The Ombudsman came under fire in Proust's findings over the way he handled corruption claims, with concerns raised that witnesses have been been denied the right to proper legal representation and subjected to intimidation by investigators which formed the basis of CPSU's submission to the Review.

Review Findings

The most widely identified concern by contributors to the Review was dissatisfaction with the conduct of investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman. Of the 54 submissions to the Review, 11 submissions raised issues about the procedural fairness of investigations.

The Review notes that the Ombudsman Act 1973 is silent on how procedural fairness is to be afforded to investigations.

The Review recommends that the Ombudsman Act be modernised to ensure that the rights of people involved in investigations – both citizens and public officials – are explicitly enshrined in legislation.

A modernised Ombudsman Act should require the publication of guidelines on the conduct of investigations in accordance with legislated principles of procedural fairness.

Furthermore, establishing an active parliamentary oversight function within the integrity system would support effective functioning of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Reform Directions

This reform aims to establish a more comprehensive, coherent and coordinated integrity system.

The reform model locates functions of the OPI and LGICI within a broad-based Victorian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (VIACC), which would also manage public sector investigations and whistleblower coordination.

It also seeks to delineate between Ombudsman and VIACC investigations, with the Ombudsman investigating matters involving maladministration and misconduct and the VIACC investigating more serious misconduct and corruption.

The Review proposes parliamentary oversight of all integrity bodies as well as a statutory Integrity Coordination Board to strengthen cooperation and coordination between integrity bodies.