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handling complaints about government

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Navigation

This site has been designed to facilitate easy access to our services and related information, with a strong emphasis on navigation to help you locate your position in the site.

Downloads

Your browser may open PDF files within the browser window. It is strongly recommended that the following procedure be used to access these files: RIGHT mouse button on the link and Choose 'Save Target As...' (Internet Explorer) OR 'Save Link As...' (Netscape), Select an appropriate folder on a local drive to place the downloaded file. Attempting to open large Adobe Acrobat files within the browser window may prove to be slow loading and could lead to system problems.

[top] links

This link enables you to return to the top of the page you are currently in.

Search

There is a search facility in the banner at the top right corner of all content pages. This search facility can search for keywords within the ACT Ombudsman website. In some areas of the site (such as annual reports) you can opt to search just within that section.

Metadata

This website uses the Australian Government Locater Service (AGLS) metadata standard. It is a set of descriptive elements which improves the visibility and accessibility of the services and information provided over the Internet.

Larger and smaller text

The font size as all text sizes in this website have been scaled using relative (percentage size) fonts. If you are having trouble viewing information on the page, you can make the text size larger using the A- and A+ buttons on the top right hand side of each page (alongside the 'Print Page' button). These buttons will increase or decrease the text size one increment larger or smaller than the default text size. The A- button makes the font size smaller and the A+ button increases the font size.

Alternatively most browsers also contain a feature that allows users to display 'larger' or 'smaller' text. For example: in Microsoft Internet Explorer click on 'view' menu and select 'text size' and then select one of the font sizes; or in Netscape Navigator click on 'view' menu and change the font/text size. Otherwise please refer to your browser's help facility for instructions.

Accessibility

The ACT Ombudsman aims to provide information accessible to the largest possible audience and a site with strong design elements. The following standards were used to design the website:

    • alternative text links for image based links
    • summary attributes for layout tables
    • alternative text equivalents for figures, charts and graphs
    • adjustable relative (percentage) text sizes
    • consistent navigation throughout the site
    • extensive style sheet presentation control
    • tab option that allows you to tab through every link on the page
    • multiple browser testing.

Standards

Standards followed in the development of this site are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 1.0 (WCAG 1.0), a set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to enable equal access to all users of the Internet.

Under these guidelines, we believe we have met all applicable Priority 1 and Priority 2 checkpoints, as well as a number of key Priority 3 checkpoints. Check the WAI-QuickTips for a brief overview of building websites enabled for access impaired users or see Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 for a detailed insight.

Feedback

We encourage all users to provide feedback about any access problems. Providing as much information as possible about your computer, operating system and browser makes it easier to identify your access problem. Report any accessibility issues via email to ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au with your feedback. If appropriate, please include the specific URL (website address) of any specific pages in your feedback.

Browsers

When viewing the ACT Ombudsman website it is recommended that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or above, Netscape Navigator 6 or above, Opera 5 or above, or Mozilla 1 or above, with Javascript activitated. Using a lower version may give you a lower viewing optimisation and it is recommended that you upgrade.

Please visit www.microsoft.com, www.netscape.com, www.mozilla.org or www.opera.com to download the latest version of these browsers. Some other browsers may also be compatible.

Screen resolution

The ACT Ombudsman website has been optimised for viewing with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels or greater.

Known issues

Netscape version 4.5 and earlier, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.5 and earlier and non Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) browsers. These browsers have a method for displaying CSS that is not as standardised as modern browsers. Other older browsers don't display CSS at all. Standard CSS is the major element in the 'interface design' of this web site and due to the limitations, the interface of these portals are not as 'stylised' in these browsers as they are in newer browsers.

All the information is still available and the text can still be scaled using the browser preferences or options.

The 'larger' or 'smaller' text buttons within the page toolbox will not function in some older browsers including Netscape version 4.77 and earlier, and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.5 and earlier.

Large pages

There are some pages that may take a bit longer to display due to table data and figure graphics. Please send us feedback (via email to ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au) if you experience problems with the download times.

Printing pages

While it is possible to print the HTML pages on this website, using the 'Print friendly' icon on the top right hand side of each page (alongside the 'increase and decrease font size' icons), with some of the larger reports and publications, we suggest downloading the PDF or RTF versions for printing purposes.

Adobe reader

Downloadable documents are provided as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer to view PDF files. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from the Adobe website.

PDF download

Portable Document Format, or PDF as it is commonly known, is a technology developed by Adobe Systems. It allows print documents, such as reports, to be compressed into portable electronic files directly from the original documents.

If your browser opens Adobe Acrobat files within the browser window, it is strongly recommended that the following procedure be used to access all these files: Click the link with the RIGHT mouse button, Choose 'Save Target As..' (Internet Explorer) or 'Save Link As...' (Netscape), Select an appropriate folder on a local drive to place the downloaded file. Attempting to open large Adobe Acrobat files within the browser window may lead to system problems.

Contact us

For further information about any information on this website or for copies of reports in other formats, please contact the Director, Public Affairs and Outreach at ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au or phone 1300 362 072.