Ombudsman blasts ‘lack of compassion’ from bureaucrats in ‘unjust’ border permit system

Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass says the state’s bureaucrats need to “dial up their compassion sometimes”.

It comes after a scathing Ombudsman’s report tabled in Parliament today revealed only eight per cent of the 33,535 border applications submitted by residents trying to get home were granted.

In the report, the Ombudsman labelled the border permit scheme “downright unjust, even inhumane”.

Ms Glass says a “huge number” of applications were never even reviewed by decision-makers.

“What came across to me was the focus on caution. This culture of caution that we saw within the department was simply not acknowledging that there were people at the heart of their decision-making who are affected by this,” she told 3AW Mornings.

“The lack of compassion that came across, that needs a reset.

“There were too many cases here where decision-making seemed unreasonable,  unfair, and unjust.

“And yes, I think bureaucrats need to dial up their compassion sometimes.”

Press PLAY below to hear Deborah Glass’s scathing comments