Request for information under the Code on Access to Information — processing time limit and closure criteria for escalated cases of 1823
Dear Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau Digital Policy Office,
I am writing under the Code on Access to Information about the 1823 escalation mechanism referred to in the Ombudsman's report of 7 March 2024.
1. Please provide the document that sets any processing time limit for a case after it is escalated to a District Officer or to the Task Force on District Governance.
2. Please provide the case closure criteria used for a case after it is escalated.
3. Please provide, for each year since the mechanism began, the average time from escalation to closure, and the number of escalated cases still unresolved.
If any part of this request is refused, please state the provision of the Code on Access to Information relied on.
Yours faithfully,
XIAN Hiu Yu
We acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. Thank you. (The above is generated
by an auto-reply program.) Best Regards, Digital Policy Office 本辦公室已
接獲您的電郵，內容備悉。 (以上為電腦自動發出的訊息。) 數字政策辦公室
12/10/2026
Dear Sir/Madam,
Subject: Access to Information request - Request for information under the Code on Access to Information — processing time limit and closure criteria for escalated cases of 1823 (Case Ref: 3-9787186737)
Thank you for your email to the Digital Policy Office (DPO) dated 11/10/2026. Please note that DPO requested 1823 to follow.
For the issue(s) related to 1823, we have passed your correspondence to the management team of 1823 for follow-up. You will be informed of the result once it is available.
If you have any questions about this reply, please contact us.
Best regards,
Silvia Chan
Customer Service Supervisor
1823
Contact Us: www.1823.gov.hk/en/about-us/contact-us
Service Disclaimer: www.1823.gov.hk/en/di.shtm
16/10/2026
Dear Sir/Madam,
Subject: Access to Information request - Request for information under the Code on Access to Information — processing time limit and closure criteria for escalated cases of 1823 (Case Ref: 3-9787186737)
Regarding your above case, as 1823 requires more time to handle it, we cannot provide you with a substantive reply at this stage. Once the case is completed, you will be informed of the outcome as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about this reply, please contact us.
Best regards,
Franky Chung
Customer Service Supervisor
1823
Case Status Enquiry: www.1823.gov.hk/portal/en/login
Contact Us: www.1823.gov.hk/en/about-us/contact-us
Service Disclaimer: www.1823.gov.hk/en/di.shtm
27/10/2026
Dear Sir/Madam,
I refer to your email dated 11 October 2026 to the Digital Policy Office, requesting information on 1823 under The Code on Access to Information. Our response is as follows:
The General Circular No. 7/2024 (the Circular) issued by Director of Administration sets out the general procedures for government bureau/departments (B/D) on complaint handling.
According to the Circular, if two B/D consider that they are not the right parties to take up a service request/complaint on district issues, 1823 will seek the assistance of the relevant District Officer(DO), who will take a view within five calendar days as to which bureaux/department (B/D) should take charge of the complaint. If in doubt, the DO will submit the case, together with the information provided by the two B/Ds and his/her recommendations, no later than the next calendar day of the five-calendar day period to the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration (DCS) for steer and ruling as the Chairman of the Task Force on District Governance (TFDG).
Following a decision by DO or DCS, 1823 will convey the result to the B/D concerned and 1823 will close the case when the B/D concerned issues a substantive reply and updates the case status to 1823.
As of 30-September-2026, two cases were escalated to the relevant DO (one in 2025 and the other in 2026) and the average case handling time was 5 calendar days. There was no unresolved escalated cases as at to date.
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