards to individual officers were further extended to those public officers to recognise their contributions to arrive at a positive complaint culture.