The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has released a report summarising its results over the first ten months of operation.
In what is approximately a 35% increase on predecessor schemes, AFCA has confirmed receipt of 60,687 complaints in the 10 month period since opening its doors in November 2018. AFCA says that it anticipates a further surge in complaints over the coming months with an expectation of about 80,000 complaints in the first year of operation.
According to AFCA’s six month report, around 74% of all complaints received by AFCA are resolved by agreement or in favour of the complainant. In the first 10 months of operation, an extraordinary $144.7 million in compensation was directed to be paid by AFCA.
The above figures do not take into account AFCA’s newest jurisdiction, dealing with ‘legacy complaints’ relating to conduct dating back to 1 January 2008. AFCA only began receiving legacy complaints from 1 July 2019 and will continue to do so until 30 June 2020.
If there remained any doubt, the prospect of up to $200 million in settlements arising out of AFCA in its first 12 months of operation should put all industry members on notice of the considerable risk posed by the jurisdiction.
A copy of AFCA’s full six month report can be found here.
