Annual Review 2022–23
Contents
- About this Annual Review
- Year at a glance
- Acknowledgement of country
- Board Chair message
- Chief Executive Officer and Chief Ombudsman message
- Organisational overview
- AFCA Independent Review
- Complaints
- Who complained to AFCA?
- Overview of complaints
- Open cases
- Closed cases
- Banking and finance complaints
- Buy now pay later
- Scam complaints
- Financial difficulty complaints
- Small business complaints
- General insurance complaints
- Significant events
- Life insurance complaints
- Superannuation complaints
- Investments and advice complaints
- Cryptocurrency
- Complaints lodged by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Complaints lodged by consumer advocates and financial counsellors
- Complaints lodged by paid representatives
- Complaints outside AFCA’s Rules
- AFCA’s Systemic Issues function
- AFCA’s Code compliance and monitoring functiong
- Engagement, awareness and accessibility
- Corporate information
- AFCA General Purpose Financial Report
- Glossary
AFCA is committed to ensuring broad community awareness of its role as a national financial ombudsman providing accessible services to all.
In 2021, we developed a three-year strategy to enhance awareness of our existence and role with a data-led approach spanning multiple channels and platforms. The program included revitalising AFCA’s website and publicity material, and running awareness-raising activities and campaigns targeting demographic groups less aware of our services.
In 2022–23, we used the results and lessons of the previous year’s activities, complaints data and web analytics to develop and implement an ‘always-on’ awareness approach across our traditional, digital and social media channels.
This approach primarily focused on providing information and resources to vulnerable communities and individuals experiencing a financial dispute, such as those impacted by natural disasters or experiencing financial hardship.
Awareness research
In late 2020, AFCA research revealed 25% of consumers were aware of our role. Rates of awareness among some vulnerable demographic groups were even lower than this.
In July 2023, we conducted similar research to test and monitor the impact of our awareness-raising work. The research yielded encouraging results, with total awareness of AFCA’s role having increased from 25% to 34%.
