The Commonwealth Ombudsman's office remains a key part of the accountability framework for the Australian Government, and this report covers the diverse range of complaints fielded by the office.

Nearly 38,000 approaches and complaints were received by the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for assistance during 2009-10, an 18% decrease from the previous year. The report explains that despite this decrease, there were still 4,489 complaints investigated, with remedies found for complainants in 71% of these cases.

There was also an increase in the number of agencies about which the office received complaints, up 30 to 150 government agencies for 2009-10. The office continued its efforts to find solutions and fix problems in government administration, publishing 19 ‘own motion’ reports and providing submissions to 11 parliamentary inquiries or reviews.

The report goes on to highlight the year as one of change and renewal, with the departure of the Ombudsman and both Deputy Ombudsmen to new government statutory appointments, and the commencement of Mr Allan Asher as the 8th Commonwealth Ombudsman in August 2010.