Record complaints mark third consecutive year above 100,000

Deborah Jenkins

Australians lodged a record 119,949 complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in 2025–26, which is the highest number on record and the third consecutive year complaints have exceeded 100,000.

AFCA’s Chief Customer Officer Deborah Jenkins said three years of more than 100,000 complaints highlights the challenges many consumers continue to face in a difficult economic environment.

“These numbers highlight the impact that ongoing cost-of-living challenges and economic uncertainty are having on consumers, and the flow-on effects these conditions can have across the financial system,” Ms Jenkins said.

“Every complaint represents someone’s experience, and collectively they provide a view of where consumers are struggling. By working with us and acting on these insights, firms can help prevent recurring issues that lead to complaints with AFCA,” the Chief Customer Officer said.

Overall, the three most complained about financial products in 2025-26 were personal transaction accounts, motor vehicle insurance and credit cards. The top three issues were delay in claim handling, service quality and claim rejection.

Banking and finance remained AFCA’s largest complaint area, with financial difficulty complaints increasing 17 per cent and credit reporting complaints rising 22 per cent across the year, with a steep rise in recent months.

“These numbers point to opportunities for firms to strengthen hardship support, improve communication with customers and ensure accurate credit reporting, helping resolve issues before they become disputes,” the Chief Customer Officer said.

While complaint volumes increased across all areas during 2025-26, the largest growth was driven by major investment collapses and rising superannuation disputes. AFCA’s preliminary data snapshot as at June 30 showed:

• Banking and finance 66,971 complaints (up 23%)
• General insurance 36,022 complaints (up 5%)
• Superannuation 8,755 complaints (up 42%)
• Investments and advice 6,542 complaints (up 56%)
• Life insurance 1,561 complaints (up 3%)

Investments and advice complaints increased by 56 per cent, primarily driven by the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian collapses. Complaints alleging failure to act in the client’s best interest remain the top issue with a 65 per cent increase on last year, up to 2,083.

“While most financial advice firms do the right thing, we are seeing a significant number of complaints stem from major financial collapses that have affected thousands of consumers. These matters are complex and can be incredibly stressful for individuals and their families,” Ms Jenkins said.

Superannuation complaints increased 42 per cent during the year, with delays in claim handling, service issues and rejection of superannuation insurance claims emerging as the most common issues. Rejection of claim complaints increased 82 per cent compared with the previous year.

Scam complaints rose 12 per cent to 6,706 following a decline the previous year, reflecting the continued threat scams pose to Australian consumers.

“Scammers are becoming more sophisticated in how they target consumers. Resolving disputes is important but preventing scams before they happen is even better. That’s why broader scam prevention efforts are so important,” Ms Jenkins said.

While general insurance complaints remained persistently high, Ms Jenkins said the data shows early resolution remains an important feature of the system, with 43 per cent of complaints resolved before progressing through AFCA’s formal decisions-making process.

However, she said there is still opportunity to reduce overall complaint volumes, with comprehensive vehicle insurance again the most complained about insurance product, and rejection of claim complaints increasing by 47 per cent this year.

Since starting operations in 2018, AFCA has received about 690,000 complaints, helping to secure $2.6 billion in compensation or refunds for consumers and small businesses. AFCA’s systemic issues work, where it identifies wider issues than a single complaint, has resulted in 6 million people receiving more than $398 million.

“Complaint data is one of the clearest signals firms have about what’s going wrong for their customers. Firms that use those insights to improve are more likely to prevent the same problems happening again,” the Chief Customer Officer said.

“We’ll continue to share the insights we’re seeing through our complaints data with firms, so they have the opportunity to identify emerging issues early and improve outcomes for their customers.”