Independent Review – Department of the Treasury
On 14 September 2017, the Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Consumers First – Establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) Bill 2017.
The Bill establishes a new external dispute resolution framework for the financial sector, including the creation of a ‘one-stop shop’ for all financial disputes (including superannuation disputes) – the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA will replace the three existing financial sector external dispute resolution (EDR) bodies. The Bill also strengthens the internal dispute resolution requirements and provides enhanced access to redress for consumers and small business. The new framework is intended to address problems with the multiple EDR scheme framework, which has resulted in confusion for consumers, different outcomes between schemes for similar complaints and duplicative costs for industry.
The Review of the Financial System External Dispute Resolution and Complaints Framework Final Report (the Final Report) has been certified by the Treasury as meeting the standards of an Australian Government Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess independent reviews.
The Treasury was compliant with the Australian Government RIS requirements. However, the Treasury was not consistent with best practice at the transparency stage. This is because the independent review was not included in the explanatory memorandum of the bill.
The Treasury estimates the average annual regulatory cost at $43.9 million. The OBPR has agreed with this estimate.
The Final Report is available on the Treasury’s website.