In the 12 months from the first Australian COVID case on 25 January 2020, the NSW Ombudsman received over 900 contacts from individuals wishing to raise complaints or concerns about their treatment or experience of the NSW government’s pandemic measures.

Most of the complaints related to the conditions of mandatory hotel quarantine, including hotel facilities, food options and quarantine exemption requests.

The report draws attention to the benefits of effective complaint handling during crises. As well as helping to ensure accountability and fair treatment, complaints provide on-the-ground intelligence to identify risks before they escalate.