---
title: "Screen before a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about Defence"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/military-and-defence-law/defence-force-ombudsman-screen"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a64-defence-force-ombudsman-screen"
area_id: "A64"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A64-H20261018-6"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Screen before a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about Defence

> A screen for a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about Defence: who the complaints page says may complain, what it says is outside the investigation, and the redress step for a serving member.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/military-and-defence-law/defence-force-ombudsman-screen  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Military & Defence Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/military-and-defence-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia, Commonwealth
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the authority it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.

## When to use it

Use when a serving member, former member, spouse, dependant, or member of the public wants the Commonwealth Ombudsman to look at an unresolved Defence administrative matter. It is not the redress of grievance complaint, and it is not a discipline document.

## Used for these tasks

- [Prepare a redress of grievance complaint about a service decision](https://ailawframework.com/practice/military-and-defence-law/prepare-a-redress-of-grievance-complaint-about-a-service-decision.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may sort the instructions into the categories on the Ombudsman page; the lawyer decides whether this complaint is one that page says can be investigated.

**AI may:**

- List the complainant's connection with Defence as the instructions state it
- Record whether a redress of grievance has already been lodged, and the date, if the instructions give one

**AI must not:**

- Must not describe a Defence discipline matter as something the Ombudsman can investigate
- Must not tell a serving member to skip redress of grievance, except where the page's report-of-abuse exception is the instruction
- Must not complete the Ombudsman's online form or the permission form

**The lawyer checks:**

- The complaint is an administrative matter of the kind the page lists, or it is recorded as outside that list
- A serving member who is not reporting abuse has used redress of grievance first
- If someone else will complain for the person, the permission form named on the page is used, and its fields are taken from the form itself

## Authorities

- [Commonwealth Ombudsman, Defence Force complaints: who may complain, matters that cannot be investigated, and the redress step for a serving member](https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/complaints/defence-force-complaints)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/military-and-defence-law/defence-force-ombudsman-screen and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*