Office of the Ombudsman (New Zealand)

{{Infobox government agency

| agency_name = Office of the Ombudsman

| nativename_r = Kaitiaki Mana Tangata

| logo = NZ_Ombudsman_logo.jpg

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| seal =

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| formed = 1962

| preceding1 =

| dissolved =

| superseding =

| jurisdiction = New Zealand

| headquarters = 70 The Terrace
Wellington 6011

| employees =

| budget =

| minister1_name = Gerry Brownlee

| minister1_pfo =
Speaker of the House of Representatives

| chief1_name = John Allen

| chief1_position =
Chief Ombudsman

| chief2_name =

| chief2_position =

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| website = {{URL|https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz}}

| footnotes =

}}

The Ombudsman is an officer of the New Zealand Parliament who independently looks into complaints. The core jurisdiction of the office covers cases of maladministration. Over the years, it has been progressively expanded to include complaints under the Official Information Act 1982 and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, as well as whistleblower complaints under the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. Additionally, the Ombudsman serves as one of New Zealand's national preventive mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

Ombudsmen are appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand on recommendation of the New Zealand House of Representatives for a term of five years.Ombudsmen Act 1975, s5(1).

Since 31 March 2025, the Chief Ombudsman is John Allen.{{cite news |url=https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2025-ps1032 |title=Appointment of Ombudsman |date=25 February 2025 |work=New Zealand Gazette |access-date=31 March 2025}}

History

The idea of establishing an ombudsman in New Zealand dates back to early 1961 when the Second National Government circulated a paper proposing its creation, based on the Scandinavian model. The public service initially viewed the idea with skepticism.{{citation |first=Walter |last=Gellhorn |title=The Ombudsman in New Zealand |journal=California Law Review |volume=5 |issue=35 |year=1965 |pages=1155–1211 |doi=10.2307/3478951 |jstor=3478951 }} In 1962, Parliament passed the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act 1962, creating an ombudsmen system based on that of Denmark, with powers to investigate administrative decisions.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/ombudsmen-and-officers-of-parliament/page-2 |title=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |chapter=Ombudsman |first=Bruce James |last=Cameron |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga |editor-first=A. H. |editor-last=McLintock |editor-link=Alexander Hare McLintock |access-date=31 May 2021 }} Initially the Ombudsman served for a term of three years and had jurisdiction only over central government agencies. In 1968 its jurisdiction was extended to include education boards and hospital boards.Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Amendment Act 1968 In 1975 the Act was replaced by the Ombudsmen Act 1975, which allowed for multiple Ombudsmen, each serving a term of five years. In 1982 the jurisdiction of the Ombudsmen was expanded again to cover complaints under the Official Information Act 1982.

List of Chief Ombudsmen

The following is a list of New Zealand's Chief Ombudsmen:{{cite web |title=Past Ombudsmen |url=https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/about-ombudsman/past-present-and-future/past-ombudsmen |publisher=Office of the Ombudsman |accessdate=31 May 2021}}

class="wikitable"
No. !Name !Portrait !Term start \|Term end
align=center \| 1 \| Guy Powles \| 60px \| 13 October 1975 \| 5 April 1977
align=center \| 2 \| George Laking \| 60px \| 6 April 1977 \| 15 October 1984
align=center \| 3 \| Lester Castle \| 60px \| 16 October 1984 \| 26 November 1986
align=center \| 4 \| John Robertson \| 60px \| 21 December 1986 \| 14 December 1994
align=center \| 5 \| Brian Elwood \| 60px \| 14 December 1994 \| 30 June 2003
align=center \| 6 \| John Belgrave \| 60px \| 1 July 2003 \| 3 December 2007
align=center \| 7 \| Beverley Wakem \| 60px \| 23 April 2008 \| 9 December 2015
align=center \| 8 \| Peter Boshier \| 60px \| 9 December 2015 \| 16 March 2024
align=center \| 9 \| John Allen \| 60px \| 31 March 2025 \| present

class="wikitable"

No.

!Name

!Portrait

!Term start

|Term end

align=center | 1

| Guy Powles

| 60px

| 13 October 1975

| 5 April 1977

align=center | 2