Is there anything we can do as a group?

[Hammar]

Considering how wait times for licence and permit applications have blown out across the board, somehow being even longer now it seems than when they introduced the online system (with all the hiccups and issues that brought), is there any recourse we have to get this situation with F.A.R. improved?

It took them just under 2 months to approve my PPL (on the second try after they somehow lost my first application), but now we have people (including my own Mum) waiting upwards of 3 and 4 months for licences and first permits (I'm likely looking at another 3-4 months to move up to my full H Cat licence FFS), while they continue to (falsely) say expected wait times of 6-8 weeks when you submit your licence application.

For a moment I had a glimmer of hope that we could all submit complaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman before I realised they only deal with Federal Police complaints https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/How-we-can-help/australian-federal-police. Does our only (unlikely) chance of improving things involve writing to our local State members and urging the NSW Government/Police to improve funding/staffing/pulling their heads out of their asses (I guess RIP if your member is Greens, Labor or even Liberal in some cases).
Or maybe we could do up a petition and present it to them. The whole point of this online system was to cut down paperwork, streamline and reduce how long applications would take but it's obvious now that was a load of s**t if they then just cut staffing to actually run it all (at least that's what I've heard).

We're paying for a service but told "Eh you'll find out whenever, tough s**t just wait." If this was a private company telling its customers that they would be getting dragged over the coals. I know the chances of anything changing are like expecting Centrelink to improve, but since this is a State department and not Federal I have some hope there'd be less f***ing red tape to cut through.

[No1_49er]

We're paying for a service but told "Eh you'll find out whenever, tough s**t just wait." If this was a private company telling its customers that they would be getting dragged over the coals.

Well, not quite Hammar.
IF it was a private company, it would no longer be in business. A business entity operated in that manner does not deserve to survive.

[StraightWhiteMale]

Have you spoken to your local member and gotten eveyone you know to do the same?

[flutch]

Depends who ya speak to at the branch, I was concerned my cheap Adler was going to take a month of Sunday's, so went in and told them it was needed for the farm and pests were outta control, was approved days later

[Farmerpete]

They're still a police division and have to live up to the professional and ethical standards of the police force

if enough people complain to the standards division it would become hard for them to continue to ignore it

That being said it would take a lot of complaints from a lot of demographics to cause action

[pomemax]

Website:
https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/
Email:
nswombo@ombo.nsw.gov.au