Office of The Ombudsman, Hong Kong

To ensure that Hong Kong is served by a fair and efficient public administration which is committed to accountability, openness and quality of service

Through independent, objective and impartial investigation, to redress grievances and address issues arising from maladministration in the public sector and bring about improvement in the quality and standard of and promote fairness in public administration

The Ombudsman should serve as the community's watchdog to ensure that:

Bureaucratic constraints do not interfere with administrative fairness

Public authorities are readily accessible to the public

Abuse of power is prevented

Wrongs are righted

Facts are pointed out when public officers are unjustly accused

Human rights are protected

The public sector continues to improve quality and efficiency

Maintaining impartiality and objectivity in our investigations

Making ourselves accessible and accountable to the public and organisations under our jurisdiction

According the public and organisations courtesy and respect

Upholding professionalism in the performance of our functions

Speed of case work

Complainants' level of satisfaction with case handling

Redress obtained

Recommended improvement measures committed to and/or implemented

Non repetition of complaints

The Office of The Ombudsman provides the following services:

I. Handling of Complaints

Investigation of complaints on maladministration, e.g. inefficiency, unreasonable or improper actions or procedures, abuse of power, etc. by government departments and specific statutory organisations under the jurisdiction of The Ombudsman.

Investigation of complaints against related government departments for noncompliance with the "Code on Access to Information".

This Office adopts the following methods to deal with complaints received -

(i)

Referring Cases to Complainee Departments / Organisations under Internal Complaint Handling Programme (INCH)

With the consent of complainants, simple complaints are referred to complainee organisations for investigation and reply. The Ombudsman monitors the process and may intervene if necessary.

(ii)

Rendering Assistance / Clarification (RAC)
The Office conducts extensive preliminary inquiries and provides the complainant with explanation and clarification. The Ombudsman may suggest improvement on systemic problems.

(iii)

Mediation
This is a voluntary process where complainants meet with representatives of organisations concerned. Investigators from this Office act as neutral facilitators.

(iv)

Full Investigation
Cases that are complex or involve issues of principle, serious maladministration, gross injustice, systemic flaws or procedural deficiencies will be subject to full investigation. The process involves extensive inquiries and evidence collection. Where appropriate, we recommend administrative remedies for improvement. Heads of organisations have a duty to report to The Ombudsman at regular intervals the progress of their implementation of the recommendations.

II. Direct Investigation

Since 1994, The Ombudsman has been empowered to initiate direct investigation on issues of community interest and topical issues. Even when no complaint is received, this Office can still conduct direct investigation.

III. Enquiry Service

This Office answers public enquiries on the role, functions and jurisdiction of The Ombudsman and the services this Office provides. Members of the public are welcome to approach our Complaint and Enquiry counter for complaint and enquiry services.

IV. Community Education Services

This Office provides education service arid information on the work of The Ombudsman. Members of the public are welcome to approach our Resource Centre to obtain published information by this Office and other overseas ombudsman institutions. Guided group visits to the Resource Centre and outreaching talks on the Ombudsman system can be arranged upon request.

Members of the public can lodge their complaints via the following modes:

In person

In writing:

(i)

By post-free complaint forms (obtainable at the Office of The Ombudsman and district offices of the Home Affairs Department. The form can also be downloaded from the website of this Office.)

(ii)

By letter

(iii)

By fax

By telephone

By e-mail

(A) Enquiries

	Standard response time	Maximum response time
By telephone or in person	Immediate	For complicated enquiries, within 30 minutes
In writing	Within 5 working days	For complicated enquiries, 6-10 working days

(B) Complaints

	Standard response time	Maximum response time
Acknowledgement	Within 5 working days (target: 80%)	6-10 working days (target: 20%)
Initial assessment for cases outside jurisdiction or under restriction	Within 10 working days (target: 70%)	11-15 working days (target: 30%)
Conclusion of cases	Within 3 months (target: 60%)	3-6 months (target: 40%)

(C) Group visits and talk

	Response time
Requests for guided group visits	Within 5 working days
Requests for talks	Within 10 working days

Factors Affecting Performance :

An investigation is not just a process of analysing and assessing complaints and responses received from the organisations. It is an active process of evidence collecting, as well as thorough logical probing until the facts are established for judgment. The progress of our investigation depends very much on the co-operation of complainants and complainee organisations in providing us with adequate and accurate information. Processing time is also affected by the complexity of the cases and the volume of complaints received at the time.

Normally, the processing time commences from the date when the complainant has given all relevant information, consent for releasing/obtaining personal data and proper authorisation for lodging the complaint with this Office (in the case of a body corporate or a representative).

1.	Office hours of the Complaint and Enquiry counter -

	Monday to Friday :	9:00 am - 5:00 pm
	Saturday :	9:00 am - 12:00 noon
	Sunday & Public Holidays :	Closed
	Telephone recording service is available outside normal office hours.

	Enquiry & Complaint Hotline :	2629 0555
	Fax :	2882 8149
	Address :	0/F, China Merchants Tower, Shun Tak Centre, 168 - 200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
	Website :	http://www.ombudsman.gov.hk
	Enquiry e-mail :	enquiry@ombudsman.gov.hk
	Complaint e-mail :	complaints@ombudsman.gov.hk

2.	Opening hours of the Resource Centre -

	Monday to Friday :	9:00 am - 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
	Saturday :	9:00 am - 12:00 noon
	Sunday & Public Holidays :	Closed
	Enquiry Telephone No. :	2202 8813
	Fax :	2956 2622
	Address :	Unit 2501, 25/F, West Tower, Shun Tak Centre, 168 - 200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
	Enquiry e-mail :	enquiry@ombudsman.gov.hk

Views and Suggestions
This Office values views and suggestions from members of the public. All comments and complaints are welcome by letter, fax, email or telephone. We will respond as soon as possible.


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