(Hai Pa) - If you have been harmed by an act of a public body, Hai Pa News Corporation brings you the complete guide to filing a complaint with the Public Complaints Commission.
The Office of the State Comptroller and Public Complaints Ombudsman informed Hai Pa News Corporation:
Were you harmed by an act or omission of a public body? Don't face it alone! The complete guide to submitting a complaint to the Public Complaints Commission at the State Comptroller's Office.
Whether it is the poor conduct of one of the divisions or departments in the local authority or whether it is a complaint you want to file about social security or any other public institution - the Ombudsman is at your service. How do you file a complaint? What happens to the complaint you submitted and how is the issue resolved? The full guide is here for you.
The Public Complaints Commission at the State Comptroller's Office allows each and every one of us to complain about harm we have experienced on behalf of a public body in Israel, and to receive dedicated treatment. So how do you file a complaint? What issues can be addressed to the Commission? And what happens to the complaint you filed?
Here is the full guide:
- Who can file a complaint?
Any person who finds himself harmed by an act or omission committed against the law, contrary to the rules of proper administration or without legal authority, or which has excessive rigidity or obvious injustice. It is important to note that it is not possible to file a complaint about commercial entities or private businesses, but only about public entities in Israel. If you do not speak Hebrew, you should know that the complaint can be submitted in many languages, including Arabic, Russian, Amharic and more. You can also file a complaint on behalf of another person, if you have received their written consent to do so. - Who can complain about?
You can file a complaint against any body subject to the audit of the state auditor: government ministries, local authorities, state enterprises and institutions, government companies, and any body or institution directly or indirectly supported by the government (for example, the electric company, the health funds, institutions of higher education, Amidar and more). A full breakdown of the bodies can be found on the website of the Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman.
- Who can't be complained about at the Public Complaints Commission?
It is not possible to file a complaint about a person or a private entity, about issues pending in court or decided in court, about an action that was taken more than a year before the complaint was filed (except in exceptional cases) or about any judicial action. It is important to know that serving in the IDF (regular or reserve), police officers and prison guards are not allowed to submit a complaint concerning their service or disciplinary matters. - How do we submit the complaint?
The complaint can be submitted in an online form through the website of the Office of the State Comptroller and Public Complaints Ombudsman, by mail, e-mail or fax to the number: 02-6665204.
Want to come physically to file a complaint? You can do this at the offices of the Public Complaints Commission in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Nazareth and Lod. - What should the complaint include? Identifying details (full name, social security number, contact details), any document relevant to the complaint, documentation of a previous contact with the body complained about and its response to the subject. It is important to emphasize that your identifying details are significant for investigating the complaint - the Commission does not handle complaints submitted anonymously.
- What happens to my complaint once it is submitted?
After receiving the complaint and assuming that the Commission has the authority to investigate it, the Commission will contact the body on which it was submitted, and will demand relevant information and documents to investigate the complaint. Depending on the information that will be collected, the Commission will be able to determine whether the complaint is justified or not. The commission is also authorized to stop the investigation for any reason provided by law. If your complaint is found to be justified, the Commission will inform you and the body about which the complaint was filed, and if a defect is found in the conduct of the body about which you complained, the Commission can indicate the way to correct the defect and set a date for its implementation. If the complaint is found to be unjustified - you will also receive a notification from the Commission in an orderly manner.
- What else is important to know?
It is important to know that some of the complaints are referred, with the consent of the parties, to a mediation procedure, which allows for an in-depth investigation of the circumstances of the complaint and improves the chances of successfully settling the dispute. Confidentiality and confidentiality are imposed on the entire mediation process, and the mediators in the Commission's mediation team are professional complaint investigators who have undergone dedicated training in the field. The mediation meetings are held all over the country and if necessary - they can also be held on Zoom.