New Zealand Chief Ombudsman

The Office of the Ombudsman (in Māori: Tari o te Kaitiaki Mana Tangata) was established in 1962 under the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act 1962. The term "Ombudsman" is Swedish and basically means "grievance person". The primary role of the Ombudsman in New Zealand is to investigate complaints against government agencies. In 1983 the responsibilities were extended to include investigation of agencies that fail to provide information requested in accordance with the Official Information Act. The Ombudsman also has responsibility to protect whistleblowers and investigate the administration of prisons and other places of detention.

The first Ombudsman in New Zealand was Guy Powles who had a previous background as a lawyer, soldier, administrator and diplomat. He held the position of Ombudsman from 1962 until his retirement in 1977. At the time of his appointment, only three other countries had an Ombudsman - Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The Ombudsmen Act came into force in 1975. This allowed for the appointment of additional Ombudsmen in addition to the chief Ombudsman and extended the role to include local government agencies.

In 1983, the Official Information Act required government agencies to respond to requests for information (known as OIA requests) and the Ombudsman was given the task of investigating complaints against Ministers of the Crown and central government agencies when requested information was not supplied in a timely manner. In 1988 the Ombudsman's powers were extended to decisions made by local government agencies as well.

In 2001, the Protected Disclosures Act (commonly known as the “whistle-blower” legislation) was passed. This makes the Ombudsman responsible for "providing advice and guidance to any employee who has made, or is considering making, a disclosure about serious wrongdoing in their workplace (either public or private sector)". In 2005 all crown entities were brought within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction under the Ombudsmen Act and Official Information Act.

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