Making a complaint against government or public bodies
If you think you’ve been unfairly treated by a government department, organisation or public body you can complain. It is important to contact the body first to deal with your complaint, but if you think it hasn’t been dealt with properly you can contact the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman.
Government organisations and public bodies
If you have a complaint about a government organisation or public body you should always contact the organisation or body first to make your complaint. They will have a procedure in place to investigate your complaint and do everything they can to resolve it.
If you wish to raise a concern about something going wrong within government, you should contact the relevant department:
If, following the organisation’s investigation, you don’t feel the complaint has been settled to your satisfaction you can contact the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman.
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman
The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman investigates unresolved complaints about public bodies in Northern Ireland.
Making a complaint to the Ombudsman
Find out how to make a complaint to the Ombudsman on its website:
The European Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Union.
If you are a citizen of a Member State of the Union or live in a Member State, you can make a complaint to the European Ombudsman.
Businesses, associations or other bodies with a registered office in the Union may also complain to the Ombudsman.
Complaints about the police
The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has an independent impartial police complaints system for the people and the police of Northern Ireland.
The Prisoner Ombudsman
The Prisoner Ombudsman is appointed by the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland and is independent of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS).
The Prisoner Ombudsman investigates complaints from prisoners held in Northern Ireland who are unhappy with how their complaint has been responded to by the Prison Service.