State Ombudsman names govt dept as biggest headache
A new State Ombudsman report tells of tenants living with black mould for six years and names the government agency attracting the most complaints.
Reports of tenants allegedly living in properties contaminated with black mould, asbestos and methamphetamine have been outlined in the annual state Ombudsman report released this week.
The South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) recorded the most complaints to the State Ombudsman in the past 12 months with 748 complaints – a four per cent increase from the previous year. Ombudsman SA is the independent public office that investigates state and local government agency complaints.
It also reported complaints about local government have increased by 15 per cent while complaints alleging misconduct and maladministration increased by 35 per cent.
An Ombudsman SA investigation into a complaint alleging the housing trust was “failing to take action” to address a tenant’s concerns that her property was contaminated with methamphetamine and causing ill health found the agency had failed to respond in a timely manner.
“The investigation found that SAHT had an obligation to relocate a tenant once it was aware there was drug contamination at unsafe levels and that it erred by not doing so,” the report said.
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“The Ombudsman made several recommendations, aimed at ensuring urgent action is taken when a property’s condition is impacting a tenant’s health and that there is oversight of this action.”
One complaint alleged that a tenant was living in a property contaminated with black mould for up to six-and-a-half years before being relocated, with the Ombudsman determining the delay was “unreasonable and amounted to error”.
Another case outlined in the report included a tenant who believed visible asbestos material was exposed in her bathtub after contractors left bath repairs incomplete.
The report found the delay in addressing the issue was “unreasonable”.
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Most common complaints against SAHT were unreasonable delays to housing maintenance issues, which accounted for 310 complaints and the handling of complaints accounted for 90 cases.
The Ombudsman report found that complaint handling and delays had been “ongoing themes” for the past several years in relation to the housing trust.
As of July 27, the Ombudsman has commenced an investigation to consider SAHT’s complaint management system, and whether it meets the standards required by the Premier’s Circular on Complaint Management in the SA Public Sector which outlines the standard for maintaining an effective complaint management system.
However, the report noted an improvement from SAHT in responding to Priority 1 issues, which are those that may affect someone’s health or safety, with 99 per cent of issues completed on time.
“Ombudsman SA will continue to monitor and, where appropriate, take action in relation to SAHT maintenance request processes. However, SAHT is to be commended for improving these issues during the reporting period,” the report said.
Ombudsman Emily Strickland said her office had established a strategic focus that “leads to better services for many South Australians”.
“The complaints to our office, when substantiated, provide opportunities to deliver lasting, systemic improvement in public administration,” Strickland said.
“The case studies highlighted in this year’s annual report demonstrate how one person’s experience can lead to genuine, lasting change; indeed, often the motivation of complainants is ‘I don’t want this to happen to others’.”
Overall, Ombudsman SA completed 5150 matters in 2025-2026, an 8.7 per cent increase from the previous year and formally resolved 60 matters, compared with 48 the previous year.
It also investigated 70 issues, a fourfold increase from 2024-25, issued 65 formal recommendations and finalised 248 external review applications under the Freedom of Information Act.
Other agencies subject to the highest number of complaints have been the Department for Correctional Services, SA Police and the Department for Child Protection.
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