There are a number of disclosure documents which are required to include details of a financial service licensee and credit licensee’s EDR scheme. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Consumers First – Establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) Act 2018 (the AFCA Act) consequentially amended various existing legislative provisions to refer to AFCA in the disclosure communications, placing an obligation on licensees to change the name and contact details of predecessor schemes to those of AFCA.
ASIC Corporations (AFCA transition) Instrument 2018/447 and ASIC Credit (AFCA transition) Instrument 2018/448 are intended to give licensees transitional relief from the requirements to update disclosure documents and periodic statements with AFCA’s contact details until 1 July 2019.
The relief is conditional upon consumer communications about how to complain (e.g. including on websites) and documented IDR procedures being updated with AFCA’s details by 1 November 2018.
Disclosure documents affected
The following documents are required to include details of a licensees’s EDR scheme:
- Financial Services Guides (s942B(2)(h) and 942C(2)(i) Corporations Act);
- Product Disclosure Statements (s1013D(1)(g) Corporations Act; items 9(1)(b) and (2)(a) of Sch 10C to the Corporations Regulations; items 11(1)(c) and 11(2) of Sch 10D to the Corporations Regulations);
- Short-Form PDSs (items 10(1)(d) and 10(2) of Sch 10E to the Corporations Regulations 2001);
- Periodic and exit statements (paragraph 7.9.75(1)(c) of the Corporations Regulations);
- Statements about superannuation interests under the Family Law Act (paragraphs 7.9.88(1)(g) and 7.9.89(1)(g) of the Corporations Regulations) and
- Credit Guides (s113(2)(h), 126(2)(e), 127(2)(e), 136(2)(h), 149(2)(e), 150(2)(e), 158(2)(h) and 160(3)(f) of the Credit Act).
The transition to AFCA also triggers significant event notification requirements for issuers of financial products captured by s.1017B of the Corporations Act.
