Australians Make Record Complaints Against Financial Firms

A record number of Australians had disputes with financial firms in the past year as growing budget stress, scams and insurance payout delays weigh on consumers, according to an independent financial watchdog.

More than 96,000 complaints were lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority in the 12 months to the end of June, a 34% on the previous financial year, the non-government ombudsman service said in a statement Thursday.

“We are deeply concerned by the volume of complaints consumers are having to escalate to AFCA,” David Locke, AFCA’s chief ombudsman and chief executive officer, said. “It’s not fair on ...