The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has updated its processes to align with ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 Internal Dispute Resolution (RG 271).
ASIC RG 271 updates the requirements for how financial firms should deal with complaints under their Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) procedures. The Guide comes into effect on 5 October 2021 and will replace the existing ASIC Regulatory Guide 165.
While RG 271 focuses on the standards and requirements for IDR, AFCA has updated its processes to align with RG 271’s new timelines and requirements.
These changes include new maximum IDR timeframes for some complaints which are referred back to the financial firm to undertake or complete internal dispute resolution.
IDR response timeframes applied at referral (when the complaint has not previously been through IDR)
|
Product / Issue |
Current timeframe |
New RG 271 Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
|
Financial Difficulty |
21 days |
21 days (no change) |
|
Superannuation or traditional trustees |
90 days |
45 days |
|
Other complaint types |
45 days |
30 days |
AFCA has updated its process map and Operational Guidelines to reflect the changes outlined in ASIC RG 271.
See the process map here.
See AFCA’s Operational Guidelines here.
Published: 29 September 2021
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.
