Meaningful change sought, not ticking the box
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Modern music begins to play.
An opening slide fades from black, containing the Victorian Ombudsman logo with text below: “We take complaints about Victorian government organisations. This video outlines the Ombudsman’s Third report on recommendations, tabled in the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday 30 June 2020.”
The slide fades to a wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass, standing in a well-lit room with a wall of green plants behind her. She is speaking direct to camera.
Glass: The greatest privilege of an Ombudsman is to be able to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives.
Glass: The most powerful way I can effect change, is through the recommendations I make to the organisations I investigate.
Glass: Since 2018, I have made 109 recommendations across 17 public reports, with 98% accepted.
A blank slide appears on screen, with the heading “From April 2018 to March 2020” at the top. Three vector symbols appear, one by one:
- Two speech bubbles with the text “109 recommendations” beneath
- A stack of documents and a magnifying glass with the text “17 public reports” beneath
- A hand holding a circle with a tick symbol inside it, with the text “98% acceptance” beneath.
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: In some cases, the acceptance proves only to be token. But others have led to organisations openly acknowledging where they went wrong and doing it better.
Glass: My work in the past two years has spanned four key areas:
- Protecting human rights
- Dealing with improper conduct in the public sector
- Improving public administration
- And acting as an independent commissioner for administrative investigations.
A blank slide appears on screen, with the heading “Scope of work over the past two years” at the top. Four vector symbols appear, one by one:
- A hand holding up a set of scales with the text “protecting human rights” beneath
- Two hands shaking, with the text “dealing with improper conduct” beneath
- A public building such as a town hall, with the text “improving public administration” beneath
- A magnifying glass with the text “independent commissioner” beneath.
The slide fades to a blue section slide, with the text “Protecting human rights” and a vector symbol of a hand holding a set of scales.
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: Human rights promote essential protections for everyone, including those in detention.
Glass: This formed the basis of two major investigations focusing on solitary confinement.
The shot of Ombudsman Deborah Glass fades to the text “Protecting human rights” on the left, with the titles of two investigations listed on the right:
- OPCAT in Victoria: A thematic investigation of practices related solitary confinement of children and young people
- Investigation into the imprisonment of a woman found unfit to stand trial
Glass: We investigated the case of ‘Rebecca’, who was unfit to stand trial but spent 18 months in prison because there was nowhere else for her to go.
The slide fades to a written quote from Ombudsman Deborah Glass about Rebecca’s story: “A 39-year-old woman spent over 18 months in prison, locked in her cell up to 23 hours a day, where she would scream with distress for hours on end.”
Glass: Since my investigation, Rebecca was admitted to a specialist secure hospital unit and there have been noticeable improvements in her welfare.
The text on screen fades to a different quote: “… since then, her time in a locked therapeutic environment has been life changing.” – Dr Colleen Pearce AO, Public Advocate
The quote slide fades to a blue section slide, with the text “Dealing with improper conduct in the public sector” and a vector symbol of two hands shaking.
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: People paid from the public purse must act in the public interest.
Glass: While most strive to meet the standards we expect of them, a small minority exploit their position for personal gain.
Glass: I published three reports arising from whistleblower complaints which exposed poor conduct across a range of organisations.
The shot of Ombudsman Deborah Glass fades to the text “Dealing with improper conduct in the public sector” on the left, with the titles of the three relevant investigations listed on the right:
- Investigation into allegations of improper conduct by officers at Goulburn Murray Water
- Investigation into improper conduct by a Council employee at the Mildura Cemetery Trust
- Investigation of three protected disclosure complaints regarding Bendigo South East College
The text fades to a blue section slide, with the text “Improving public administration” and a vector symbol of a public building.
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: I conducted two investigations as a result of large numbers of complaints uncovering systemic issues in the delivery of public services.
The screen splits, with text appearing to the right of the footage of the Ombudsman. Under the heading “Improving public administration” the titles of the two relevant investigations are listed:
- Investigation into State Trustees
- WorkSafe 2: Follow-up investigation into the management of complex workers compensation claims
Glass: I found that State Trustees had failed some of the most vulnerable people in Victoria. State Trustees accepted that finding, the government provided extra funding, and I’m pleased to see they are working hard to achieve the changes I called for.
The screen fades to a written quote from the Ombudsman on her findings on State Trustees: “At the heart of these issues is an overwhelming sense of powerlessness … directly impacting on State Trustee clients’ quality of life …”
Glass: I investigated WorkSafe for a second time, as a result of continued complaints suggesting not enough had changed after my first report. I found the failings had not been fixed, indeed my first report had barely scratched the surface.
The text on screen fades to a different quote from Ombudsman on her findings into WorkSafe: “Many of the decisions and actions we saw were not only unjust and wrong. Some were downright immoral and unethical.”
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: These investigations highlight the human cost of systemic failures. These cases affect the lives of people often at their most vulnerable. Recommendations must deliver real change.
The shot fades to a blue section slide, with the text “Independent commissioner for administrative investigations” and a vector symbol of a magnifying glass.
The slide fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: I hold many powers of a Royal Commission, which enable me to investigate matters referred by Parliament and elsewhere.
Glass: My investigation into the involvement of a child sex offender at Puffing Billy, uncovered historical failures of state organisations to protect young victims from his abuse.
The shot fades to a written quote from the Ombudsman on her findings from the investigation: “The actions or inaction of people in positions of authority – who should have known better – is inexcusable.”
Glass: The State Government made a formal apology to victims and survivors in November 2019.
The quote slide fades to a rolling screen of text, containing the State Government’s Apology to victims and survivors:
“Today, with the members of the Victorian Parliament gathered here in this house, we acknowledge the devastating and ongoing impact of Robert Whitehead’s criminal acts and the cries for help that were ignored.
The Victorian government sincerely apologises to victims, including Wayne Clarke, their families, their friends, their communities and anyone else who has been impacted by the abuse perpetrated at Puffing Billy.
We apologise for the inaction of those who in the past failed to support those who spoke out.”
The text fades back to the wide-shot of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass speaking to camera.
Glass: The Government’s response to this report highlights the difference between the token and the real.
Glass: We can all contrast an authentic response, which this was, from one where the box is merely being ticked.
Glass: Memo to box-tickers: the problems will not go away, it’s in your interests and in the community’s interests to fix them.
Glass: And until then, the Ombudsman will stay on your case.
The shot fades to a closing screen containing the Victorian Ombudsman logo and text below: “To read the report, or for more information, visit our website. www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au . Music: Beyond the Line from Bensound.com”
The text fades to black, with the music fading to an end at the same time. End.
A public apology to victims of a child sex offender, increased funding for State Trustees, and promises to reform the WorkSafe system so it delivers fairer outcomes for long-term injured workers.
These are some of the actions that have flowed from recommendations made by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass over the past two years.
Ms Glass has tabled in the Victorian Parliament her third biennial report on the implementation of her recommendations .
Her report covers 109 recommendations she made to state and local government bodies between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2020. The vast majority (98%) of her recommendations were accepted by the relevant body, with 41 implemented in full and 63 in progress.
Her recommendations span four key areas:
- protecting human rights
- dealing with improper conduct
- improving public administration and
- serving as an independent commissioner for administrative investigations.
Some of the most important recommendations actioned include:
Public apology made in the Victorian Parliament - November 2019
“For decades, the management of Puffing Billy and other entities had turned a blind eye to this life-long offender, to protect his reputation and that of the railway,” Ms Glass said.
“His young victims had to seek justice for themselves, or worse, suffered in silence, afraid they would not be believed. Some of those victims, no longer young, sat in the Parliament gallery near me. The intense silence as we witnessed the apology was palpable. Both the pain and the relief on people’s faces was visible.”
Reform and increased funding - State Trustees
In 2019, Ms Glass found State Trustees had failed some of Victoria’s most vulnerable people. In line with her recommendations, State Trustees is undergoing structural and cultural reform, and government funding has increased.
“Encouragingly, those who deal regularly with State Trustees, such as Financial Counsellors Victoria and the Public Advocate, have confirmed to us the improvements are real. And the Treasurer announced a funding boost for State Trustees, which the CEO advised would not have happened but for the Ombudsman’s report,” Ms Glass said.
Major systemic reform - WorkSafe
Ms Glass had cause to investigate WorkSafe for a second time, after finding in 2016 systemic unfairness in agents’ handling of claims by long-term injured workers. Her 2019 investigation confirmed “the failings identified in my first investigation had not been fixed, despite the acceptance of my recommendations.
“This time, my recommendations have focussed on major systemic reform. I am heartened by the Attorney-General’s stated commitment to achieving change and WorkSafe’s pledge - much more robust than last time - to address the issues within its responsibility. Real system reform will take time, but WorkSafe’s initial actions are encouraging.”
“Formal investigations are not always necessary to achieve change; I have also reported on VicRoads and Fines Victoria to address the problems evident in patterns of complaints.
"In these reports we worked with the agency, bringing systemic themes to their attention and documenting their responses, and we keep them under review through monitoring further complaints.”
Ms Glass said she would continue to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the recommendations she had made across the 17 reports over the past two years.
“An unenthusiastic response to an Ombudsman report without an acknowledgement of failings or desire to tackle them means the issue simply does not go away. We can all tell the difference between an authentic response and where the box is merely being ticked.
“Memo to box tickers: the problems will not go away, and it is in the community’s and your own interests to fix them. And until then, the Ombudsman will stay on your case," Ms Glass said.
She said it was disappointing the Victorian Government had not yet responded to one of her recommendations - that it designate an independent, empowered and resourced local body to undertake inspections of places of detention against the standards of the United Nations OPCAT human rights treaty.
She has undertaken two investigations using OPCAT standards, including one in 2019 which found children and young people in detention were being damaged through excessive use of isolation and separation.
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