Member forums

We are pleased to announce that our Member Forums are back for 2020! We will be hosting them online for all members to attend. The forum will be held over two days with the Plenary and Banking & Finance session held on 26 May 2020 and the other 3 sessions; Super & Life Insurance session, Investment & Advice session and General Insurance session held on 28 May 2020.

A private link to attend these forums will be made available to all members via their Member Portal five days prior to the event.

We will share the agenda for the forums on our AFCA member page and the Member Portal (Secure Services) in the next few days. If you have any particular cases you would like to raise for discussion in the Forum, please let us know at membership@afca.org.au

There will be an opportunity to ask questions during the live broadcast. Further updates will be available on our Events page We look forward to seeing you attend our virtual forums!

Meet our new Lead Ombudsmen

AFCA warmly welcomes two new Lead Ombudsmen

Natalie Cameron joins AFCA as our Lead Ombudsman – Investments and Advice in June. Natalie began her career at Clayton Utz, where she completed her articles and became a solicitor focusing on insurance and litigation. She then worked with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) focusing on regulatory policy and markets.

In 2005, she moved into industry, where she operated as the General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer for AIA Australia. As a member of the executive committee, she was responsible for all litigation, disputes and complaints resolution. Natalie’s time at AIA Australia also spanned roles managing operations, pricing, distributor relationships and product. She later became CEO of AIA New Zealand. Prior to joining AFCA, she was the Chief of Customer Operations for MLC Life Insurance

Heather Gray joins AFCA this month as our Lead Ombudsman, Superannuation. Heather started her career at Arthur Robinson & Co (now Allens) and was a partner there for a number of years. She has also held partner roles at other law firms, specialising in superannuation and financial services law. She has sat on the Law Council of Australia’s Superannuation Committee for more than a decade, including a term as its Chair, and has consulted widely with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and the Australian Taxation Office and Treasury on superannuation issues. She has hands on superannuation industry experience, having been a director of the legal industry superannuation fund Legalsuper. Prior to joining AFCA, Heather led the national superannuation practice for Hall & Wilcox

COVID-19 update

When considering complaints during the pandemic, AFCA will take into account the unprecedented circumstances that financial firms are currently, as well as any revised regulatory standards or guidance that may apply. We also recognise the pressures on small business owners and consumers at this very difficult time.

Our approach to handling COVID-19 related complaints will align with the statements released recently by the Council of Financial Regulators. We have established a support hotline (1800 337 444), to ensure a priority service is provided for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as our online COVID-19 information hub that is regularly updated with information for consumers and small businesses (afca.org.au/covid-19). Click here to read more

Court decisions

In April, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) received two separate court decisions which support the scope of AFCA’s fairness jurisdiction in both its superannuation and general divisions, and the approach AFCA has adopted to its decision making.

The Federal Court handed down its decision on an appeal by QSuper Board (QSuper), over an AFCA superannuation determination. The bench unanimously dismissed the appeal by QSuper with costs awarded to AFCA. The Court found that AFCA did not exercise judicial power, noting that on the way to making a determination about fairness and reasonableness, AFCA can make decisions about legal rights, such as compliance with the law or compliance with the trust deed. None of the provisions of the Corporations Act which establish the AFCA scheme and grant AFCA power to make determinations offend the Constitution.

On the same day, the Supreme Court of Queensland dismissed with costs the case brought by Investors Exchange Limited (IEL) seeking judicial review of an AFCA determination. The Court found AFCA’s determination was reasonable, had been open to the facts and had correctly interpreted the documentation. The court held that the principles set out in case law involving predecessor External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme, the Financial Ombudsman Service, are equally applicable to AFCA. AFCA obtained an order for specific performance to ensure the determination is complied with. Click here to read more

More time to resolve complaints

Membership renewal – what to expect

AFCA has introduced some temporary measures to provide more time early in the dispute resolution process:

The post IDR refer back timeframe will now be 30 days (provides you with an additional 9 days for complaints)
This also applies to all financial difficulty complaints (where matters have not been through IDR you will still have the relevant 45/90 days).
This is in addition to the temporary introduction of a standard, 21-day timeframe to provide an initial response, once the dispute reaches our case management stage.

These changes will operate for six months and will be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.

AFCA has been in regular contact with key stakeholders, peak bodies, regulators and government during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working diligently to resolve the current matters we have and to ‘clear the decks’, so we can handle the anticipated flow on of complaint cases that insurers, banks and others tell us are likely to come down the track. Click here to read more.

AFCA has started the process of sending the Annual Assessment emails for all Financial Firms this week. The purpose of Annual Assessment is to gather information required to calculate the membership invoices for 2020-21.

We recognise the current challenges for members, so completion of the annual assessment is not compulsory if members have previously submitted an assessment. The assessment period closes on 31 May 2020.

Members can complete their annual assessment now via their member portal by logging via Secure Services, rather than waiting for the email invitation. The relevant date to use for identifying the size of your business will be as of 30 June 2019 or for the year ending 30 June 2019.

Once logged into the member portal, select ‘Annual Assessment’ and follow the prompts. Invoices will be available from the end of June on the member portal under the tab ‘invoices’ on the left of the page. If any questions, please do not hesitate to reach us at membership@afca.org.au

Early access to Super – taking into account changes

New income protection benefits in superannuation factsheet

AFCA will take into account the financial regulator’s changed approach to advice about early access to superannuation when dealing with complaints that arise due to COVID-19. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced new measures to assist the provision of affordable advice on early access to super last week. More information about ASIC’s temporary relief measures can be found on the ASIC website. Click here to read more

On 21 April 2020, AFCA released a new factsheet about income protection benefits in superannuation to answer consumers' frequently asked questions. The new guide sets out what income protection benefits are, how to find out if you’re protected, and what information you need to submit a claim. Click here to download factsheet and read more

Feedback and questions

If you have any questions, suggestions or want to know more about AFCA processes, email publications@afca.org.au and we'll do our best to provide an answer in a future edition

Member portal (Secure Services)

If you are facing any issues in uploading your documents to the Member Portal via Secure Services, please refer to our factsheet available on the portal as well as the website. Click here for factsheet