In its annual report released in October, the complaints authority saw investment and advice complaints exceed 4,000 for the second time in five years while overall complaints stood at 100,000.
The primary issue driving this increase in complaints was a failure to act in the clients’ best interests, which saw a 124 per cent increase in FY25, up from just 565 last year, accounting for almost a third (30 per cent) of all complaints in this category.
With a higher workload than ever and plans for the development of a Scams Ombudsman, the organisation is now actively seeking four C-suite appointments. This will expand the executive team by three, joining the chief executive, deputy chief ombusdsman and chief counsel.
It said this expansion has been prompted by an “evolving remit that includes new responsibilities and an expanded jurisdiction”. AFCA’s staff has expanded from less than 300 when the organisation launched in 2018 to more than 1,400 nowadays.
The new roles on offer are: chief technology officer (CTO), chief customer officer, chief scams officer and chief operating officer (COO), based in Sydney or Melbourne.
A spokesperson for AFCA said: “AFCA has reached a point where we must adapt our structure to keep meeting the needs of our people, our members and the community we serve. Having the right expertise will allow us to streamline our processes, make our service easier to use, and manage the sustained high volume of complaints we continue to receive.
“Furthermore, the Scams Prevention Framework introduces a new line of business for AFCA, and requires new capabilities, systems and cross-sector coordination.”
Breaking down the roles’ responsibilities further, AFCA said the CTO will drive the organisation’s digital transformation, leveraging technology and AI to unlock efficiency and reduce reliance on manual processes as well as providing strategic oversight of AFCA’s IT operations.
Together with the chief scams officer, they will lead the Australian scams ombudsman service, a government-backed initiative to deliver external dispute resolution under the Scams Prevention Framework.
Meanwhile, the chief customer officer will lead customer-facing operations and oversee 700 staff across AFCA’s contact centres and dispute resolution teams.
Finally, the COO will be responsible for strategic leadership and performance of AFCA’s corporate services and communications and ensure the organisation operates efficiently and sustainably.
Writing on LinkedIn, AFCA chief executive David Locke, said: “We have a brilliant team of clever, committed and highly capable people who are passionate about fairness and access to justice.
“We are developing the world’s first scams ombudsman service covering multiple industry sectors. We need to expand our senior team to deliver customer-centred design. These are brilliant opportunities for the right people to make a lasting difference.”
