AFCA reappoints chief ombudsman

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) board has reappointed David Locke as its chief ombudsman and chief executive officer (CEO) for another five years.

Locke (pictured) is a lawyer who has worked in the private, government, and not-for-profit sectors, including 10 years in community legal centres in London and a similar period at the Charity Commission of England and Wales. In 2011, he moved to Australia to help establish the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). In June 2018, he took on the role of AFCA's inaugural CEO and chief ombudsman.

During his first term as the AFCA ombudsman, Locke had overseen significant initiatives, including:

• the development of the publicly searchable AFCA Datacube, which allows firms and consumers to compare complaints performance;
• a new funding model welcomed for its fair, user-pay approach;
• a significant review of the AFCA rules now underway; and
• an ongoing IT transformation to ensure an efficient and user-friendly experience for firms and consumers.

Locke, who will begin his second term as the chief ombudsman on June 28, said: “AFCA plays a very important role in Australia's financial services system, and it is a great privilege to lead such an amazing group of people who are passionate about access to justice and fairness to all.”

AFCA board chair professor John Pollaers OAM said: “As AFCA's inaugural chief ombudsman, David has met the challenge of bringing together three separate dispute resolution bodies to build a new, world-class scheme. He has also led the organisation through a period of significant growth in complaints as a result of the COVID pandemic, natural disasters, and scams.”

David Locke's plans for AFCA

Locke said he expects AFCA to register close to 100,000 complaints this financial year, up from 70,000 a year ago.

“AFCA's services have, sadly, never been more needed. We will continue to work in partnership with financial firms, consumer bodies, and regulators to share lessons from our work and drive improved practices. We want to see financial firms resolve more disputes themselves, so fewer matters have to be escalated to AFCA,” he said.

Last month, Locke delivered a speech to the AFCA Member Forum, outlining current industry challenges and how to address them.

AFCA's milestones

AFCA announced that its complaints resolution scheme secured $1 billion in compensation for consumers since opening its doors on November 1, 2018. As of March 30, 2023, it had resolved over 320,000 complaints.

AFCA has also identified and resolved 236 systemic issues – issues with wider implications beyond an individual complaint – resulting in refunds to 4.7 million consumers totalling over $278 million.

Overall, since its establishment, AFCA has:

• Closed more than 320,000 complaints;
• Secured over $1 billion in compensation for consumers;
• Seen around 70% of cases resolved by agreement;
• Worked with over 26,000 people in financial difficulty;
• Worked with over 5,000 victims of around 50 weather disasters; and
• Handled more than 17,000 COVID-19-related complaints.

“AFCA provides a vital service,” Professor Pollaers said. “Consumers, small businesses, and financial firms can participate in the financial system with confidence that a robust process is in place in the event of a dispute. The board is delighted that David has accepted our invitation to continue to lead this important work.”