AFCA will soon consult members and other stakeholders on the new AFCA funding model due to come into effect on 1 July 2022. 

Since AFCA started on 1 November 2018, it has been operating under an interim funding model. This is a hybrid model based on aspects of the Credit and Investments Ombudsman and the Financial Ombudsman Service schemes funding arrangements and the APRA levy model for superannuation trustees. 

The interim funding model was intended to remain in place for the first three years of AFCA’s operations, while it established an evidence base of complaint volumes and complexity in an expanded jurisdiction. 

In early 2021, AFCA appointed PwC to undertake a review of its current funding model and develop a new model that would be fit-for-purpose, sustainable, and fair to AFCA members. 

In developing the new model, AFCA and PwC took member feedback into account and considered the key findings and recommendations of the AFCA Independent Review – with a particular focus on a “user-pays” approach, minimising cross subsidisation across sectors, and supporting firms to better forecast and budget for complaints.