Ongoing complaints to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) indicate continuing barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers in accessing financial services and products, with implications for insurers, banks, and superannuation funds operating in regional and remote areas. AFCA received 2,461 complaints from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the 2024–25 financial year. The cases commonly involved unauthorised transactions, delays or a lack of response to financial hardship requests, lengthy claims and complaints handling, and alleged mis-selling of funeral and other insurance products.
AFCA deputy chief ombudsman Dr June Smith said the data points to ongoing structural and procedural issues for First Nations consumers engaging with financial services. “First Nations people continue to face disproportionate challenges and barriers when interacting with financial services and our data likely reflects only a fraction of the problem. Year after year the same patterns persist, and many people never reach external dispute resolution because of the frustration they experience dealing with firms. First Nations people deserve to be able to access every day financial services other Australians take for granted,” Smith said.
AFCA’s casework involving First Nations complainants shows that digital exclusion remains a barrier to accessing services. Many regional and remote communities experience limited internet connectivity, unstable mobile coverage, and bank branch closures, which can reduce the options consumers have to lodge and manage claims, update policies, seek hardship arrangements, or escalate disputes. The shift towards automated systems, including in internal dispute resolution, can also mean firms do not identify digital exclusion, language or cultural barriers, vulnerability, hardship, or financial abuse. Automated triage and scripted processes may not capture these factors without further assessment.
According to AFCA, firms remain responsible for including human review in processes, ensuring staff who deal with First Nations customers have appropriate cultural capability, and offering channels for people who cannot readily transact online. “Not having digital access can have many impacts – from making insurance claims, accessing, and engaging with superannuation accounts and receiving timely updates from financial firms. A priority for AFCA is equity of access for everyone, and I encourage all financial firms to think about the equity of access they offer to their own customers,” Smith said.
AFCA has said that current independent reviews of industry codes of practice are a chance to reset expectations for how financial services firms, including general and life insurers, engage with First Nations consumers and other vulnerable groups. “In 2026, we encourage the sector to come together and take advantage of the many opportunities for change, such as the independent reviews of codes of practice which could make a real difference to how First Nations people can engage and access financial services. Our goal should be economic and financial empowerment for First Nations people,” Smith said.
For insurers, AFCA’s commentary points to possible changes in code provisions relating to product governance, distribution in remote communities, identification requirements, and complaint-handling processes that recognise cultural context. “Now is the time for industry to clearly define its commitment to improving engagement with First Nations peoples. The new codes should strengthen self-identification processes, incorporate cultural practice and norms into account and personal identification requirement, require meaningful cultural awareness training, and ensure genuine service support for First Nations people in regional and remote areas. We need stronger codes of practice to improve how financial services engage with First peoples to ensure they can access their services and have a clear path to culturally appropriate dispute resolution when things go wrong,” Smith said.
AFCA has also changed how it manages complaints from First Nations peoples. As part of what it describes as its reconciliation and financial inclusion initiatives, the authority has adjusted aspects of its processes to make them more culturally informed and accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander complainants. “Through our Equity of Access program and Reconciliation Plans, AFCA is embarking on further improvements to how we work, to ensure every First Nations person has the same opportunity for a fair process and a fair outcome. We recognise that people come to us with different needs and experiences, and for some the process can feel daunting. This program marks the beginning of a major shift in how we deliver our service, so people feel seen, heard, supported, and able to participate fully in their complaint,” Smith said. For insurers and intermediaries, these process changes may result in more structured interaction with AFCA on cases involving First Nations consumers, including expectations around the information supplied, communication approaches, and consideration of culturally appropriate dispute resolution options.
AFCA’s findings on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander complaints sit within a wider complaints profile outlined in its 2024–25 Annual Review, released in October 2025. AFCA recorded more than 100,000 complaints for the second consecutive year. AFCA chief ombudsman and chief executive officer David Locke said the figures reflect ongoing cost-of-living pressures and the need for firms to review how they manage disputes. “We know many Australians continue to feel financially stretched and stressed – and behind every complaint, we receive is a person seeking fairness and resolution in a time of uncertainty. In times of economic pressure, it’s critical that financial firms strengthen their internal dispute resolution processes and ensure resources are available to deal with disputes in a fair and timely manner,” Locke said. Banking and finance remained the largest category, making up 54% of all complaints in 2024–25. Although financial difficulty complaints fell 17% overall, “failure to respond to a request for assistance” stayed among the top five issue types, highlighting AFCA’s focus on earlier and more effective engagement with customers in hardship.
General insurance complaints rose to 34,231 in 2024–25, a 17% increase from the previous year, driven mainly by complaints about add-on insurance. Excluding add-on products, general insurance complaint volumes were broadly consistent with the prior two years. AFCA has identified claim delays as a continuing reason for escalation. In financial advice, AFCA reported that large-scale collapses continued to contribute to complaints against advisers and advice firms, with self-managed superannuation fund complaints rising and “failure to act in the client’s best interest” increasing.
AFCA’s jurisdiction was also extended to Buy Now Pay Later providers during the year, resulting in 2,099 complaints, with common issues including credit enquiries, unauthorised transactions and service quality. For insurance professionals, AFCA’s latest figures and commentary highlight ongoing expectations around timely and transparent claims handling, early engagement with customers in hardship, and specific attention to accessibility and cultural considerations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers, particularly in regional and remote communities.
