Conciliation

Conciliation is often the fastest and most effective way to resolve a complaint by ensuring that both parties listen to, and understand, the experience of the other.

The aim of a conciliation conference is to resolve the complaint by agreement where the parties are willing to do so. The best outcome is to have the matter resolve during the conciliation, which is why we expect those attending to have authority to resolve the complaint. Even in conciliations that do not resolve on the day, we find it can help the overall resolution process by encouraging all parties to be actively engaged in finding a solution.

Resolution outcomes can be as simple as an explanation of why the events occurred, and an apology for the customer experience in dealing with the complaint. During the conciliation we can also discuss why information the financial firm has requested needs to be provided and is relevant, and set a pathway forward for handling the complaint.

From 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, AFCA conducted 3,679 conciliation conferences. The breakdown by product area was:

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For more information about conciliations visit afca.org.au/conciliation

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