The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) reported receiving a 40% increase in complaints compared to its predecessors and awarded $185 million in compensation for its first year of operation as the nation’s one-stop-shop for complaints about financial firms.
Between November 01, 2018 and October 31, 2019, AFCA received 73,272 complaints – up by 40% compared to its predecessor schemes, which received a combined total of 52,232 complaints in the 2017/18 financial year.
Of the complaints made, 56,420 have been resolved – most of which were resolved in 60 days or less. AFCA said Australians are making nearly 200 complaints a day, despite the need to raise awareness about the service. According to a July study, only 3% of Australians know about AFCA.
David Locke, AFCA CEO and chief ombudsman, said AFCA was fast becoming valued by the public and its members for its approach to dispute resolution.
“We take our commitment to fairness and independence very seriously, and where possible we encourage the financial firm and complainant to resolve the matter among themselves,” Locke said. “The statistics show that this happened with 70% of all claims resolved in the past 12 months. Still, the increase in complaint numbers we are witnessing at AFCA indicates that there is still work to be done by firms to improve their practices and restore public faith in financial firms. AFCA will continue to focus on member engagement to help firms to enhance their own internal dispute resolution procedures.”
Locke said he is very proud of what the AFCA team has achieved so far and that the EDR body will continue to improve the way it operates.
“AFCA has also been in a major growth phase of staff to meet demand and has launched the first leg of a national roadshow to promote its service across the country,” Locke said. “The Financial Fairness Roadshow has been a great success. So far, we’ve been to 26 locations across Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and regional New South Wales, where we’ve spoken with more than 7,000 people. We plan to tour the rest of the country in the first half of 2020.”
Locke said AFCA had also hosted forums for small business, consumer advocates, and AFCA members in 10 locations coinciding with the roadshow’s itinerary.
