How do I lodge a complaint with AFCA about my bank?
Who the Australian Financial Complaints Authority covers, what it can order a bank to pay, the time limits, and how long a case takes.
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The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is the ombudsman for every Australian bank, and lodging costs you nothing. You must lodge within 2 years of the bank's final response, or within 6 years of first becoming aware of the loss, and AFCA can award up to $631,500 per claim. If the bank will not settle, an AFCA ombudsman decides, and the determination binds the bank once you accept it.
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Can AFCA take my complaint about my bank?
Yes, if you have given the bank a chance to fix it first and you are inside the time limits. Every bank must belong to AFCA as a condition of its licence (Corporations Act 2001, section 912A(1)(g)), and the 2025 Banking Code of Practice confirms that AFCA decisions bind subscribing banks.
AFCA is the external dispute resolution scheme set up under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Consumers First—Establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) Act 2018. Its Rules are approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It handles complaints about credit, loans, deposits, payments, insurance, superannuation and financial advice, so a complaint about a bank's credit card, home loan, transaction account or scam response all land in the same place.
Where you stand decides when you can lodge:
- The bank gave you a written final response you disagree with: lodge within 2 years of that response.
- The bank's 30-day deadline passed with no response: lodge now. See chasing a silent bank.
- You have not complained to the bank yet: AFCA will refer it back and give the bank its full RG 271 timeframe, so write to the bank first. See how to make a complaint to your bank.
- Hardship, a default notice or enforcement: AFCA treats these as urgent and can start without a refer-back period.
Lodge within 6 years of first becoming aware of the loss, or within 2 years of the bank's final response, whichever comes first. AFCA can extend the limit in special circumstances.
AFCA can award up to $631,500 per claim, and will only consider claims of $1,263,000 or less. These caps apply to complaints lodged on or after 1 January 2024 and are indexed every three years.
Stress and inconvenience (non-financial loss) is capped at $6,300 per claim, and so is indirect financial loss.
AFCA can order a refund, debt waiver or variation, a fee reversal, an interest rate change, release of security, correction of a credit record, or an apology. It cannot award punitive damages. It cannot help if a court has already decided the matter or the firm is not a member.
What should you do first?
Step 1: Gather the file
You need the bank's final response (or proof that none came), your complaint reference, the dates, statements or screenshots showing the problem, and a figure for what you want. AFCA's online form takes 30 to 50 minutes and lets you save and return.
Step 2: Ask in writing and set a deadline
One last letter to the bank's complaints team turns a refusal into a clean AFCA file and sometimes produces a settlement. Keep it to the point:
Subject: Complaint [reference number]: final notice before AFCA
I do not accept your final response dated [date]. [One sentence on why: the fee was not disclosed / the transaction was unauthorised / the hardship request was refused without reasons.]
Your complaints process must comply with ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 and, as a subscriber to the Banking Code of Practice, you are bound by AFCA's decisions (paragraph 195 and the Code's dispute resolution section).
Please [refund $[amount] / reverse the transaction / vary the contract] within 7 days of this email. If you do not, I will lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on [date], and I will ask AFCA to consider compensation for non-financial loss.
Step 3: Lodge with AFCA
Lodge online at afca.org.au/make-a-complaint, call 1800 931 678 (8am to 6pm AEST/AEDT weekdays), or email info@afca.org.au. Interpreters are available through 131 450. Say what happened, what the bank said, what you want, and attach the documents. You can appoint a representative with AFCA's agent authority form.
Step 4: Know the stages
Registration and referral: AFCA sends the complaint to the bank, which has 21 days to settle with you (longer if you never complained to it). More than half of complaints end here. Case management: an AFCA case worker asks both sides for evidence, usually within 7 to 21 days, and tries negotiation or a phone conciliation. Preliminary assessment: AFCA says how it thinks the complaint should resolve and gives each side 30 days to accept. Determination: an ombudsman or panel decides in writing. AFCA says most complaints resolve within 60 days; in 2024-25 the average banking and finance complaint closed in 62 days, and 6% of all complaints took more than a year.
What if AFCA decides against me, or the bank ignores it?
A determination is the end of AFCA's process, but not the end of your options:
- Accept or reject the determination. If it goes your way and you accept, the bank must do what it says within the stated time. If the bank does not comply, AFCA reports it to ASIC. If the determination goes against you, you can reject it and nothing in it binds you.
- Object to an exclusion. If AFCA closes the complaint as outside its Rules or without merit, it must tell you in writing with reasons, and you can object and have the decision reviewed.
- Court. Rejecting a determination preserves your right to sue the bank. Get legal advice first; the same 6-year limitation that applies to AFCA generally applies to court claims, and costs follow the loser.
- Feedback about AFCA itself. If the complaint is about how AFCA handled your case rather than the outcome, AFCA has a separate feedback process.
Cost and odds, from AFCA's 2024-25 Annual Review: lodging is free, 73% of complaints closed before determination were resolved by agreement or in the consumer's favour, and of the 4,781 determinations issued, 31% went the consumer's way. Settling during the refer-back or case management stage is where most money changes hands: AFCA's processes delivered $390.9 million in compensation and refunds across 101,302 closed complaints.
Scam victims have a new route since 12 March 2026. AFCA's updated Rules let it investigate scam complaints against the receiving bank, the one the money was sent to, and complaints about accounts scammers opened in your name, not just your own bank's handling of the payment. Lodge against both banks where the facts support it; AFCA's banking complaint figures for 2024-25 show scam complaints (5,879) were still the single largest banking issue.
What doesn't work
- Lodging before the bank's deadline. AFCA refers it straight back and the bank gets its full 30 days; you save nothing.
- Sitting on a final response. After 2 years from that letter AFCA can decline the complaint, and special circumstances are the only way back in.
- Claiming more than $1,263,000. The complaint falls outside AFCA's jurisdiction; get legal advice before lodging.
- Asking for punishment. AFCA restores your position; it does not award punitive damages and non-financial loss stops at $6,300.
- Ignoring AFCA's requests. If you do not reply when AFCA asks for information, it can treat the complaint as withdrawn and rarely reopens it.
- Not telling AFCA the bank settled. Email info@afca.org.au so the record shows the outcome rather than a withdrawal.
Common questions
Does it cost anything to complain to AFCA?
No. AFCA is free for consumers and small businesses, whether you lodge online, by phone, email or post. The Banking Code of Practice confirms lodging through the bank's own process or through AFCA is free of charge. Hiring a lawyer is optional, and you pay for that yourself.
How long does an AFCA complaint take?
AFCA says most complaints resolve within 60 days. In 2024-25 the average banking and finance complaint closed in 62 days; across all complaints 32% closed within 30 days, 61% within 60 days and 6% took more than a year. Complex or batched cases run longest.
Is AFCA's decision binding on my bank?
Yes, once you accept it. A determination binds the bank and it must deliver the remedy within AFCA's stated time; non-compliance is reported to ASIC. The decision does not bind you: you can reject it and go to court instead.
Can I go to court after AFCA?
Yes, if you reject the determination. There is no appeal within AFCA, but rejecting a determination keeps your right to sue the bank. If you accept the determination the complaint is settled on those terms, so get legal advice before choosing.
What if my bank or lender is not an AFCA member?
AFCA cannot take the complaint. Every licensed bank, credit union and lender must be a member, and since 10 June 2025 buy now pay later providers must be too. Check AFCA's financial firm search; if the firm is missing, contact AFCA before assuming it is not covered.
Can AFCA help with a scam if my bank refused to refund me?
Yes. You can complain about your own bank's handling of the payment, and since 12 March 2026 AFCA can also investigate the bank that received the money and accounts scammers opened in your name. Complain to each bank first, then lodge with AFCA against each.
- AFCA, Make a complaint
- AFCA, The process we follow (time limits, preliminary assessment, determinations)
- AFCA, Outcomes AFCA provides
- AFCA, Monetary limits and compensation caps from 1 January 2024
- AFCA, Annual Review 2024-25: Year at a glance
- AFCA, Rules and Operational Guidelines (Rules released 12 March 2026)
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