South Australia's Ombudsman found child protection workers acted in error when they informally placed three children in the care of family members against their mothers' wishes. The SA Department for Child Protection removed the children without exercising formal statutory powers, disregarding the parents' clear and persistent disagreement. The Ombudsman's report noted the department used safety plans, which are ordinarily collaborative agreements, without the mothers' agreement.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman has called for laws to be changed so assessors can override decisions made by an aged care algorithm. The watchdog found the system had produced unfair outcomes for residents and weakened public confidence. Ombudsman Iain Anderson said many outcomes were inappropriate and that the department did not fully understand the legal framework it created. The government says an independent review will be released in the first half of 2027. Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the findings showed lessons from robodebt had been ignored.
Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson has found the aged care funding algorithm is neither fair nor consistent. His report, over 100 pages, says the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing acted unreasonably in running the assessment scheme. He recommends that senior assessors be allowed to override the algorithm's decisions. The government has not accepted that recommendation, but has agreed to a review of the Aged Care Act.
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A Commonwealth Ombudsman investigation has found that the government's automated aged care assessment tool, the Integrated Assessment Tool, produces unfair outcomes and erodes public trust. Ombudsman Iain Anderson said algorithmic decisions cannot currently be overridden, even when clinically inappropriate. The investigation also found the department wrongly told assessment providers that automated outcomes could be changed, and that there was no public information explaining how the tool reaches its results. The Ombudsman made 10 recommendations, including legislative changes allowing overrides.
An algorithm used by the federal government to assess older Australians' care needs is unreasonable and unfair, according to an investigation by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Iain Anderson. The 104-page report found assessors are barred from overriding the tool's funding recommendations, even when they are clinically wrong. It also found there is no public explanation of how the algorithm reaches its outcomes and that recommendations from the robodebt royal commission on transparency were not followed. The Ombudsman says the law must change so assessors can correct clinically incorrect decisions. The Department of Health and Ageing has been contacted for comment.
The Commonwealth National Preventive Mechanism has recommended that the Department of Home Affairs ensure enough staff at the Adelaide Immigration Detention Centre to meet security needs while keeping services running. Staff raised concerns that a new directive requiring more frequent use of mechanical restraints and extra personnel during transport and escort activities could reduce the number of staff available for daily operations. The directive followed an escape during a transport and escort activity at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.
The University of Technology Sydney mishandled complaints made by Jewish students after an on-campus pro-Palestine protest, according to the National Student Ombudsman. The ombudsman has made seven recommendations to the university, including that it apologise to the students and review its on-campus protest policy. Two students received no response to their complaints, which breached the university's own policy, while others received a generic reply. The university said it had apologised and accepted its handling was inadequate.
The National Student Ombudsman has found the University of Technology Sydney failed to properly handle complaints from Jewish students after a pro-Palestine rally. Some students received no response, while others got generic replies. The ombudsman also found the university wrongly named the Australasian Union of Jewish Students in its review recommendations, damaging the group's reputation. Education Minister Jason Clare said the university had let Jewish students down and that universities must take complaints of racism seriously.
Queensland's ombudsman, Anthony Reilly, has backed away from calling for the Wacol youth remand centre to close. His latest report says the centre is not suitable for children, but he considers it better than holding them in police watch houses. He is concerned that new bail laws could lead to more young people being detained. Sisters Inside chief executive Debbie Kilroy called the backdown a gutless retreat.
Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook says new information released by the state Ombudsman on the deaths of three Pilbara children could support a coronial inquest. The children, aged 10, seven and four months, were killed by their mother, Margaret Hawke, in South Hedland. A previous request for an inquest by their grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, was refused in 2025. Attorney-General Tony Buti says he can order an inquest only if fresh evidence is provided that the former coroner did not consider. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas questioned why no inquest has been called.
