Inquiry into Competition in the Australian Financial System – Joint Submission

Submission to: ASIC
We have welcomed ASIC’s decision to review its guidance on internal dispute resolution for financial services providers. We support making the guidance on internal dispute resolution enforceable. We recommended that fairness and good industry practice are considered when financial firms are responding to complaints. We also supported a 30 day time limit to respond to a complaint.

Submission to: Australian Banking Association
Submission calls for the Banking Code of Practice to include among other changes: further principles and specific provisions to better protect vulnerable people; to more imaginatively set out critical information that people need to know instead of relying on the “fine print”; training for staff to help them ask direct questions about relevant personal characteristics that leave a person more vulnerable; and providing actual access in remote areas, such as pop-up banking.