AFCA has published its 2022–23 Annual Review, summarising in detail, the significant program of work it completed during the 2022–23 financial year. 

From 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, AFCA received 96,987 complaints from consumers and small businesses – 34% more than the year before, and the most ever received by AFCA.   

This was driven largely by delays in insurance claim handling, mounting financial pressures on consumers, and the ongoing scourge of serious financial crime and scams.   

In the five years since AFCA’s inception in 2018, AFCA has resolved over 370,000 complaints, resulting in $1.15 billion in compensation to consumers and small businesses (as at 30 September 2023).     

In 2022–23, AFCA’s Systemic Issues function also identified more than 1,000 potential systemic issues and reported 105 systemic issues to federal regulators, delivering an additional $100 million in refunds to 378,830 consumers.  

AFCA and the financial services sector saw the introduction of significant consumer protections in 2022–23. This included the Australian Government’s move to regulate Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), an overhaul of laws to govern “payday” lending, the establishment of the National Anti-Scam Centre and the introduction of a Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).    

The CSLR is a scheme AFCA and its predecessors have consistently advocated for and was a recommendation of the Hayne Royal Commission.  

Alongside AFCA’s crucial ‘business as usual’ work, this year AFCA also:     

• continued its response to Treasury's Independent Review recommendations 
• progressed its business and IT transformation project, designing a new consumer portal, member portal and case management system to boost response times and improve the customer experience 
• expanded its community outreach and stakeholder engagement program to ensure a more inclusive service 
• introduced its Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan 
• embedded its internal ‘People for Purpose’ culture.   

You can read the 2022–23 AFCA Annual Review here.

Published: 23 October 2023

Media enquiries media@afca.org.au

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is a non-government ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. It is a one-stop-shop for consumers and small businesses who have a dispute with their financial firm, over things such as banking, credit, insurance, advice, investments or superannuation. Where an agreement cannot be reached between parties, AFCA can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms.