Request for information under the Code on Access to Information — guidelines under Recommendation 2 of the Ombudsman's report and criteria for escalating 1823 complaint case
Dear Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau Digital Policy Office,
I am writing under the Code on Access to Information about the second recommendation in the Ombudsman's direct investigation report of 7 March 2024.
1. Please provide the guidelines drawn up under the second recommendation, for escalating recurring district problems.
2. Please provide the criteria for deciding whether a case goes to a District Officer or to the Task Force on District Governance.
3. Please provide the "standardise work guidelines" prepared by the office, or state where they are published.
If the guidelines are not yet finalised, please provide the latest version held and its date. 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 — guidelines under Recommendation 2 of the Ombudsman's report and criteria for escalating 1823 complaint case (Case Ref: 3-9787186784)
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 — guidelines under Recommendation 2 of the Ombudsman's report and criteria for escalating 1823 complaint case (Case Ref: 3-9787186784)
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 second recommendation of the Ombudsman's direct investigation report in 2024 is on the establishment of a mechanism and drawing up guidelines to standardize and regularise the procedures for escalating cases about recurring district problems with unclear delineation of responsibilities to the District Officers (DO) of Home Affairs Department or the Task Force on District Governance (TFDG) in a systematic, proper and timely manner. In response to this recommendation, the Director of Administration issued the General Circular No. 7/2024 (The Circular) in October 2024 which sets out the general procedures for complaint handling, including defined timeframes and criteria for activating the 1823 case escalation mechanism.
According to the Circular, if 1823 refers a case to a department who considers that it is not the right party to take up the case, the department should inform 1823 within seven calendar days and provide the justifications for the re-assignment request, as well as which B/D the case should be assigned to and the reason(s) for assigning to that B/D. The response should be made by a directorate officer in consultation with the Head of Department concerned. The request should be made by a directorate officer in consultation with the Head of ...