Businesses that engage in credit activities must hold an Australian credit licence under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) [s 35].

Financial services businesses, including insurance companies, insurance brokers, financial advisers and related entities providing financial services, must hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) [s 791A].

Registrable Superannuation Entities (RSE) require dual licensing from both the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An RSE licence issued by APRA is required by the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) to operate a superannuation fund. An AFS license from ASIC is required to provide a superannuation trustee service.

Superannuation funds are subject to the licencing requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) unless the fund is an Exempt Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (EPSSS) established under legislation, or a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) regulated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). For more information about SMSFs, see the ATO website. The EPSSSs are listed within schedule 1AA of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (Cth).

EPSSS disputes are dealt with in accordance with the legislation establishing the fund with final recourse usually through an administrative tribunal or court. SMSFs must manage their own complaints.

All financial services licensees and credit licensees are required to obtain Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) membership as part of their general conduct obligations.

More information about AFCA can be found below and on the AFCA website.

Internal Dispute Resolution

AFS and credit licensees must have a suitable process to deal with disputes by consumers, known as internal dispute resolution (IDR). Consumers include both individuals and small businesses, being businesses with less than 100 employees.

One of the aims of IDR is to ensure that consumer complaints are dealt with quickly and directly. It also assists with the licensee identifying potential systemic issues.

A dispute is a complaint that has not been resolved to a customer’s satisfaction, and a complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by a consumer related to the product, service or staff requiring a response or resolution.

The ASIC Regulatory Guide RG271 sets out the standards and requirements for internal dispute resolution for AFS and credit licensees, known as ‘financial firms’.

The standards and requirements highlighted in the RG271 are enforceable. The Regulatory Guides are available on the ASIC website.

The main provisions of RG271 are enforceable by ASIC against the licensee. These include:

Below is a table of the maximum timeframes for responding to a selection of complaints:

The IDR response must be in writing and include reasons for rejecting the complaint if applicable. It must inform the customer of their right to take the complaint to AFCA if they are not satisfied with the IDR response. It must also provide contact details for AFCA to assist the consumer to escalate the complaint.

If the dispute is not resolved to the consumer's satisfaction, the next step is to lodge a complaint with an external dispute resolution service.

External Dispute Resolution (EDR) - Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)

On 1 November 2018, AFCA was established to provide external dispute resolution services for customers that have unresolved complaints with entities providing financial and credit services.

AFCA replaced the previously established external dispute resolution schemes, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) (formerly the Credit Ombudsman Service Limited), as well as the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT). AFCA’s EDR scheme has been authorised under Pt 7.10A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

AFCA is an alternative to going to a tribunal or court, which can be expensive and lengthy.

AFCA must deal with complaints independently, impartially and fairly. AFCA does not charge a fee to the consumer (called the complainant) for lodging a complaint.

AFCA is governed by its constitution, the Complaint Resolution Scheme Rules (AFCA Rules) and the Operational Guidelines. The AFCA Rules set out the rules and processes that apply to all complaints submitted to the AFCA scheme, including superannuation complaints. A copy of the AFCA Rules may be found on the AFCA website.

A complainant can lodge a complaint by phone, in writing or through the online portal on the AFCA website. Before considering a complaint, AFCA determines and confirms that the complaint is one it can deal with under the AFCA Rules. AFCA can only consider complaints about members of its service. To check if a financial firm is an AFCA member and see their complaint contact details, use the AFCA financial firm search.

AFCA cannot consider every complaint. Complaints about interest rates, fees and charges (unless these were not disclosed, or were misrepresented, or calculated incorrectly) cannot be considered by AFCA.

Time limits also generally apply, AFCA can typically only consider a complaint if it is made within 6 years from the time the complainant first became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, that they suffered a loss. If the complainant has already complained to a financial firm through its IDR process, they need to lodge a complaint with AFCA within 2 years of receiving an IDR response from that financial firm.

AFCA may also decide not to deal with a complaint because it is without merit, the complainant has suffered no loss, or the lender or the financial firm has not made an error. It may also refuse to consider a complaint that has already been dealt with by a court or tribunal.

When AFCA receives a complaint, AFCA notifies the relevant financial firm in writing of the complaint and refers the complaint back to that financial firm also setting a timeframe for it to either resolve the complaint or to provide its position in relation to the complaint. If the complaint is not resolved, the financial firm provides an EDR response to AFCA.

AFCA decides on the best approach to resolving a complaint. AFCA has a range of methods to resolve complaints. AFCA uses both informal and formal methods to resolve complaints. Informal methods include negotiation and conciliation. If informal methods do not resolve the complaint AFCA will use formal methods. This can involve a preliminary assessment or a determination or both.

AFCA makes determinations in writing and outlines the reasons for the decision. Any remedy that AFCA awards, whether it be monetary compensation or some other remedy, is included in the determination.

If AFCA makes a determination that is in the complainant’s favour and they accept it, the financial firm is required to comply with the determination and any remedy that AFCA awards. For superannuation complaints, any determination that AFCA makes is binding on both parties.

If a financial firm does not comply with a determination, AFCA may revoke the firm’s membership, resulting in the financial firm being in breach of its licence obligations. AFCA is required to report this non-compliance to ASIC.

For non-superannuation complaints, if the complainant chooses not to accept AFCA’s determination, they have the right to pursue their claim against the financial firm through the court system. If a financial firm disagrees with a determination, the only avenue of appeal is through the courts although there are limited grounds to challenge an AFCA determination.

For superannuation complaints, an appeal can be made within 28 days to the Federal Court on a question of law, but not to revisit the merits of the determination.

Any person or business directly affected by how AFCA deals with a complaint can complain to AFCA and the AFCA Independent Assessor. Further information can be found on the AFCA website.

AFCA’s EDR of Superannuation Complaints

Superannuation complaints made to AFCA are subject to special rules and requirements. AFCA’s Superannuation Complaints Guide provides detailed information on this, found at the AFCA website.

Superannuation products that can be complained about and who can complain is outlined on the AFCA website.

There is no monetary limit on the amount that may be awarded to the complainant for a superannuation complaint. Specific time limits apply to some superannuation complaints.

AFCA’s powers for superannuation complaints are also different from its powers for other types of complaints. There are additional statutory provisions relating to superannuation complaints in Division 3 of Part 7.10A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Examples of the statutory provisions for superannuation complaints which are different from those that apply to other types of complaints made to AFCA include:

Compensation Scheme of Last Resort

The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort provides compensation up to $150,000 to consumers who have an unpaid determination from the AFCA relating to personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision, and meet other eligibility criteria. A determination may be unpaid because the financial firm subject to the determination has become insolvent.

For information about this Scheme, including how to lodge a claim and eligibility criteria, visit the Scheme website.

Further information is available on the ASIC website and the AFCA website.

Banking Code of Practice

The 2025 Banking Code of Practice (Banking Code) is a self-regulatory document created by the banking industry, as represented by the Australian Banking Association. It is administered by an independent monitoring body, the Banking Code Compliance Committee.

The Banking Code sets out standards of practice and service in the Australian banking industry for individual and small business customers, and their guarantors.

The obligations of subscribing banks can be enforced. The Banking Code can be found at the Australian Banking Association website. Banks that have adopted the Banking Code are listed at the Australian Banking Association website.

Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice

The 2022 Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (COBCOP) is the code of practice for Australia’s mutual banks, credit unions and building societies. Consumer owned banks that subscribe to the COBCOP formally agree to be bound by it. The COBCOP and the list of subscribers can be found at the Customer Owned Banking Association web page.

Reporting breaches of the Codes

Both the Banking Code and the COBCOP set out standards of services and customer protections for signatory providers and form part of the contracts between banks and their customers. This means that a breach of the Banking Code or the COBCOP is a breach of the contract between a customer and the provider.

ASIC does not administer either of these Codes, neither enforcing nor monitoring Code compliance.

Reports about breaches of the Banking Code are made to the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC). The BCCC is an independent body that monitors compliance with the Banking Code. Reports about breaches of COBCOP are made to the Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (COBCCC). The COBCCC is an independent body that monitors compliance with the COBCOP.

The BCCC and the COBCCC are not complaints resolution bodies and do not investigate or resolve individual disputes or provide compensation or financial remedies.