From Monday 5 September 2022, all representatives who are paid to assist consumers to make a complaint about a financial firm (paid representatives), must provide AFCA with additional information when lodging a complaint. 

If the information required by AFCA is not provided, or a representative’s conduct does not meet AFCA’s expectations, we can refuse to consider the complaint further under AFCA Rule C.2.2(g). 

To support paid representatives with this change, AFCA has created a new guide that outlines the information we require – including the information required for all complaints, as well as the information required by certain complaint types. 

AFCA has also published new information for paid representatives on its website, including information about how AFCA classifies these representatives, our expectations under the AFCA Engagement Charter, and the process they must follow to be appointed a representative. 

The updated information and guide are part of AFCA’s response to recommendation 4 of the Independent Review, which is about addressing poor conduct by some paid advocates (or paid representatives) affecting the efficiency of the AFCA scheme. AFCA also has a scope of work planned to address recommendation 4 over the next year, including changes to its Rules and Operational Guidelines and establishing a new approach with input from key stakeholders. You can find out more about AFCA’s response to the Independent Review here.

AFCA’s expectations of paid representatives 

AFCA expects paid representatives to conduct themselves at a higher standard than non-fee charging representatives. Beyond what is expected under the AFCA Engagement Charter, paid representatives must: 

• Only make a complaint with AFCA after they have gone through the Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process with a financial firm 
• Only lodge complaints using the AFCA online complaint form to support the efficient handling of complaints. 

For more information about what AFCA expects of paid representatives, visit the AFCA website. 

See the paid representative guide for providing information to AFCA here.