Some figures in the NSW Ombudsman's reports change from one report to the next.
- Total contacts have been restated in later reports for every year from 2015-16 to 2023-24. The 2021-22 total appears in three reports as 24,874, 24,899 and 24,901. The only explanation is a general note about "enhanced data quality assurance processes".
- The 2023-24 report says "We ran 2 conciliations". The 2024-25 report refers to "the 1 formal conciliation conducted in 2023-24".
- The 2023-24 report corrected the previous year's figures for contacts within jurisdiction, which had been "incorrectly presented".
- The 2019-20 report was published with the line "The Auditor-General's findings included: [TBC]".
- The 2002-03 report's snapshot page lists "Reports making adverse findings in 2002 – 2003 486". The number matches police management outcomes after complaint investigations that year, not reports by the Ombudsman.
None of these changes the big picture. They are a reason to read the tables, not the headlines.
Sources: Annual Reports 2002-03 pp 7, 65; 2019-20 p 20; 2020-21 p 16; 2021-22 p 30; 2022-23 p 30; 2023-24 pp 33, 37; 2024-25 p 10.