Office of the Ombudsman (New Zealand)

Office of the Ombudsman

Kaitiaki Mana Tangata
Agency overview
Formed	1962
Jurisdiction	New Zealand
Headquarters	70 The Terrace Wellington 6011
Minister responsible	Gerry Brownlee, Speaker of the House of Representatives
Agency executive	Vacant, Chief Ombudsman
Website	www.ombudsman.parliament.nz

The Ombudsman is an officer of the New Zealand Parliament to independently look into complaints. The core jurisdiction of the office is cases of maladministration, but it has been progressively expanded over the years to cover complaints under the Official Information Act 1982 and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, whistleblower complaints under the Protected Disclosures Act 2000, and it is one of New Zealand's national preventive mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

Ombudsmen are appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand on recommendation from the New Zealand House of Representatives for a term of five years.^[1]

The former Chief Ombudsman is Peter Boshier.^[2]