On 4 March 2019, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the resolution of disputes with financial service providers within the justice system. The submission is now public and available to download.

Our submission provides information about AFCA, its history and development, and its role as an important mechanism for consumers and small businesses to obtain access to justice for complaints they have about their financial services. We address the questions raised in the Committee’s Terms of Reference and provide insights from our complaint resolution experience.

We note that in just over 120 days of operation, AFCA has proactively made an impact in our delivery of fair, independent and effective solutions for financial disputes. We have finalised almost 20,000 disputes and more than $54 million was awarded or obtained through AFCA by consumers and small businesses.

AFCA looks forward to reading the Committee’s full report which is expected to be published in early April.

For further information or to access other published submissions, visit the Parliament of Australia website.

Published: 7 March 2019

Media enquiries media@afca.org.au

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is a non-government ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. It is a one-stop-shop for consumers and small businesses who have a dispute with their financial firm, over things such as banking, credit, insurance, advice, investments or superannuation. Where an agreement cannot be reached between parties, AFCA can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms.