The Australian Financial Complaints Authority or AFCA is an

external dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

(EDR) scheme for consumers who are unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations. It is operated as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and was authorised in 2018 by the then Minister for Revenue and Financial Services,

Kelly O'Dwyer Kelly Megan O'Dwyer (born 31 March 1977) is a former Australian politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party, and held senior ministerial office from 2015 to 2019. O'Dwyer was a solic ...

, in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). AFCA replaced the three pre-existing EDR schemes of the

Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based bus ...

(FOS), the

Credit and Investments Ombudsman The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations. The Credit and ...

(CIO) and Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT). Membership of AFCA is a requirement under law or license condition of all financial firms and financial service providers. AFCA is led by the Chief Ombudsman and CEO, presently David Locke.

History

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority was established on 1 November 2018, replacing the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT). The Australian Government announced on 9 May 2017 that AFCA would be established in response to the review of external dispute resolution and complaints arrangements in the financial system.

Operations and processes

Rules

The Rules of AFCA outline the types of complaints that AFCA can consider, as well as their procedures, remedies and reporting obligations. The rules were approved by the

Australian Securities & Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

(ASIC) on 12 September 2018.

Resolution process

The AFCA only considers a complaint after the consumer has first attempted to resolve the dispute directly with their financial service provider. If the dispute is unable to be resolved or the outcome is unsatisfactory, AFCA can then consider it. Complaints can be filed with AFCA through an online form on their website. An AFCA representative will then contact the consumer and relevant financial service provider to settle the dispute. In the case a settlement cannot be reached, an AFCA case analyst will develop a balanced solution. The consumer can then either accept the proposed settlement from AFCA or take their dispute to court.

Governance

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority is governed by a Board of Directors, which includes equal numbers of industry and consumer representatives. The Independent?? Chair of the Board is

Helen Coonan Helen Lloyd Coonan (born 29 October 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party. She was a minister in the Howard Government, serving as Minister for Revenue ...

. The Board appoints an independent?? Chief Ombudsman and CEO, presently David Locke.

References

External links

Financial Ombudsman Service

ASIC Money Smart – how to complain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Ombudsmen in Australia Dispute resolution Financial regulatory authorities of Australia Banking Ombudsmen