Delay - I'm unhappy with the time it is taking to deal with my complaint

The jurisdiction of the Ombudsman is limited. The Ombudsman cannot monitor ongoing Service Complaints or intervene in the handling of ongoing complaints.

The only exception to this is when the Ombudsman investigates potential Undue Delay.

What is Undue Delay?

There is no legal definition of Undue Delay, but in general terms it means you think that the time taken to do something has been unwarranted, excessive, or unjust.

When can I ask the Ombudsman to investigate Undue Delay?

You can only ask the Ombudsman to investigate undue delay when:

  • You believe there has been undue delay in the handling of a Service Complaint you have made; or
  • You believe there has been undue delay in the handling of a Service Matter you have raised; and,
  • The Service Complaint or Service Matter is still open.

A Service Matter is any matter that has been raised with the Service and could potentially be a Service Complaint, but a Service Complaint has not been made. This could mean you have:

  • Made an informal complaint
  • Submitted an Annex F/written statement of complaint, but an admissibility decision has not yet been made.

How we will deal with your application for Undue Delay

When an application is received by our office, our Enquiries Team will check to ensure you have provided the information required before your application form is considered complete. 

Your application will be assigned to one of our investigators in the order of the date it was received by our office. The investigator will conduct an initial case review to determine whether we can accept the matter for investigation. Depending on what you have asked for in your application, we will review the documents you provided to assess whether you have met the following eligibility requirements:

•    The complaint relates to an on-going Service Complaint or the handling of a Service Matter.
•    There is an indication of significant delay.
•    The application is not deemed frivolous, vexatious, or malicious.

Submit an Application for an Investigation into Undue Delay

If you would like to submit an Application for an Investigation into Undue Delay, please use the link below

Please note: It is important that we can contact you once you have submitted an application.  If we cannot contact you we may be unable to process your application and your investigation will be delayed.

 

Apply for an Investigation

Timeframes for processing your application

2 days

Once we receive your application you will receive an acknowledgement within 2 working days.

10 days

The initial assessment of your application will take up to 10 working days.

17 days

Once your application has been allocated to an investigator, we aim to provide you with a final decision within 17 working days.

The published time frames start from the time a fully completed application form is received by our office. This means that all of the information requested on the form has been provided. This includes:

  • signed consent (you can type your name if you are sending the form from a personal email account in your own name)
  • any extra documents asked for on the application form
  • any other information requested by the Enquiries and Referrals Team

Time frames could be longer if we are dealing with a high volume of applications. Your acknowledgement email will outline any expected delays in allocating your application to an investigator.

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