The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has warned that the adoption of a new definition of the term ‘complaint’ included in current dispute resolution consultation papers will lead to increased costs for super funds, which will ultimately be borne by members.
ASFA has submitted its response to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC’s) Consultation Paper 102 Dispute Resolution — Review of RG 139 and RG 165. ASFA’s feedback related to the adoption of a new definition of ‘complaint’ in the Australian standard on complaints handling.
The ASIC paper proposes a requirement for every complaint to be recorded, which ASFA said has “significant workload and cost implications for funds”.
ASFA said while the new standard “may add a layer of consistency to how complaints are treated, it has the consequence of creating a large additional workload for superannuation funds”.
ASFA said ultimately, superannuation fund members would bear the cost of this additional workload.
The requirement would be for funds to record data relating to every complaint, even where the complaint has been resolved. This would stretch to enquiries for members missing a periodic statement or wishing to express dissatisfaction over returns, for example.
ASFA said while an effective complaints handling mechanism is part of a super fund’s responsibility to act in the best interests of members, “it needs to be appreciated that a number of superannuation funds do not currently record and track all complaints in the manner alluded to by the new definition”.
“ASFA understands that some enquiries do turn into complaints at a later time and some seemingly resolved issues do come back. However, it is unreasonable to expect that all enquiries are logged individually just in case they turn into complaints.”
But ASFA said it nevertheless “appreciates the policy objective of identifying and responding to complaints quickly and effectively, as this improves both member satisfaction and provides superannuation funds with useful data to improve its overall operations”.
ASFA’s recommendation is for ASIC to make a clear statement as to its expectations for complaints record keeping and that it work with ASFA in determining a ‘pragmatic’ approach to implementing the new standard.
