TIO Annual Report 2005/06

Reviews

TIO procedure allows for complainants who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint to request an independent review of their complaint by the Review Officer, a senior member of staff.

The Review Officer’s primary focus when reviewing a complaint is to ensure that a fair and reasonable outcome has been achieved. In reviewing a complaint, the Review Officer ensures that all relevant industry legislation, codes and standards have been considered. Further, the Review Officer ensures that the decision reached by the Investigation/Enquiry Officer is consistent with TIO policy, procedure, and practice and has been well documented/explained to the complainant.

The Review Officer reports directly to the Deputy Ombudsman and is responsible for independently reviewing the outcome of Enquiries and Level 1, 2, 3, and, in some instances, administrative Level 4 complaints.

In 2005/06, 266 reviews were requested – a 21.3% decrease from the previous year and in this period, the TIO completed 216 case reviews. In 74.5% of cases, the Review Officer concluded that a complete and thorough investigation had been conducted by the Investigation or Enquiry Officer, and agreed that a fair and reasonable outcome to the complaint had been achieved.

In 13% of cases, the additional information was sought before concluding that a fair and reasonable outcome had been achieved in the first instance while 10.6% of cases reviewed were returned to the relevant Investigation or Enquiry Officer for further investigation.

In 1.9% of cases, the TIO’s initial finding was overturned following additional investigation of the complaint by the Review Officer.

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