One of the other pillars of the ombudsman role is that it's not the first line of complaint. It's typically the last line of complaint.
The public should attempt to address their issues through the existing complaint process as a first step. What I found in my time is that about 80% of the complaints that an ombudsman receives will be referred back to the organization and referred back to that internal complaint process. The complaints generally won't need to come back to the ombudsman. They will get resolved through that internal complaint process.
When you get into that other 20% of complaints, that's when you need some potential ombudsman intervention. Maybe the government organization doesn't understand the complainant, maybe the complainant is having trouble accessing the government organization, or maybe there's a dispute about facts that the ombudsman can investigate and help clarify.
In my experience, again, it's about 80% that will be resolved through the existing complaint process, but it's that roughly 15%-20% where the ombudsman can really help be effective, drive change and provide positive outcomes.