Where a complaint would go
Every credit representative must belong to an external dispute resolution scheme. Since 1 November 2018 there has been exactly one — and the register does not entirely agree.
On 1 November 2018, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority replaced the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. Since then, a complaint about a credit representative goes to AFCA and nowhere else.
The register has not entirely caught up. 2,595 of 47,127 entries still name FOS, COSL or CIO, and 3,108 name no scheme at all.
To be clear about what that means: it is almost certainly a register line that was never refreshed, not a broker operating without cover — membership of AFCA is a condition of being appointed. But if you read one of those names on a broker's record and act on it, you will write to an organisation that no longer exists.
| Scheme recorded | Representatives | Share |
|---|---|---|
| AFCA | 41,424 | 87.9% |
| None recorded | 3,108 | 6.6% |
| COSL | 1,569 | 3.3% |
| FOS | 1,025 | 2.2% |
| CIO | 1 | 0% |
AFCA
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority — the single scheme since 1 November 2018. This is where a complaint about a credit representative goes.
41,424 representatives — 87.9%. See them
None recorded
The register carries no complaints scheme for these representatives. Every credit representative must belong to one, so this is a gap in the record rather than a licence to operate without cover.
3,108 representatives — 6.6%. See them
COSL
The Credit Ombudsman Service. It became the Credit and Investments Ombudsman and was then merged into AFCA on 1 November 2018.
1,569 representatives — 3.3%. See them
FOS
The Financial Ombudsman Service. It was merged into AFCA on 1 November 2018 and no longer exists.
1,025 representatives — 2.2%. See them
CIO
The Credit and Investments Ombudsman. Merged into AFCA on 1 November 2018.
1 representatives — 0%. See them