Internal review requests procedure

1.    When to read this procedure

This procedure is part of the Office’s Complaints management system (CMS), which includes the Service delivery complaint and internal review policy and the Service delivery complaints procedure.

The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidance to complainants requesting an internal review of a decision we made under the Ombudsman Act 2001.

2.    What happens if you disagree with our decision?        

If you believe the original decision we made was wrong, you can try to resolve your concerns with the original decision-maker first. Before referring an internal review request to the Internal Review team, we may:

1. Provide an additional response
   The original decision-maker may further explain their decision or the reasons to you. If you are unhappy with their additional response, you can request an internal review of their decision by following the requirements in sections 4 to 7 of this procedure.
2. Consider new information
   If you obtain new information after this Office’s decision which may change the decision, you can provide it to the original decision-maker for consideration.
   
   The original decision-maker will consider the new information and decide whether it alters their decision or if further investigation is needed. If the new information does not change their decision, you can then seek an internal review.

3.    What is an internal review?

An internal review is an impartial review of a decision about a complaint by an officer of equal or greater seniority than the original decision-maker who was not involved in the original decision. 

An internal review is only available on a closed case.

• complied with requirements in legislation and our internal policies and procedures
• made the correct decision based on the evidence they had at the time
• adequately explained the original decision
• fulfilled their obligations under the Human Rights Act 2019.

An internal review is not a re-investigation of a complaint about an agency. It is a review of whether this Office made the correct decision.

4.    What you need to include in your review request

Your internal review request should clearly identify grounds for review. This means providing us with a clear and concise summary of why you believe our decision was incorrect, unreasonable or wrong, or why our assessment/investigation was inadequate.  

• express dissatisfaction without requesting further explanation or a review
• restate your dissatisfaction with the agency you originally complained about.

You do not need to refer to case law.

• details about how we can contact you
• your previous case reference number.

Please contact us if you have questions about what information you should provide. 

5.    Time limit to request a review

You must make your internal review request no later than 28 days after the original decision. 

If the original decision-maker wants to provide further information to you after they make their decision, they will contact you as soon as possible. If after this you still want us to conduct an internal review, you need to confirm your internal review request within 28 days of the original decision. 

If you request an internal review more than 28 days after the original decision, you must tell us what prevented you from making the request within 28 days. We may refuse to consider your review request unless you can clearly show there were exceptional circumstances which contributed to the delay. Examples of exceptional circumstances include significant ill-health, incarceration, flood or other natural disaster. If we decide not to accept your internal review request outside the 28 days, our decision is final and is not reviewable.

6.    How to lodge a review request

Internal review requests must be made in writing via:

• email to ombudsman@ombudsman.qld.gov.au with Internal Review Request in the subject
• mail to Office of the Queensland Ombudsman, GPO Box 3314, Brisbane, Qld 4001.

Please tell us if you have trouble meeting these requirements due to disability or other personal circumstances. We can make reasonable adjustments to our processes if necessary.

You should also tell us if you need translating or interpreting services or access to the National Relay Service and teletypewriter services. 

If you require assistance to make your internal review request, you should call (07) 3005 7000 and speak to an officer about your concerns.

7.   How we decide whether to accept your review request 

We will accept your internal review request if: 

• It is made within 28 days of the original decision
• You have raised grounds for review that clearly explain why our decision was wrong or unreasonable, or why our assessment or investigation was inadequate. 

We will decline your internal review request if:

• Your complaint is outside our jurisdiction
• You do not identify clear grounds for review of our decision
• You only tell us why you are still unhappy with the original agency you complained about
• Your request is misconceived because it is based on a belief that we failed to do something that we are not required, or do not have the power or jurisdiction, to do
• Your grounds for review are vague or illogical 
• Your grounds for review have no impact on the decision itself (e.g. incorrect dates/typos)
• Our original decision is no longer relevant and conducting a review is therefore unnecessary. For example, we may have decided your complaint was not ready for investigation because you had not exhausted the agency’s complaints process. If the agency gives you a final response before we conduct the review and you are still unhappy, we may instead open a new complaint and start an investigation. 
• There is another process which will address your concerns. For example, we may be able to directly refer your complaint to the agency (with your consent), make further enquiries, or deal with your concerns as a service delivery complaint. 

We will advise you if and why we decline your review request. This decision is final and is not reviewable.

8.    How do we conduct reviews?

If your review request is accepted, we will send you an acknowledgement letter that tells you what to expect from the review process. 

We conduct reviews in the order in which they are received. This means that once accepted, your review case will be placed in a queue until it can be allocated to a reviewer. 

You can ask for your review to be prioritised if you have exceptional circumstances such as:

• illness or disability
• vulnerability such as homelessness or risk of homelessness,
• processes that depend on a timely outcome from this Office (such as another right of appeal).

We will decide whether it is appropriate to prioritise your review due to your circumstances. If we decide not to, we will tell you why.

We endeavour to complete reviews within 3 months of acknowledging your review request. However, this depends on the number and complexity of reviews in the queue before yours. We will tell you if your review will take longer than 3 months.

Our review will be guided by the ground(s) for review you have raised. All the information you originally provided with your complaint will be considered, along with your internal review request.

The reviewer will also consider internal case records on your original complaint file. The reviewer will inform you in writing of their decision, including the reasons for the decision.

Unless exceptional circumstances exist, a decision about a complaint will be reviewed only once.

9.      Possible outcomes you can expect

• confirm the original decision to be correct and take no further action
• set aside the original decision because it was wrong and replace it with a different decision (without further investigation)
• reopen the original investigation because further information or action is needed 
• give you additional information or reasons about the decision 
• amend a policy, procedure or practice
• make a change to our records
• respond to a service delivery complaint 
• provide an apology.

10.   If you don't want an internal review anymore

You can ask us to withdraw your review request if you:

• change your mind and decide you do not want to continue with a review  
• no longer need a review (for example, if you receive another response from the agency you complained about). 
  
   

11.   How we deal with delivery complaints

If you include a service delivery complaint with your internal review request, we may be able to consider both matters together.

For more information about making a service delivery complaint, please see our Service delivery complaints procedure. 

12.    Reporting

We record and report data about internal review requests in our annual report in accordance with s 264 of the Public Sector Act 2022 and s 97 of the Human Rights Act.

13.    Who is responsible for making decisions about internal reviews?

14. Definitions

15. Related documents

Complaints management framework
Service delivery complaints and internal review policy
Service delivery complaints procedure