The Morrison Government has released a terms of reference for the review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), and is seeking stakeholder feedback on its functions and performance.
AFCA is the one-stop shop for financial complaints and offers consumers and small businesses access to financial dispute resolution in a free, fast and binding manner.
Since 1 November 2018, AFCA has received over 150,000 complaints and secured over $650 million in compensation and refunds for consumers and small businesses through its dispute resolution and systemic issues work.
The Government is committed to ensuring AFCA is operating effectively and achieving its objectives.
The review, which is required under the enabling legislation that authorises AFCA, will allow Government to test if AFCA is working effectively to meet the needs of users and its members.
The review will be independent of AFCA and conducted by Treasury, with a report to be finalised by 30 June 2021.
Targeted questions have been included as part of the terms of reference, and Treasury is commencing the review by seeking submissions from interested parties. All interested parties are invited to lodge submissions through the Treasury website before consultation closes on 26 March 2021.
Further information is available on the Treasury website.