Australian Financial Complaints Authority

Happy Diwali to all those celebrating the festival of light!

AFCA received a record 104,861 complaints from consumers and small businesses in 2023-24, and its process saw more than 10,000 scam complaints resolved - the majority within 60 days. A downturn in scam complaints is encouraging but definitely not cause for complacency, Chief Ombudsman David Locke says. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gWSATTEb

Thank you to over 4,300 members who joined us over two days for AFCA’s Member Forum last week! We always look forward to sharing our insights with members and answering your questions in our live Q&A sessions. If you missed out on our forum this time, all sessions have been recorded and will be available on our website soon. See you next time!

As complaints from First Nations people rise, so does the need for firms to better understand and serve the unique challenges faced by some communities, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority's Deputy Chief Ombudsman, Dr June Smith, says. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g7E3Ppjs

AFCA just wrapped up its first-ever Careers Fair, and it was a huge success! 🎉 A big thanks to our speakers, the amazing team behind the event, and all our colleagues who joined to explore career pathways. This is part of our 3-year Career Development plan, empowering our people to grow and create their own unique paths. Here’s to a culture of learning and opportunity! #FairnessFeelsGood

Thank you to all who joined us today at Day 1 of AFCA’s October Member Forum! It was great to provide an update on AFCA’s vision and strategy and insights into General Insurance and Life Insurance complaints. Our experts have also enjoyed answering your questions in our live Q&A sessions. Join us tomorrow for our industry sessions for Banking and Finance and Small Business and Transactions, Investments and Advice and Superannuation. Register now: https://lnkd.in/ghYwEzvq

We are excited to announce the release of the AFCA’s 2023-24 Annual Review, which highlights the important work we accomplished over the past financial year, in complaints and in contributing to important developments such as the government response to scams. During this time, we received 104,861 complaints from consumers and small businesses – an increase of 8% from last year. One of the most alarming trends in 2023-24 was the dramatic increase in scam-related complaints, which surged by 81% to nearly 11,000. Complaints regarding financial difficulty also rose, climbing by 18% compared to last year. We successfully resolved 104,203 complaints and provided $313,903,256 million in compensation and refunds. We also identified over 1,500 potential systemic issues, reporting 97 to federal regulators and secured an additional $44,706,897 million in compensation and refunds for over 159,000 consumers. Alongside AFCA’s crucial ‘business as usual’ work, this year we also: • completed our business and IT transformation project • neared completion of our three-year program to implement the recommendations of the Treasury-led Independent Review of AFCA • updated our Rules and Operational Guidelines • received the results of an Independent Decision Review, and • continued to expand our community outreach and stakeholder engagement program. You can read the 2023–24 AFCA Annual Review on our website: https://lnkd.in/gzZKcX-4

Chief Ombudsman David Locke has shared insights about trends in complaints involving insurance brokers, with the most complained about issue for brokers mirroring the most complained about issue for General Insurers: delays in claim handling. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gk6RpPfk

We can’t wait to see you at our virtual Member Forum this week! If you have not yet registered, there is still time! Attend one or more of the virtual forum events to hear directly from key AFCA decision-makers in banking and finance, small business and transactions, insurance, superannuation and investments and advice. Find the full program and register here: https://lnkd.in/ghYwEzvq

What a wonderful day to be out and amongst the community, celebrating and taking pride in being yourself! The members of AFCAs Ally Network were working hard on Saturday at the Parramatta Pride Picnic, which was held on the traditional lands of the Burramattagal people. Our focus was letting attendees know who AFCA is and how we can help resolve complaints about financial products or services, but we still managed to find time to embrace the community and be part of the spirit of Pride. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, we can’t wait for the next pride event! 🌈