Australian Financial Complaints Authority

Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all who celebrated! Today, AFCA's Carer's Network hosted a virtual panel featuring AFCA parents and John Rutter from The Fathering Project. We discussed the positive impact of AFCA's parental leave policy, which offers 20 weeks of paid leave and flexibility for all parents. Supporting our employees in balancing work and family life is a priority, and we're proud to lead the way in fostering a supportive and inclusive culture.

We would like to thank the financial counselling and community legal services who made Mel Hallam from our Community Engagement Team feel so welcome on her recent visit to the west coast. Mel met with Money Mentors, Vinnies WA in Mandurah and Canning Vale, The Salvation Army Australia Moneycare in Rockingham, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Inc. (with the gorgeous Reuben), Legal Aid WA, and Financial Counsellors' Association WA (FCAWA) of WA in Perth. AFCA has seen an overall increase in financial difficulty complaints in the last 12 months, and this increase is higher in WA than in other states. Mel shared information about how AFCA considers complaints about scams and financial abuse and came away with great insights on the financial issues in the region, as well as feedback on service delivery, for us and for our member financial firms.

AFCA has undergone a significant IT transformation to better serve our members and consumers. As a world class ombudsman service, we are committed to improving how we manage complaints, enhance engagement, and drive meaningful change. "Our new systems focus on improving our people and customer experience. They will also deliver improved data insights, providing greater transparency around industry performance to drive accountability and lasting change within the financial services sector," AFCA Chief Operating Officer, Justin Untersteiner said.

Mel Hallam from the Community Engagement team was in Boorloo recently raising awareness of AFCA at the Perth Disability Connection Expo. We partnered with the Ombudsman WA – a fantastic way to build trust in ombudsman schemes more broadly, whilst making connections with visitors to the Expo – people with disabilities and their families and carers. Across the two-day event several people came by to say thank you for resolving their AFCA complaint, which was the icing on the cake of two massive days of community outreach.

To acknowledge Wear it Purple Day today, Matthew Mitcham OAM OLY joined our AFCA teams earlier this week to share his journey to proud Olympic glory and the advocacy work he does today. Wear it Purple is an international movement that promotes safe, supportive, empowering and inclusive environments and, at AFCA, we strive to do the same for our communities. This event was organised by one of AFCA’s Employee Resource Groups, the Ally Network, that celebrates and supports our LGBTQ+ employees and allies. Happy Wear it Purple Day!

The AFCA outreach team visited Yugambeh Country this week, attending Community Assistance Days hosted by the Energy & Water Ombudsman Queensland. It was a privilege to chat with people from the communities of Palm Beach, Upper Coomera and Logan about how we help with financial complaints. We were joined by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Good Shepherd Financial Resilience Program, Uniting, Legal Aid Queensland and energy and water providers. Thank you, Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ), for inviting AFCA to connect with people struggling from the cost of living and rebuilding following severe storms.

New dates announced for the Complaint Handling Forum! There is still plenty of time to secure your spot at the upcoming Complaint Handing Forum! The CHF will now run from 21-25 October 2024! Stay tuned for more details.

Scams Awareness Week is here, and this year’s theme is “Share a story, stop a scam”. By talking about scams, consumers can help to increase scam awareness in the community and support others who’ve experienced being scammed. Scams Awareness Week is an annual campaign where we and our stakeholders across government, law enforcement and industry focus on raising awareness of scams. But our fight doesn’t stop here. The more we talk about scams, the less power scammers have. Join us this Scams Awareness Week to lead this change #ShareAScamStory Encourage your networks to speak up about scams and #JoinTheFight. Find campaign resources here: https://lnkd.in/gbYAHHrY

The AFCA outreach team has been on Awabakal and Worimi Country today at Hunter Homeless Connect. It was a privilege to chat to visitors about how we help with financial complaints.  Other services delivered on the day included medical and dental check-ups, haircuts, clothing, etc., along with access to housing, health and legal services. Thank you to Home in Place for hosting in 2024, and we look forward to seeing you next year.

We are looking for a Panel Member - Consumer Representative in Insurance to support our Insurance Ombudsmen in panel decision making on complex financial complaints. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g_QWJFsi