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ABC News
ABC News
National

ABC introduces new role of ombudsman to head the Editorial Complaints Unit

The independent review was commissioned by the ABC board in October 2021. (ABC Gippsland: Sarah Maunder)

The ABC will introduce the new role of an ombudsman in an overhaul of its complaints handling procedures.

The ombudsman will head an expanded Editorial Complaints Unit and have the power to review a complaint finding.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose said the ombudsman would report directly to the board.

"The review reckoned that the ombudsman should report to the board and managing director, but the directors felt that this would simply be continuing the system we already have and we wanted a different approach."

This follows the completion of an independent review where the ABC board accepted all its recommendations.

Ms Buttrose said the approach was consistent with the approach of other national broadcasters, like the SBS and BBC.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose said the process would be more transparent than it had been in the past. (ABC News)

She said the ABC was looking for an external candidate to fill the new position.

Ms Buttrose said the changes would not interrupt the way journalists work.

"If the facts are correct and the story is right, there’s no reason why a story shouldn’t be published."

She said it was "good practice" and "good management" to review.

Report released in full

The report for the independent review was released on Tuesday.

It was conducted by former Commonwealth and NSW Ombudsman Professor John McMillan and former SBS Director News and Current Affairs Jim Carroll.

The review’s key recommendation is that the ABC should retain an in-house process as the frontline in complaints resolution, alongside the creation of the ombudsman role.

It also included recommendations that the ABC should make corrections more visible to audiences that may have an interest in receiving them and provide clearer guidance on the complaint investigation procedure.

The board would now consider how the recommendations would be implemented.

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