The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has adjusted its monetary limits and compensation caps for handling complaints.
This includes modifications to the maximum value of a compensation claim within AFCA's consideration and the highest amount AFCA can award consumers or small businesses involved in complaints related to banking and finance, general insurance, life insurance, and investments and advice.
Notably, these changes do not impact superannuation complaints, as the specified limits do not apply within the superannuation jurisdiction.
Under the revised limits, AFCA is now authorised to address disputes where the consumer's claimed amount is up to $1,263,000. For small businesses and primary producers, the credit facility should not exceed $6,317,000 to fall within AFCA's jurisdictional boundaries.
Additionally, a cap has been imposed on the compensation amount AFCA can order per claim, with variations depending on the nature of the claim.
These adjustments, which took effect on Jan. 1, are applicable to all complaints received by AFCA from that date onward.
The AFCA Rules mandate periodic recalibrations of monetary limits every three years. This adjustment aligns with the higher of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index and the Male Total Average Weekly Earnings.
The AFCA recently announced that it had recorded 100,000 complaints in a single calendar year.
