What can I do if my bank doesn't respond to my complaint?
The deadlines a bank must meet under RG 271, how to chase a complaint that has gone quiet, and when AFCA will take it without a final response.
Chase it in writing, then go over the bank's head. Under ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 a bank must send a written final response within 30 calendar days of receiving your complaint, or 21 days for hardship and default-notice complaints, unless it sends a delay notice before the deadline. Once the deadline passes with nothing, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority will accept your complaint without waiting for the bank.
Rather not chase this yourself?
Ajust writes to the business, tracks the deadline and escalates if they don't fix it.
How long can my bank take to answer my complaint?
At most 30 calendar days, and silence past that date is itself a breach you can take to the ombudsman. ASIC's Regulatory Guide 271 (RG 271) sets the deadline, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) enforces it under the Corporations Act 2001 and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
The bank must give you a written final response no later than 30 calendar days after it received the complaint (RG 271.56).
The day the bank received your complaint does not count. Day 1 is the following day, and weekends and public holidays count toward the 30. ASIC also expects an acknowledgement within 1 business day (RG 271.51), but that is an expectation, not the deadline that matters.
Work out which clock you are on:
- Most complaints (fees, service, errors, transfers, account access): 30 calendar days.
- You sent a hardship notice or asked the bank to hold off enforcement: 21 calendar days (RG 271.93). If the bank needs more information it must ask within those 21 days, you get 21 days to supply it, and the bank then has 21 more days.
- Your complaint involves a default notice: 21 calendar days (RG 271.86).
- Unauthorised card transaction: the card scheme's dispute timeframes replace the 30 days (RG 271.62).
- The bank fixed it within 5 business days: it can close the complaint without a written response, but must write if you ask (RG 271.71 and RG 271.75).
The bank can run past the deadline only if the complaint is genuinely complex or the delay is outside its control, and only if it sends you an IDR delay notification before the deadline expires. That notice must give the reasons, tell you that you can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), and include AFCA's contact details (RG 271.64 to RG 271.66). A bank that subscribes to the 2025 Banking Code of Practice must also give you the date it expects to answer and send monthly updates (paragraph 199).
A delay notice does not stop you going to AFCA. RG 271.66 says so expressly.
If the deadline has passed with no final response and no delay notice, the bank's own process must tell you about AFCA (RG 271.111), and AFCA's rules treat an expired timeframe as a completed internal process. You can lodge the day after the deadline.
Counting the days matters. RG 271 applies section 36 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901: the day the bank receives the complaint is day 0, the next day is day 1, and the deadline falls on day 30 whether or not it is a business day. ASIC says it expects banks to meet or beat the maximum timeframes as a matter of routine (RG 271.63), so a bank that uses all 30 days is at the edge of the rules, not inside normal practice.
What should you do first?
Step 1: Check the date and the paper trail
Find the date the bank received your complaint and count 30 calendar days from the next day (21 for hardship or default-notice complaints). Check your inbox and the bank's secure messages for a delay notice. An automated "we have received your complaint" email is an acknowledgement, not a response.
Step 2: Ask in writing and set a deadline
Chase the same complaint reference through the bank's complaints channel, not general customer service. Keep it short and cite the rule:
Subject: Complaint [reference number]: final response overdue
I lodged this complaint on [date]. Under ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 (RG 271.56) you were required to give me a written final response within 30 calendar days, by [date]. I have received no response and no delay notification.
Please send your final response, including your decision, reasons, and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority's contact details as RG 271.53 requires, within 5 business days of this email.
If I do not receive it by [date], I will lodge the complaint with AFCA on the basis that your internal dispute resolution timeframe has expired.
If you made the original complaint by phone only, say so, give the call date and any reference, and ask the bank to confirm the date it logged the complaint. If you never made a clear complaint, start with how to make a complaint to your bank so the clock starts.
Step 3: Lodge with AFCA the day your deadline passes
Use the AFCA online form (30 to 50 minutes, and you can save and return), call 1800 931 678 between 8am and 6pm AEST/AEDT weekdays, or email info@afca.org.au. State the date you complained to the bank, the reference number, and that no final response arrived within the RG 271 timeframe. AFCA will give the bank one more chance: a 21-day refer-back period for complaints where the internal deadline already expired. More than half of complaints settle at that stage.
Step 4: Keep the bank's silence on the record
Do not restart the complaint in a new channel. Every chase goes under the original reference, in writing, so AFCA can see the timeline. If the bank finally responds while AFCA has the file, email info@afca.org.au so the case is updated rather than closed.
What if the bank still says nothing?
Stop chasing and let the ombudsman do it. The escalation is short, because a silent bank has already handed you the strongest ground for an AFCA complaint:
- AFCA. Covers every Australian bank, credit union and licensed lender. Costs you nothing. Because you never received a final response, the only time limit is 6 years from when you first became aware of the loss. AFCA refers the complaint back to the bank for 21 days, then moves it to case management if the bank is still silent. In 2024-25 the average banking and finance complaint closed in 62 days, and 59% were resolved at the referral stage. If AFCA has to decide, the bank is bound by the determination once you accept it, and AFCA can award up to $631,500 per claim plus up to $6,300 for the stress and inconvenience of the delay. See lodging with AFCA.
- Ask AFCA to treat it as urgent. If the complaint involves a hardship notice, a default notice or looming enforcement, say so when you lodge. AFCA prioritises financial difficulty complaints and can skip the refer-back period for urgent matters.
- Report the Code breach. If your bank subscribes to the Banking Code of Practice, its silence breaches paragraphs 197 to 199. The Banking Code Compliance Committee investigates alleged breaches of the Code. It is a separate step from AFCA and does not replace it.
- Court. You keep the right to sue the bank instead of, or after rejecting, an AFCA determination. For most consumer amounts AFCA is faster and costs nothing.
A bank's "failure to respond to a request for assistance" was one of the five most common banking complaints AFCA received in 2024-25, with 2,823 lodged. You are not the first, and AFCA has a process built for it.
Tell Ajust what happened and we do the heavy lifting for you. Emails, calls, escalations until it's resolved. While you get on with your life.
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What doesn't work
- Treating the acknowledgement as a response. A reference number and a "we're looking into it" email satisfy RG 271.51, not RG 271.56; the 30-day clock keeps running.
- Re-lodging the complaint in a new channel. A fresh complaint creates a fresh reference and muddies the timeline AFCA will read; chase the original in writing.
- Accepting "we need more time" with no date. A valid delay notice must give reasons and AFCA's details, and a Code bank must give the expected date; anything less is not a delay notice.
- Waiting for the bank to point you to AFCA. It must, but you do not need the invitation; lodge once the deadline passes.
- Going quiet yourself. If AFCA asks you for information and you do not reply, it can treat the complaint as withdrawn.
Common questions
My bank acknowledged my complaint but I have heard nothing since. Does that count as a response?
No. An acknowledgement only confirms receipt. The final response is a separate written document with the outcome, reasons and AFCA's details, due within 30 calendar days. If the 30 days have passed since the bank received your complaint, you can lodge with AFCA now.
Do weekends count in the 30 days?
Yes. RG 271 uses calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count. The day the bank received the complaint is not counted; day 1 is the day after. Only the acknowledgement is measured in business days, and only as an ASIC expectation.
The bank sent me a delay notice. Do I have to wait?
No. RG 271.66 says a delay notice does not prevent you escalating to AFCA. The notice must give reasons and AFCA's details. You can wait for the new date if the reason is credible, or lodge with AFCA once the original deadline has passed.
I only complained by phone. Does the deadline still apply?
Yes. A phone call expressing dissatisfaction is a complaint under RG 271, and the bank should have logged it. Write to the bank's complaints team quoting the call date and ask it to confirm the date the complaint was received so the 30 days can be counted.
Is the 21-day rule for every credit card or loan complaint?
No. Only complaints involving a default notice, a hardship notice or a request to postpone enforcement proceedings carry the 21 calendar day timeframe. A dispute about credit card interest, fees or a limit decision is a standard complaint with 30 days.
Will AFCA just give the bank more time?
A little. Because the bank's internal deadline has expired, AFCA gives it a 21-day refer-back period to settle with you directly. If the bank still does nothing, the complaint moves to an AFCA case worker who investigates and, if needed, decides.
- ASIC, Regulatory Guide 271 (PDF): RG 271.51, 271.56, 271.62, 271.64 to 271.66, 271.71, 271.75, 271.86, 271.93, 271.111
- ASIC, RG 271 Internal dispute resolution
- Australian Banking Association, 2025 Banking Code of Practice, paragraphs 195 to 199
- AFCA, Operational Guidelines to the Rules (12 March 2026), rule A.5.3 refer-back periods
- AFCA, Delays and the refer-back stage
- AFCA, Annual Review 2024-25: Banking and finance complaints
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