• Purpose of the complaints process
• Making a complaint
• The complaints process
• Complaint form

Purpose of the complaints process

To ensure all members uphold these standards, FPA has a formal process which enables complaints about members to be heard, evaluated and, where appropriate, disciplinary action to be taken.

Making a complaint

Please note that the FPA has jurisdiction to deal with complaints about itself and its members only. It also does not have jurisdiction to award compensation to consumers.

If you have a complaint about an FPA member, we suggest that you, in the first instance, refer the complaint to the member for an opportunity to try and resolve the complaint through the member’s internal complaints handling process.

If you remain dissatisfied with the member’s proposed resolution, you can then contact either:

• the member’s ASIC-approved External Dispute Resolution Scheme (e.g. Financial Ombudsman Service) or
• the Government Regulator (ASIC) or  
• the member’s professional association (FPA).

The complaints process

Complaints lodged with ASIC-approved External Dispute Resolution Scheme

One of the conditions of holding an Australian Financial Services Licence is that the licence holder must be a member of an ASIC-approved External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme if they are providing a financial service to retail clients.

The task of an EDR body is to resolve complaints that cannot be settled directly between you and the member. A complaints scheme provides a free service to consumers and acts independently of both you and the member. For a full list of ASIC approved EDR bodies, refer to the ASIC website.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is one of the ASIC-approved EDR bodies which assists consumers to resolve their complaints against financial service providers (members). Members include banks, general and life insurers, reinsurers, entities involved in managed investment schemes (i.e. fund managers, custodians of investments), superannuation entities, brokers, financial planners, security advisers, stockbrokers and investment advisers.

For more information please refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service website.

Complaints lodged with the Government Regulator, ASIC

If your complaint concerns a product or service you have purchased, you should first raise your complaint with the business or person who provided you with the goods or services you are complaining about. If you cannot resolve the problem with them, you should then raise your complaint with the appropriate EDR body. If your complaint remains unresolved, you may wish to contact ASIC.

If however your complaint is about misconduct or illegal activity by a company or person, then you may wish to contact ASIC immediately. ASIC may be one of a number of government and non-government organisations able to help you.

For more information please refer to the ASIC website.

Complaints lodged with FPA

FPA’s Disciplinary Regulations (dated Sept 1999) and Disciplinary Procedures require that any alleged breach of the FPA Code of Professional Practice reported to the FPA, be investigated, and where necessary, referred to the FPA’s Disciplinary Committee. Serious misconduct relating to breaches of the FPA Professional Standards may result in heavy penalties to the member. Please note that the FPA has jurisdiction to deal with complaints about itself and its members only. It also does not have jurisdiction to award compensation to consumers.

To lodge a complaint about an FPA member, please complete a complaint form and mail it to:

All complaints must:

• be in writing
• show the name and address of the complainant
• show the individual and/or company name of the planner and address
• detail the nature of the complaint
• be signed by the complainant

If a complaint against a member is being investigated externally (either by courts, ASIC, etc), the FPA will consider whether it is appropriate to commence its own investigation into the matter.  If the FPA has already commenced an investigation, then it will consider whether it is appropriate to suspend the investigation until a formal determination is made. If a member is found guilty under an external investigation, the FPA may also consider imposing its own sanctions against that particular member.

Privacy Policy

The FPA Privacy Policy is based upon the National Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988. It informs you how personal information you provide to the FPA is collected, held, used, corrected, disclosed and transferred. You can obtain more information, on request, about the way we manage the personal information we hold.

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Complaint form