The independent expert panel appointed by the government to review external dispute resolution and complaints schemes in the financial sector should be allowed to complete its work before the government makes any decisions on a banking tribunal or other proposed changes to current dispute arrangements.
The review’s terms of reference were released by the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services only two weeks ago. The independent expert panel has been charged with reviewing the effectiveness of the existing framework, legislative limits on matters able to be considered by current schemes and the relative merits of different models for handling consumer disputes.
The proposal for a banking tribunal falls squarely within the scope of the current government review of dispute resolution in the financial sector being undertaken by the independent expert panel.
FOS has welcomed the appointment of the independent expert panel and its terms of reference. FOS strongly supports efforts to enhance fair, simple, accessible redress for consumers and small businesses in the financial sector.
Importantly, we want to see less rather than more complexity for consumers in resolving financial disputes. We also want to avoid changes that could lead to a more costly, adversarial and legalistic approach to dispute resolution for consumers and small businesses.
The independent experts appointed by the government to conduct this review are best placed to consider all aspects, from all angles, of dispute arrangements for the financial sector.
