Office of the Health Ombudsman
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | |
| Jurisdiction | Queensland Government |
| Employees | 152 (2023–24)[3] |
| Annual budget | A$29 million (2023–24)[3] |
| Agency executive |
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| Key document | |
| Website | oho |
The Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) is an independent agency of the Queensland Government responsible for investigating complaints against registered health practitioners and other health care workers in Queensland, Australia. While 16 health professions are regulated nationally, the OHO regulates all health workers and health organisations in Queensland with the purpose of protecting the public. The OHO works in a co-regulatory model with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra); the former manages all complaints in Queensland, while the latter manages the national registration of health practitioners.[5]
While the nationally regulated health professions have their own profession-specific Codes of Conduct issued through relevant National Boards, all other Queensland health care workers are required to comply with the National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (Queensland). The OHO investigates complaints against registered health practitioners against their respective Codes of Conduct, and all other health care workers against the National Code.[6]
The Office of the Health Ombudsman was created through the Health Ombudsman Act 2013, which confers relates powers to the Ombudsman to perform investigations and make regulatory decisions in regards to health workers and organisations. The Ombudsman is accountable to the Queensland Parliament through a parliamentary committee, and some decisions made by the Ombudsman are subject to review by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.[5]