Annual Review 2022–23

At AFCA, consumer advocates including financial counsellors, community lawyers and support staff play a crucial role. They provide free representation to individuals during their complaints and also direct them to AFCA for assistance.

Our community outreach program emphasises raising awareness, education and fostering trust in our EDR process. These trusted partners are crucial in guiding individuals through our process, especially those experiencing difficult circumstances or vulnerability, who might not know about our services. 

In 2022–23, consumer advocates referred close to 4,000 people to AFCA, a 15% rise over the last financial year. We had 779 complaints filed by consumer advocates over this time, nearly 70% of which came from financial counsellors.

People experiencing difficult circumstances

Significantly, almost one in five people represented by a consumer advocate in 2022–23 was either a victim survivor of family violence or experiencing poor mental health. We acknowledge the link between financial stress and wellbeing, and our role in helping alleviate some of that stress by resolving complaints fairly and efficiently, in the most accessible way possible.

How AFCA can help

AFCA adjusts its services based on individual needs. This includes:

  • tailoring communication methods
  • helping people understand and read information
  • using interpreters and translating documents
  • granting extended time for preparing information or legal advice
  • prioritising cases, especially for people who are incarcerated, unwell or receiving medical, respite or palliative care
  • referring to external support services when necessary; for example, domestic violence
  • engaging with authorised representatives, such as disability workers, to help clients understand the complaints process.

While our new consumer portal will simplify the lodging of online complaints, we'll continue to offer robust phone support and other methods to service the needs of people requiring assistance, allowing them to share their story and engage in our process in an equitable manner.

Complaints referred to AFCA by consumer advocates

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Financial counsellor

1,158

1,383

 1,528

Community lawyers

1,079

1,092

1,488

Support workers

622

943

916

Total

2,859

3,418

3,932

 

Complaints lodged by consumer advocates

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Financial counsellor

429

479

534

Community lawyers

270

324

204

Support workers

45

37

41

Total

744

840

779

 

Top five complaints by product

 Product

Total

Personal loans

222

Home loans

179

Credit cards

70

Home building

59

Personal transaction accounts

36

 

Top five complaints by issue

 Issue

Total

Responsible lending

174

Financial firm failure to respond to request for assistance

146

Decline of financial hardship request

81

Service quality

45

Delay in claim handling

44

 

Stage at which complaints closed

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Before referral

5

4

5

Registration and Referral

258

194

239

Jurisdictional review

32

36

29

Case management 1

89

105

99

Case management 2

84

81

91

Preliminary Assessment

34

26

37

Decision

30

25

10

Of these complaints: 

  • 66% are closed
  • 31% were closed at the Registration and Referral stage 
  • 35% related to financial difficulty (non-business) 
  • 71% related to credit products. The top three credit products were personal loans (222), home loans (179) and credit cards (70). 

Complaints lodged by financial counsellors

  • 534 complaints lodged
  • 67% are closed
  • 50% were closed at the Registration and Referral stage. Of these, 95% were resolved by the financial firm
  • 42% relate to financial difficulty (non-business)
  • 82% relate to credit products. The top three credit products were personal loans (187), home loans (125) and credit cards (56).

Stage at which complaints closed

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Before referral

1

2

2

Registration and Referral

185

158

182

Jurisdictional review

18

24

16

Case management 1

64

69

64

Case management 2

61

66

69

Preliminary Assessment

17

17

24

Decision

13

5

3

 

Geographic spread

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

ACT

2%

1%

2%

NSW

12%

13%

16%

NT

3%

5%

5%

QLD

12%

20%

16%

SA

7%

6%

7%

TAS

2%

3%

1%

VIC

50%

39%

43%

WA

11%

14%

10%

The impact of financial counselling services

56% of complaints were lodged by financial counsellors from 15 organisations: 

  • The Salvation Army Moneycare (54) 
  • Anglicare Victoria (50) 
  • Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (27) 
  • Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (26) 
  • Uniting Communities (21) 
  • Uniting Vic/Tas (17) 
  • CatholicCare NT (15) 
  • Child & Family Services (14) 
  • Primary Care Connect (13) 
  • St Vincent de Paul Society (WA) Inc (10) 
  • Mortgage Stress Victoria (10) 
  • Anglicare WA (10) 
  • Anglicare NT (10) 
  • Casey North Community Information & Support Service (10) 
  • Consumer Action Law Centre (10) 

Complaints lodged by community lawyers  

  • 204 complaints lodged
  • 62% are closed
  • 35% were closed at the Registration and Referral Stage. Of these, 90% were resolved by the financial firm 
  • 22% of complaints related to financial difficulty (non-business) 
  • 51% related to credit products. The top three credit products were home loans (52), personal loans (32) and credit cards (11). 

Stage at which complaints closed

 

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Before referral

1

2

1

Registration and Referral

56

29

44

Jurisdictional review

11

9

12

Case management 1

17

30

30

Case management 2

22

9

21

Preliminary Assessment

14

7

11

Decision

15

20

7

The impact of community legal centres 

68% of complaints were lodged by community lawyers from just 10 organisations: 

  • Legal Aid NSW (38) 
  • Mortgage Stress Victoria (29) 
  • Financial Rights Legal Centre (24) 
  • WEstjustice (13) 
  • Consumer Credit Legal Service WA Inc. (7) 
  • Redfern Legal Centre (6) 
  • Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (5) 
  • Consumer Action Law Centre (5) 
  • Caxton Legal Centre (5) 
  • Legal Aid Queensland (5) 
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