Leading up to the commencement of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) on 1 November 2018, ASIC has released new Regulatory Guide 267 Oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (RG 267).
The Guide sets out how ASIC will administer the reporting requirements in the AFCA Act, including AFCA’s obligation to:
• refer matters to appropriate authorities;
• refer settled complaints;
• refer systemic issues; and
• report on scheme statistics.
AFCA has released a consultation paper on the rules that are to govern its jurisdiction and processes. The draft rules will be submitted to ASIC for review and approval following the consultation. Mapping documents have also been made available to ensure there is no reduction in scope of jurisdiction for the AFCA in comparison with the existing scheme, which is to be replaced when the AFCA commences on 1 November 2018.
This follows:
- the Minister’s authorisation of the operator of the scheme on 23 April 2018;
- the Minister’s announcements confirming that:
AFCA will commence accepting complaints on 1 November 2018; and
financial firms required to be members of AFCA must be members by 21 September 2018; and
ASIC giving disclosure relief for financial firms during the transition to AFCA; and
the appointment of a CEO.
