Veterans Affairs committee  While in the public service you never get away from who your ultimate employer is. As I said at the start, we have an Australian system that works pretty well. The parliamentarians have a part of that process through the government of the day, and it's the parliamentarians who form the government of the day, normally the majority in the lower house, the House of Representatives, or House of Commons in your terms.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have a very good relationship with our colleagues at the Department of Defence. When a veteran applies for a pension or a benefit from us, we make arrangements with our defence colleagues to have their service and medical records shipped over. But in-house, in our department, if the veteran's pension claim is rejected for whatever reason and the veteran complains to the ombudsman, and the ombudsman needs to cite or get those records—and he has that power under the legislation—then we would comply with any request and normally provide him with certified copies.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it's true to say there are issues with very old records, but our legislation gives the department the power to use the benefit of the doubt in determining claims. If there were an absence of a record, but the proposition being put was reasonable and made sense in terms of other veterans in similar circumstances, normally the department would err on the side of giving the veteran the benefit of the doubt, notwithstanding the absence of the record, and would grant the benefit.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you.

Veterans Affairs committee  Certainly speaking as an Australian citizen, I'd say maybe the ombudsman's office hasn't had the public exposure that it may have had, in the sense that maybe more could be done to make citizens aware that there is that avenue of redress available. In terms of how the government agencies deal directly with the ombudsman's office, there's a pretty good relationship and partnership and there's a sense that we're trying to get a common outcome for the citizen.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, I don't know.

Veterans Affairs committee  The question arises, and that has to do with the ombudsman office and how they do their work. All I can say is that certainly they have performance standards that they try to meet. However, how the ombudsman has arranged his office clearly is working, given the standards they're meeting.

Veterans Affairs committee  Not within the legislation. As I said, all Australian government agencies have to publish a performance or service charter in terms of how they're going to respond. So the ombudsman would have his, and that would be on his website and in his reports.

Veterans Affairs committee  The recommendations go from the principal member, who is the person who runs the board, to the minister, and the minister signs off on that.

Veterans Affairs committee  They're a mixture. They normally try to get members with military experience. It's normally people who have some sort of legal experience. Often there are people who have some sort of medical experience. But I'm not sure that it has ever been mandated that you must have x number of people with these sorts of— I think those three categories are what they try to cover, and they also try to make sure that they have a balance within those three.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can only tell you how the process works.

Veterans Affairs committee  They're appointed on recommendation by the principal member who runs the board to government, and I think it's the minister who actually signs it off.

Veterans Affairs committee  In the main, yes. Most of what we call own-motion are in other areas of government.

Veterans Affairs committee  Often one size doesn't fit all, and it's up to various countries and jurisdictions to work out what best accommodates their needs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Not in recent years, not within my memory.