Jane Pires has been reappointed as Queensland’s Land Access Ombudsman (LAO) for a further 3 years.
First appointed to the role in December 2018, Ms Pires said she was pleased to continue to provide a free, fair, and independent dispute resolution service for Queenslanders experiencing land access disputes.
The LAO provides help to Queenslanders with a land access dispute when a Conduct and Compensation Agreement (CCA) or a Make Good Agreement is in place.
“With continuing coal seam gas activity and resource activity growth in the State it is particularly important that support for community members experiencing issues with their land access agreements is available, and the LAO provides this free support.
“Getting legal advice on these matters can be expensive, that means people don’t seek help to resolve their issues.
“This can leave people feeling isolated - like they have nowhere to turn when they are caught up in a dispute.
“I feel honoured to be reappointed to the Ombudsman role, to provide this important support to Queenslanders that need this service,” she said.
Ms Pires has more than 30 years’ experience in customer service, management, and dispute resolution and chairs the Standards Australia QR-015 Complaints handling committee responsible for publishing the new Australian Standard AS 10002:2022 Guidelines for complaint management in organisations in March 2022.
Jane holds an MBA, is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association (ANZOA), the peak body for ombudsmen in Australia and New Zealand and is the Australian representative on the committee for international standard ISO 10002:2018 Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for complaints handling in organisations.
The LAO is an independent body established under the Land Access Ombudsman Act 2017, operating independently of government and industry.
For information about the LAO or support for Queenslanders experiencing land access disputes visit www.lao.org.au