This as complaints compensation breaches $1 billion mark
David Locke (pictured above), chief ombudsman and CEO of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, has been reappointed for a second five-year term as the scheme’s complaints compensation breaches $1 billion since its inception.
“As AFCA’s inaugural chief ombudsman, David has met the challenge of bringing together three separate dispute resolution bodies to build a new, world-class scheme,” said John Pollaers, AFCA board chair. “He has also led the organisation through a period of significant growth in complaints as a result of the COVID pandemic, natural disasters and scams.”
Established on Nov. 1, 2018, AFCA is now on track to receive close to 100,000 complaints this financial year, up from 70,000 complaints just a year ago. Its predecessor schemes, the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Credit and Investments Ombudsman, and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal, together accounted for just over 52,000 complaints in their last full year.
A 2021 independent review of AFCA found it was “performing well” in a difficult environment, Pollaers said.
Locke had overseen significant initiatives such as the development of the publicly searchable AFCA Datacube, a new funding model, an ongoing significant review of the AFCA Rules, and an ongoing IT transformation.
“AFCA provides a vital service,” Pollaers said. “Consumers, small businesses, and financial firms can participate in the financial system with confidence that a robust process is in place in the event of a dispute. The board is delighted that David has accepted our invitation to continue to lead this important work.”
Locke, who will commence his new term on June 28, said he was honoured to be reappointed chief ombudsman.
“AFCA plays a very important role in Australia’s financial services system, and it is a great privilege to lead such an amazing group of people who are passionate about access to justice and fairness to all,” he said. “We will continue to work in partnership with financial firms, consumer bodies, and regulators to share lessons from our work and drive improved practices.”
AFCA also reached a significant milestone, having secured more than $1 billion in compensation and refunds for consumers. As of March 30, the scheme had resolved more than 320,000 complaints since opening its doors.
That period also saw AFCA identifying and resolving 236 systemic issues, resulting in a total of more than $278 million in refunds to 4.7 million consumers.
Use the comment section below to tell us how you felt about this.
