Making a complaint about a financial firm
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) independently assists consumers and small businesses to make and resolve complaints about financial firms.
When you complain to us, we follow a complaint resolution process that provides free and fair outcomes. However, you should be aware that there are certain complaints we can’t consider.
Any determinations we make are binding on the financial firm if the complainant accepts. In the case of superannuation complaints, our determinations are binding on both parties, regardless of whether the outcome is accepted.
Our service is free to access. If you need more support, there are other support services such as community legal centres and financial counsellors you can talk to.
There's some key information to know before you make a complaint to AFCA.
Legacy complaints
AFCA no longer accepts legacy complaints and standard time limits apply. Existing legacy complaints will continue to progress.
What you should know about making a complaint
We can consider complaints about financial firms. It is compulsory for licensed financial services providers in Australia to be a member and participate in the AFCA process.
You can complain about a product or service that you have with a financial firm, including:
- credit products such as credit cards, store or gift cards, interest-free deals
- finance facilities such as short-term loans (also called payday loans) or other business finance
- loans including home loans, personal loans, investment loans and business loans
- banking deposits and payments including online transactions and payment systems, ATMs and incorrect or mistaken payments
- insurance policies including home and contents insurance, travel insurance, vehicle insurance, business and professional insurance and life insurance
- superannuation products and funds
- investments including derivatives such as CFDs and options, securities, managed investments and property investment schemes
- financial advice.
If you’re not sure if you have a complaint that we can consider, we recommend you submit your information to us anyway so we can review it and let you know what is possible.
If you submit a complaint to us and we can’t resolve it for you because it doesn’t meet the requirements of our Rules, there are other places you can go for help.
You can complain to us if you believe, for example, that a financial firm that you received or are receiving a product or service from:
- breached a law or duty (where they made an error or did not act in accordance with an agreement or arrangement you made with them, or that they were required to meet, when providing you with the product or service), or a code of conduct.
- did not tell you about a fee, charge, premium, rebate or interest rate or misrepresented it to you, or if they made a mistake when they calculated it
- misled you about a product or service you obtained from them
- didn’t provide you with assistance in relation to any financial difficulty that you are experiencing.
There are certain things we can’t consider, such as the general level of fees, charges, premiums, rebates and interest rates applied by a financial firm in a competitive open market. We also normally can’t re-examine a matter we’ve already dealt with, or any complaint that has already been dealt with by a court. Time limits also apply. There are special rules that apply to superannuation complaints.
For more detail, read section C – Exclusions in our Rules, which explains in detail what type of complaints we can’t consider.
The process we follow
- We recommend that you raise your concerns with your financial firm first to allow them to resolve the complaint directly with you.
- You can also complain to us online, via email or by phoning us. We will ask you to provide us with some information about your complaint.
- Additional support to help you is also available. You can also ask someone to assist you by making a complaint on your behalf.
Find out more about our complaint resolution process.
If we can’t help
If you submit a complaint to us and we can’t resolve it for you because it doesn’t meet the requirements of our Rules, there are other places you can go for help.
