Australian Financial Complaints Authority urges passage of the Scams Prevention Framework Bill and prepares for single scams EDR role

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) published remarks and a submission to the Senate Economics Committee supporting the urgent passage of the Scams Prevention Framework Bill, arguing that current legislative and regulatory settings for scams are inadequate. AFCA backed the Bill’s proposed whole-of-ecosystem framework and noted it is intended to be authorised as the single External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme for the first three designated sectors. AFCA reported handling more than 470,000 complaints since commencing in November 2018, with AUD 1.38 billion returned to consumers and small businesses. It cited Australian Competition and Consumer Commission data showing Australians lost AUD 2.74 billion to scams in 2023, and said it received more than 10,000 scam complaints in the 2023–24 financial year (up 81% year on year), resolving scam complaints in an average of 57 days; among matters that progressed to investigation, 60% resulted in full or partial compensation. AFCA said scam complaint volumes fell in the last three months of 2023–24 and continued declining in the first half of the current financial year, while highlighting recurring issues including poor conduct and systems, inconsistent prevention measures, and unclear allocation of roles and responsibilities across firms. AFCA urged the committee to recommend the Bill be passed so implementation work can begin, and signalled it is building capacity for a new scams EDR jurisdiction alongside further policy development by government and regulators.