AFCA launches comparative complaints records platform

The new comparative reporting platform, the Datacube, has published information about the number of complaints a company has received, how long it took to resolve the claims and the number of times it did not respond to a complaint.

Australians will be able to see the complaints history for advisers, as well as banks, superannuation funds, insurers and other financial service firms.

The tool allows users to compare different companies’ performance side-by-side.

AFCA chief executive and chief ombudsman David Locke said AFCA will be adding more data and feature enhancements in the coming months.

The body has aimed to increase transparency and consumer education.

“Anyone can use this tool to review the performance of their financial firm and compare it to others in the market,” Mr Locke said.

“This data, and the level of detail that consumers can see about each firm, will also support the work of policy makers and researchers.

“For financial firms themselves they can clearly see how they are tracking at handling complaints and how this compares to others in the market.”

AFCA is required by ASIC to publish information about the complaints it receives and resolves including by financial firm name, and to ensure it is comparable by business size and industry sector.

Mr Locke added the platform presents the complaints body’s data in a way that is accessible and easy to understand for consumers.

The Datacube contains AFCA’s data between 30 June and 1 November and will be updated every six months.

“We want to allow both consumers and our members access to the most recent data possible and are working to release the next update to this tool in January 2020.”

The launch of the Datacube has aligned with AFCA’s release of its annual review.