As part of transition arrangements in relation to the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) ceasing operations after 31 December 2020, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is seeking submissions on proposed changes to its Rules.

AFCA is proposing to amend its Rules to allow it to consider any remaining complaints currently with the SCT that are unable to be finalised prior to the SCT ceasing operations. The amendment also proposes to allow AFCA to consider any matters that are before the Federal Court on appeal from the SCT that are not finalised prior to SCT ceasing operations and require remittal back to be determined again or finalised in accordance with the Court’s decisions.

The proposed changes will not otherwise affect what complaints AFCA can consider.

AFCA is also proposing two additional minor technical changes to the Rules to clarify which Australian Bureau of Statistics reports are used to index AFCA’s monetary limits, and to correct a reference to legislation.

Consumers, small businesses, financial firms and other stakeholders are invited to review the proposed changes and make a submission to the consultation.

Following the consultation, the proposed amendments to the Rules will be provided to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for review and approval. It is anticipated that the amended Rules will be released by January 2021.

Please email your submission to submissions@afca.org.au before Friday 16 October 2020. Submissions will be published on the AFCA website – please mark your document as ‘confidential’ if you do not want it published.

Further information

The consultation paper, draft amendments to the Rules and draft amendments to the Operational Guidelines are available on the AFCA website at afca.org.au/news/consultation

Published: 21 September 2020

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.