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The Ombudsman, Mr Jack Chan, today (14 July) attended an annual meeting with Legislative Council (“LegCo”) Members to brief them on the progress and results of the Office of The Ombudsman’s work in 2025/26, with an overview of its work strategies and objectives. At the meeting, Mr Chan also exchanged views with LegCo Members on issues of mutual concern and thanked them for their support of the Office’s work.

In response to President Xi Jinping’s hopes for and expectations of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”), Mr Chan pledged at the meeting that he will lead the Office in supporting the HKSAR Government’s policies in proactive alignment with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, and facilitate the HKSAR Government’s further improvement of administrative efficiency and people’s livelihood. Since taking office, Mr Chan has led the Office to innovate in multiple areas. He said, “The Office has evolved from a passive role with a focus on handling complaints into a proactive statutory body with foresight and capability to initiate systemic reforms. The Office now dedicates its efforts to not only proactive supervision but also preventing maladministration at source, thereby comprehensively enhancing the effectiveness of public governance.”

In 2025/26, the Office achieved remarkable results again in all three of its strategic focus areas. Regarding mediation, 1,145 complaints were resolved by this mode in this reporting year, more than doubling the number from 2024/25. Mr Chan added that, “Over the past year, the Office resolved by mediation numerous complaints related to the eMPF Platform to promptly defuse social tensions and grievances. The recommendations we made for substantive improvement of the eMPF Platform can enhance public services and maintain social stability and public confidence.” Highly praised by the community, the Office’s mediation work has achieved remarkable results.

On the front of interdepartmental collaboration, the Office has further advocated the concept of “One Government”. Mr Chan stressed that interdepartmental collaboration is crucial to achieving efficient, people-oriented good governance. He also shared cases to illustrate how it brought about tangible benefits for members of the public. During the year, the Office completed five direct investigation operations and processed 396 complaint cases involving interdepartmental collaboration. Mr Chan said that he appreciated the support of departments and organisations, and their co-operation in implementing the recommendations made by the Office. He said that interdepartmental collaboration not only effectively resolves the difficulties faced by the public, but also enhances the overall efficiency of public administration.

In 2025/26, the Office scaled up youth initiatives on campus and in the community, reaching out to over 66,000 young people through a variety of activities, such as seminars and career fairs, to cultivate a positive complaint culture and encourage youth participation in public affairs. The Office’s first-ever Summer Internship Programme was launched earlier this year. In the latest recruitment exercise for Assistant Investigation Officers, a record high of over 1,400 applications were received, demonstrating the positive image and attraction the Office has established among the younger generation. Meanwhile, through the annual Ombudsman’s Awards and the dual-track commendation scheme, the Office continued to practise a positive complaint culture by recognising departments, organisations and members of the public for their contributions towards improving public administration.

Mr Chan also highlighted that the Office fulfils its supervisory role by conducting direct investigation operations and making impactful recommendations to improve people’s livelihood, particularly for grassroots sectors and the underprivileged. During the year, the Office completed 10 direct investigation operations, in such areas as respite services for supporting carers of elderly persons and persons with disabilities; the effectiveness of administrative support provided for complaint handling by the Secretariat of the Medical Council of Hong Kong under the Department of Health (“DH”), and the DH’s regulatory role; and the Government’s work in combating cruelty to animals. In addition, the Office concluded 46 cases by full investigation, of which nearly 47 per cent were substantiated or partially substantiated. All the 573 recommendations it made during the year were accepted by the departments and organisations concerned. Mr Chan said, “The average time for implementing the recommendations made in full investigations was around three months, while recommendations of a larger scale made in direct investigation operations required 11 months. The overall situation was speedy and effective.” Furthermore, the Office made a total of 912 observations, covering measures for better public enquiries, complaint handling, transparency of information, staff training, etc. These observations are of practical value in preventing maladministration and raising the sensitivity of departments.

Last year, the Office established the Hong Kong International Ombudsman Academy (“HKIOA”) through flexible allocation of internal resources, without seeking additional government funding or manpower. The HKIOA held seminars and sharing sessions throughout the past year for departments, organisations, District Council members and assistants, as well as Mainland agencies and academic entities to advocate a positive complaint culture and the concept of maladministration prevention. The HKIOA serves as a liaison platform connecting local, Mainland and international partners, driving forward the sustainable development, reform and innovation of the ombudsman system.

The Office has attached importance to staff training and internal promotion. In the third quarter of this year, a group of staff will visit the Mainland to attend a specialised training programme on the 15th Five-Year Plan. The programme will enable them to gain deeper insights into the country’s major policies and development strategies. Mr Chan also said that while driving forward comprehensive reforms to boost productivity and output, the Office has ensured financial stability and even generated a higher surplus against the odds through active cost cutting and optimising resource allocation. By adopting prudent and economical financial management, it recorded an increase of $16 million in accumulated reserves in 2025-26. He said, “This approach of creating greater benefits with limited resources is also consistent with my overall strategy and direction of promoting efficient public administration, streamlining workflow and improving services.”

The Office will continue to strengthen liaisons with its Mainland and international counterparts, participate in international affairs and promote the exchange of experience. Mr Chan remarked that the Office will host the 30th anniversary celebration of the Asian Ombudsman Association (“AOA”), including the International Ombudsman Summit and the AOA’s Board of Directors Meeting, on December 1 this year. Leveraging Hong Kong’s unique position of having the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, the event will enhance the Office’s international influence in ombudsman matters.

Looking ahead, the Office will remain steadfast in its independence, objectivity and impartiality, act without fear or favour to ensure that Hong Kong is served by a fair and efficient public administration, and contribute to the HKSAR Government’s proactive alignment with the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Office of The Ombudsman

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