Kell was the deputy chair of ASIC from 2013 to 2018, having joined the corporate regulator as a commissioner in 2011, and worked as deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission prior to this. He is also a former chief executive of Choice consumer group.
During his time at ASIC, he appeared twice before the Hayne royal commission and led the regulator’s legal cases against Westpac and National Australia Bank for alleged responsible lending breaches and fees for no service, respectively.
He also led ASIC’s work on product intervention powers and on reviewing vertically integrated businesses.
AFCA said Kell is the second independent chair of the group since the panel’s establishment in March 2019, replacing Peter Gartlan who has held the role for five years.
Gartlan was formerly an executive officer for the Financial and Consumer Rights Council and is a national coordinator for Financial Counselling Australia.
The role in the consumer advisory panel, which consists of 10 consumer representatives and meets quarterly, is to provide insight and analysis on strategic and policy issues as well as highlight emerging issues facing consumers.
In the 2022–23 financial year, AFCA said the panel discussed matters such as consumer impacts of the collapse of the Youpla Group, proposed regulatory changes, scams, de-banking and delays in insurance claim handling.
AFCA chief ombudsman, David Locke, said: “We are very fortunate to have Peter Kell join us as independent chair of ACAP. He is a well-respected consumer advocate and former regulator who has deep knowledge of consumer protection and our regulatory environment.”
