Ex-post control In the case of 6,096 complaints, there were either insufficient indications of maladministration or the administrative proceedings had not yet been concluded. However, in these cases, the AOB was able to inform the persons affected regarding the legal situation and provide information. A total of 4,079 complaints were outside of the AOB‘s mandate. In these cases, the AOB provides information regarding further advisory and/or counselling services. 1.1.1 Investigative proceedings within the federal administration 2014 The AOB‘s investigative activities cover all public administration, i.e. all authorities, government agencies and departments whose duty it is to implement federal law. The AOB carried out a total of 6,378 investigative proceedings in matters involving federal administration. This corresponds to an increase of 24.8% compared to the previous year. At 1,751 cases, almost as many investigative proceedings were initiated in the internal security sector as in the previous year. Thus, around 27% of all investigative proceedings fall into this area. This development has emerged in recent years and is due primarily to the large number of complaints dealing with the law on aliens and asylum law. Complaints did not relate solely to matters involving the Federal Ministry of the Interior and agencies subordinate to it, but primarily concerned the Federal Administrative Court. 1,733 investigative proceedings were initiated at the federal level with regard to the social security systems sector. Around a quarter of all investigative proceedings concerned social insurance law or problems surrounding the labour market. Compared to the previous year, the number of complaints that required making contact with those offices and agencies responsible for making decisions rose by 39% (2013: 1,238). Particularly deficiencies in the area of the Public Employment Service Austria (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS), the assessment of entitlement to care and nursing allowances and problems surrounding pension insurance law were causes for complaints. The number of complaints regarding persons with disabilities continued to be high. Every fourth complaint concerns social affiars sector There were 1,056 investigative proceedings initiated based on complaints concerning the judiciary. This corresponds to 17% of all investigative proceedings. Compared to the previous year, the number of complaints in this area rose by 13%. The main reason is the increase in individual complaints regarding the penal system. This is due to activities by the commissions within the scope of the AOB’s new responsibilities as the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). The AOB’s monitoring competence covers administration of the judiciary, police departments and prisons, the penal system and investigations into delays in court proceedings. Administration of judiciary: complaints have rosen sharply 29