The Commonwealth Ombudsman Told Me to Contact Them Again, Then Ignored All My Emails
I lodged a complaint against Australia Post with the Commonwealth Ombudsman on 8 April 2026. My complaint was assigned reference number 2026-807975.
On 27 May, the Ombudsman informed me that my complaint had been referred to Australia Post, giving it a final opportunity to resolve the matter directly with me. At the same time, the Ombudsman closed my complaint but explicitly instructed me to contact the Office again if Australia Post did not respond by 10 June or if I was dissatisfied with its response. I was told that, in that case, a new complaint would be opened, the information I provided would be assessed, and a decision would be made on whether an investigation was warranted.
I followed their instructions exactly.
On 29 May, I informed the Ombudsman that Australia Post’s response did not provide an adequate resolution, and I submitted additional documentation. On 10 June, I formally requested that my complaint be reopened and that a full investigation be conducted. After Australia Post provided another unsatisfactory response, I contacted the Ombudsman again on 30 June and requested a further assessment of my complaint.
After receiving no response, I emailed again on 13 July, asking only for confirmation of whether my complaint would be reopened or reviewed. I received no response to that email either. I contacted the Office for the final time on 30 July and explained that I had lost confidence in it because none of my requests for further assessment had received a reply.
The Ombudsman never confirmed whether a new complaint had been opened, whether my request for reconsideration had even been reviewed, or whether any decision had been made.
I am not claiming that the Ombudsman was required to decide in my favour. However, I was entitled to at least a response and an explanation of the decision, particularly because I had simply followed the Office’s own written instructions.
Because of this complete lack of response, I no longer have any confidence in the Commonwealth Ombudsman and will never contact the Office again. The reason is simple: the Office instructed me to contact it again if Australia Post did not resolve the matter, but when I followed those instructions exactly, all my emails were completely ignored.
It is extremely disappointing that an institution responsible for considering complaints from members of the public does not follow its own written instructions and cannot provide even a basic confirmation of the status of a complaint.