Where to go with a complaint about Fire Ant Eradication Program

Do you have a complaint about the National Fire Ant Eradication Program? Did you know that we are not the first place to lodge your complaint? Please lodge your initial complaint with the Department of Primary Industries.

Effective from 15 August, due to recent fire ant detections, the National Fire Ant Eradication Program announced changes to Queensland’s fire ant biosecurity zones. The updated zones affect communities in the following local government areas:

• City of Gold Coast
• Isaac Regional (Moranbah mine site only)
• Lockyer Valley Regional
• City of Moreton Bay
• Scenic Rim Regional.

Fire ant biosecurity zones and associated movement controls are precautionary measures designed to help stop fire ants from spreading across Queensland and beyond. To find out more, visit the Department of Primary Industries Fire Ant portal.

Role of the Queensland Ombudsman
Under the Ombudsman Act 2001 (the Act), this Office investigates complaints about the actions and decisions of Queensland agencies. Queensland agencies include state government departments, public authorities, councils and non-government entities performing functions of an agency for the community.

The role of this Office is to investigate complaints about the administrative actions of agencies. We are independent – not an advocate for either complainants or agencies. We make recommendations to agencies to improve their decision-making. You can read about some of the cases we have investigated and the outcomes we have achieved for the community via our casebooks.

If we do not identify concerns about the administrative action of agencies, we may decide to take no further action. Generally, disagreeing with the administrative action or decision is not, in itself, a sufficient basis for us to take further action, nor can we make agencies take a particular action to resolve a complaint.

Next steps
If you are unhappy with an action or decision of the Department of Primary Industries (formerly the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries), you should lodge your complaint through the department’s complaint management system in the first instance. Please refer to Complaints process | Department of Primary Industries, Queensland for more information.

If you receive a final decision on your complaint in writing and you remain unhappy, you can lodge a complaint with the Queensland Ombudsman for external review here.

Photo credit: National Fire Ant Eradication Program