The Financial Ombudsman Service also made many presentations or held forums for members and industry over the course of the year. These varied from tailored information for specific members/groups to more general presentations made to industry. Some examples are:
- International Network of Financial Services Ombudsman Schemes
- General Insurance Open Forums
- Interbank Dispute Forum, and
- Small business round table forum.
We also had a presence at industry events such as the:
- Financial Planning Association National Conference
- Securities and Derivatives Industry Association Conference, and
- NSW State Legal Conference.
The bar chart Membership presentation by segment shows an overview of the different member audiences we presented to during the year.
On 11-12 June 2009 our inaugural National Conference was held in Melbourne, with the theme Financial Services - The Changing Landscape. Around 400 attendees experienced a diverse program of presenters, including representatives from industry, government, regulatory agencies and the consumer movement.
The Financial Ombudsman Service was fortunate to have the newly appointed Assistant Treasurer, Senator the Honourable Nick Sherry address the conference, in his first public event in his new role. He spoke about the Government’s enthusiasm for the merger of the predecessor schemes into the Financial Ombudsman Service and gave a brief update on the new legislation designed to streamline the regulation of credit and margin lending.
You can view copies of some presentations from our conference at www.fos.org.au/conference
We held two more of our popular Avoiding, Managing & Resolving Complaints workshops this year. These workshops help members with information and skills to avoid, manage and resolve complaints using their own IDR processes.
Upcoming workshops or events can be found at www.fos.org.au/events
This year we contributed to discussions on reforms to legislation and policy for example consumer credit and margin lending reforms. We also made submissions to enquiries, reviews and issues papers including the:
- Standing Committee of Officials of Consumer Affair’ consultation paper — The Australian Consumer Law
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Consultation Paper 102, on the review of regulatory guides relating to dispute resolution
- Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs’ consultation paper — Responsible Lending Practices in Relation to Consumer Credit Cards
- National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council’s issues paper — Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Civil Justice System, and
- Administrative Review Council’s report — Administrative Accountability in Business Areas Subject to Complex Regulation.
The Financial Ombudsman Service produced a range of publications throughout the year, including:
Brochures
A range of brochures were produced during the year, covering general information about the service, our privacy obligations, as well as specific How to Lodge a Dispute brochures.
eNews
Three editions of our e-newsletter were produced featuring latest news, statistics and case studies.
Bulletins
Three bulletins were produced during the year, discussing our approach to emerging legal and industry practice issues. Topics included:
- Disaster response
- Legal action and disputes lodged with us
- Breaking a fixed rate loan
- Direct debits on transaction accounts
- Maladministration and secured lending
- Dealing with customers in financial difficulty, and
- The impact of the EFT code on credit card transactions authorised by a PIN and MOTO (or card not present) transactions.
Information sheets
Information sheets offer important advice to consumers or their advocates who may have questions about failed companies that have gone into administration or liquidation. During the year we produced information sheets on:
- Storm Financial Pty Ltd
- Great Southern Ltd
- Timbercorp Ltd
- Customers in financial difficulty, and
- Break costs.
eNews editions can be found at www.fos.org.au/enews
Bulletins and other publications can be found at www.fos.org.au/publications