The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) published an edited discussion from its March 2025 Member Forums in which Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive Officer David Locke set out how AFCA expects its role in scam-related disputes to expand, including a new ability to consider the conduct of “receiving banks” and a proposed broader remit under the Scams Prevention Framework. Under the Scams Prevention Framework, the legislation is described as extending the regulatory approach beyond banks to telecommunications companies and social media platforms, with industry rules and codes still to be developed. The government has indicated an intention for AFCA to become the single external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme for scam disputes across these industries, which would allow AFCA to examine the conduct of multiple parties involved and attribute liability where relevant, using an approach intended to be different from AFCA’s existing processes. Separately, on 12 March 2025 the government changed AFCA’s authorisation so it can consider the actions of receiving banks, addressing a gap where AFCA could previously only handle complaints against a consumer’s own bank due to the need for a contractual relationship. AFCA noted that implementing the receiving-bank change will require amendments to the AFCA Rules, consultation with members and approval by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with the change expected to take effect in 12 months. The discussion also flagged that further work by Treasury and others is needed to develop the Scams Prevention Framework rules and codes that will apply to the initial three industries.

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