The Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), an approved dispute resolution scheme under New Zealand law, has been assessed as compliant and functional across key governance principles in its latest five-year independent review.
The report, prepared by reviewer Nanette Moreau Hammond, concluded that the FSCL meets its obligations under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, offering impartial and accessible complaint resolution services.
The review confirmed the FSCL’s adherence to six essential principles:
Stakeholders, including consumers and financial providers, generally viewed the scheme as timely, approachable, and well-reasoned in handling complaints.
While the FSCL was recognised for meeting its core obligations, the review identified limited public awareness as an ongoing issue. The report noted that a significant portion of consumers remain unaware of their right to use external dispute resolution schemes.
FSCL chief executive officer Susan Taylor acknowledged the issue.
“The board has accepted all the recommendations, and we are already implementing them,” she said. “One of the challenges highlighted is that 20% of financial services consumers are unaware of any dispute resolution options available to them. We are actively working on increasing consumer awareness of our service and reaching more consumers, so they know help is available when they have a problem with their financial service provider.”
The review advised the FSCL to conduct routine checks of its members’ websites to verify proper disclosure of complaint procedures. It also recommended mystery shopper assessments to gauge frontline staff knowledge of dispute escalation protocols.
FSCL chair Jane Meares said the board had endorsed all recommendations.
“We’re proud of our team’s professionalism, integrity, and commitment to providing accessible justice in a dynamic and changing financial services environment,” she said. “Timely, responsive, accessible, trusted, credible, easy to communicate with, and well-reasoned were some of the common themes from the stakeholders interviewed by Ms Moreau Hammond.”
Suggestions included enhancing engagement with the 9,355 registered participants.
The FSCL is expected to expand its reporting to better inform providers and regulators of common complaint types and potential systemic issues.
The review proposed the FSCL explore use of AI tools to identify trends in complaint data and flag potential compliance breaches.
The FSCL confirmed it is assessing technological solutions to complement its current manual review processes.
The FSCL will also collaborate with other dispute resolution bodies to extend outreach initiatives, particularly targeting vulnerable and underserved consumer segments. Additional community education efforts and clearer online content are also planned.
The review acknowledged that succession planning at the leadership level may become a future consideration. While no immediate action is required, the FSCL’s board is expected to evaluate the issue when necessary.
No critical issues were raised in the areas of independence, efficiency, or accountability beyond ongoing improvement work already in motion.
The FSCL will begin reporting against new key performance indicators in the 2025–2026 year, including consumer satisfaction and resolution timeliness.
The next formal review is expected in 2030.
