ASIC opened consultation on 27 October on revised guidance for its oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The proposal retains the regulator’s core expectations while separating legislative requirements, AFCA’s scheme rules and ASIC’s supervisory expectations more clearly.[1]
For brokers and other financial firms, a significant distinction is who must report to whom. The draft’s 15-day expectation concerns AFCA reporting matters to regulators. It is not a new deadline for a brokerage to answer a customer complaint.[2]
The reporting baseline and proposed clarification
AFCA’s regulatory-reporting clock
| Document | Treatment of reporting time |
|---|---|
| Current September 2021 RG 267 | Serious contraventions and systemic issues are to be reported as soon as practicable, with a 15-day outer limit.Source 3 |
| October 2026 consultation draft | Reports are expected within 15 days after AFCA considers a reportable matter has arisen; regulators and AFCA may vary the timeframe by agreement.Source 2 |
The draft retains prompt reporting where conduct poses continuing harm, without necessarily waiting for the complaint to finish. AFCA’s reports operate alongside licensees’ own reportable-situation obligations. One reporting route does not discharge the other.[2]
The same distinction applies to settlement. The current guide already allows AFCA to refer a settled complaint if it considers the settlement warrants investigation. It also expects settlement terms to stay within the complaint’s subject matter and not prevent a consumer approaching a regulator. Settling an individual dispute does not, by itself, remove that possibility of regulatory scrutiny.[3]
The draft adds detail on membership cessation or withdrawal notifications and parallel regulatory work. AFCA may pursue remediation while a regulator pursues enforcement. It will discontinue investigating a systemic issue when a regulator is directly taking action on it and seeking the same outcome.[2]
A wider remit, with separate rules still to come
The update prepares for AFCA’s Scams Prevention Framework jurisdiction from 31 March 2027, initially covering banking, telecommunications and digital platforms. ASIC says the guide may change again to reflect final scheme rules and other scams settings.[1]
Detailed financial-firm membership and cooperation guidance would move to ASIC’s dispute-resolution webpages. Its removal from RG 267 therefore reflects the guide’s focus on AFCA oversight, rather than removal of firms’ obligations.[1]
Comments close at 5pm AEDT on 24 November. ASIC aims to publish the final guide and revised webpages by 31 March 2027.[1]
Sources & further reading
- CS 66: Proposed update to ASIC’s guidance on AFCA oversight Australian Securities and Investments Commission · 27 Oct 2026 · Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Attachment 1 to CS 66: Draft RG 267 Oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority Australian Securities and Investments Commission · 27 Oct 2026 · Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Regulatory Guide 267: Oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, September 2021 Australian Securities and Investments Commission · 2 Sep 2021 · Accessed 30 Oct 2026