Referral - I'd like my Complaint referred to the Service | Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces

If you want to make a Service Complaint and do not want to approach your Service Secretariat Central Admissibility Team (CAT) directly, you can ask the Ombudsman to refer your intention to make a Service Complaint.

The Ombudsman cannot investigate your Service Complaint at this stage. It must go through the relevant Service's internal complaints process first.

Your complaint may also have to go through a separate process first depending on what your complaint is about. Your Service Secretariat will let you know if this is the case (see Special-to-type matters for more information).

You can also submit your written complaint directly to your Service Secretariat Central Admissibility Team (CAT). See Useful Link and Contacts for details on contacting your Service's CAT.

What is a Referral?

A Referral is a letter from the Ombudsman that says you want to make a Service Complaint. This will usually be sent to your Service Secretariat Central Admissibility Team (CAT) or former Service Secretariat Central Admissibility Team if you are no longer serving.

It places a legal obligation on the Service to find out if the individual wants to make a formal complaint and get the process started.

Please note: A Service Complaint normally needs to be made within 3 months of the date of the wrong being complained about occurred. A Referral is not a formal Service Complaint and does not 'stop the clock' on the time limits for making a Service Complaint. If the Ombudsman makes a referral, it does not indicate that your complaint will be accepted for investigation as a formal Service Complaint.

Who can ask for a Referral?

Only current or former Service personnel can ask the Ombudsman to refer their intention to make a Service Complaint.

When can't the Ombudsman make a Referral?

If the incident you want to make a Service Complaint about happened before 1 January 2008 and your complaint was not submitted before 31 December 2015, it is not possible to make a Service Complaint now.

This is because a Service person can only make a Service Complaint if the matter they are complaining about occurred when they were subject to Service law. Service law commenced on 1 January 2008. Prior to this, Service personnel were subject to the laws of their individual Services (Army Act 1955, Navy Discipline Act 1957 and the Air Force Act 1955).

For incidents that occurred before 1 January 2008, personnel had until the 31 December 2015 to make a complaint. It may be possible to raise your historical complaint in another way.

Can the Ombudsman investigate my complaint?

The Ombudsman cannot investigate your complaint – it must go through the internal Service Complaints process. Once a Referral has been made the Ombudsman will not be involved in the handling of your complaint.

Further information about the Service Complaints process can be found in JSP 831: Redress of Individual Grievances.

Submit an Application for a Referral

If you would like to submit an Application for a Referral, please use the following link:

Please note: It is important that we can contact you once you have submitted an application. If we can’t contact you we may be unable to process your application or there may be delays in making a Referral.

Apply for a Referral