BackIOI President and Western Australian Ombudsman Chris Field has been awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2023 Australia Day Honours List. The honour is “For outstanding public service as Ombudsman and President of the International Ombudsman Institute.” An investiture ceremony at Government House will be held later this year. In response to receiving the award President Field said: “I am deeply humbled to have been awarded a Public Service Medal. The honour is owed to the exceptional staff of the office of the Western Australian Ombudsman and my outstanding colleagues and friends on the Board of Directors of the IOI and the Secretariat of the IOI in the office of the Austrian Ombudsman Board.”
The office of the Governor General of Australia issued this statement in relation to the prestigious honour.
“As Ombudsman, Mr Christopher James Field has transformed access to justice, established new functions and created a major own-initiative investigation team, including investigating improved planning for children in care, preventing youth suicide, preventing child drownings and preventing deaths from family and domestic violence. He is committed to supporting women in leadership, with 75 per cent of Corporate Executive positions held by women, and has created a position to promote the interests of LGBQTIA+ Western Australians and introduced the inaugural position of Assistant Ombudsman, Aboriginal Engagement and Collaboration to lead a new Aboriginal Engagement and Collaboration Team. Mr Field is well respected internationally, and is the first Australian to be elected President in the 43-year history of the International Ombudsman Institute. In his previous roles as Treasurer of the Institute he replaced a four-decade old flat fee structure, with a structure based on capacity to pay, substantially improving fairness and inclusion for Ombudsman institutions from developing democracies. As Second Vice President, Mr Field led a major organisational change that saw regions historically under-represented, including Africa and Asia, receive fairer representation on the Executive of the Institute. As President, he has led extensive engagement with supra-national bodies, particularly the United Nations. Mr Field is respected for the highest levels of personal integrity, accountability and responsibility and has operated selflessly in his service to the Parliament and citizens of Western Australia.”
Source: The Office of the IOI President and Western Australian Ombudsman
