AFCA preparing to investigate a decade of complaints

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) will soon be able to investigate and resolve financial complaints dating back more than ten years, following the results of the banking royal commission.

Australia’s federal government has announced that AFCA’s remit has been expanded for 12 months to allow the financial ombudsman to review eligible financial complaints dating back to 1 January 2008.

Prior to this change, AFCA was only able to investigate financial complaints that had occurred in the past six years; or, if the complaint has already been through a financial firm’s internal dispute resolution process, just two years.

AFCA chief ombudsman and CEO, David Locke, said that the change should allow many more people to “get access to justice and have their matters properly considered.”

But don’t start calling AFCA with your pre-2013 financial disputes just yet – eligible complaints are scheduled to be considered between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, pending approval of changes to AFCA’s rules by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

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