I need help
Are you a private citizen, an association, or a business and are you experiencing problems with a public administration?
Lodge a complaint
Do you work for a public administration and have you come across an incident of abuse of authority, fraud, or an irregularity that is contrary to the common interest?
Make a disclosure
Complete our questionnaire to find out whether Ombuds Brussels will be able to help you.
How to submit a complaint?
We are bound by professional secrecy and respect your privacy. For further information, consult our privacy policy via this link.
I have a problem with a public administration
To submit a complaint, you must meet the following three conditions:
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Ombuds Brussels must have competence over the public administration in question (check the list of public administrations).
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You already reported your problem to the public service in question but you are unhappy with the response or the public service did not get back to you.
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The facts are less than three years old.
How does Ombuds Brussels deal with your complaint?
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1
Acknowledgment of receipt:
you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt with a reference number (OM.2024.xxx) and the name of your file manager. Keep this important information on file.
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2
Verification and referral:
your file manager will examine whether your complaint is admissible. If it is inadmissible Ombuds Brussels will refer you to the right service.
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3
Analysis of the facts and dialogue:
your file manager will gather all the relevant information from you and the public service to gain a proper understanding of the situation and to examine whether there is a way to resolve it.
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4
Conclusion of the complaint:
- Our intervention has led to a reconciliation between your point of view and that of the public administration.
- If no solution could be found but your complaint is indeed founded, Ombuds Brussels can ask the public service to rectify your situation.
- If your complaint is unfounded or if a solution proves to be impossible, we close the file and explain the reasons to you.
- Our intervention has led to a reconciliation between your point of view and that of the public administration.
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5
Improvement:
if your complaint brings a more widespread problem to light, Ombuds Brussels can launch an investigation and make recommendations to the public administration or to Parliament.
The time it takes to deal with your complaint will depend on the complexity of the situation, on how quickly we receive the information we need, and on the number of complaints we are dealing with already.
What is the difference between a complaint and a disclosure?
A complaint involves a problem a citizen, an association, or a business is experiencing with a public administration.
A disclosure allows members of staff of a public administration (employees, outsiders or subcontractors) who have witnessed incidents of abuse of authority, fraud, or a serious irregularity that is contrary to the public interest to expose the situation.