The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revised the internal dispute resolution (IRD) procedures for financial institutions to help reduce paperwork and resolve complaints quickly.
The new guidelines will apply to Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) holders, credit licensees and some other financial services providers.
The main change to the guidelines is that a ‘final response’ is no longer required when a complaint is resolved to a customer’s satisfaction in five business days, only if the customer has not requested a written response.
The link between IRD and external dispute resolution (ERD) will still be preserved, with customers able to receive a written response including ERD details when a complaint is not resolved to the customer’s satisfaction in the given time period.
ASIC said this would give participants greater flexibility to respond to complaints verbally, particularly where those complaints are “straightforward, involve small sums, or relate to a customer service issue that can be resolved quickly”.
For those licensees whose standards do not meet the new guidelines, ASIC said it expects them to comply as soon as practicable.
