Under the stewardship of the Board, extensive work has been undertaken to establish a ‘one stop shop’ for the vast majority of disputes between consumers/small businesses and financial services providers. Much progress has been made in our first year of operations as a fully amalgamated service and we are appreciative of the support provided by the Assistant Treasurer, The Honourable Nick Sherry.
Changes associated with the amalgamation and the development of the new Terms of Reference (TOR) were the two major focus areas of the Board and senior management activities in 2008-2009.
Our mission – to serve the community and industry by resolving disputes between consumers and financial organisations in a way people can trust
The Board oversaw and participated in an extensive consultation process with all stakeholders for the new TOR. Having considered the proposed TOR, submissions (including submissions in reply), and the revised draft TOR (incorporating changes recommended after consideration of all submissions), we approved the revised draft TOR on 30 May 2009.
If approved by ASIC before 1 January 2010, the TOR (as changed in accordance with any request made by ASIC) will take effect from 1 January 2010. This means from 1 January 2010 we will have in place a single set of rules, procedures and definitions for handling financial services disputes across Australia.
The approved TOR can be found on our website at www.fos.org.au/tor The next step is the development of Operational Guidelines supporting the TOR, which are designed to act as user guides to assist Financial Ombudsman Service users to feel confident about the approach we will take in applying the TOR.
The Board is proud of the progress the Financial Ombudsman Service has made in its first year of operations, bringing together the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman, the Insurance Ombudsman Service, the Financial Industry Complaints Service, as well as the Credit Union Dispute Resolution Centre and Insurance Brokers Disputes Ltd.
The goal is to be the external dispute resolution service of choice and to set the benchmarks for excellence. We now provide dispute resolution services for over 80% of all disputes which arise in relation to the provision of financial services in Australia.
As you may know, I ceased to hold the office of Chair of the Board on 31 May 2009. It was always planned that myself and the transitional Board would steer the new organisation through its demanding first year of operations and then hand over to a new Board for the journey ahead.
This passing of the baton has occurred and I wish to congratulate Professor The Honourable Michael Lavarch on his appointment as Chair of the Board.
I have utmost confidence in Michael and his newly assembled Board (many are returning from the transitional Board and/or previous scheme Boards) and wish them well for the future.
I wish to personally thank my fellow Board members for their hard work over the last year: Fiona Guthrie, Kerrie Kelly, Dr Elizabeth Lanyon, Professor The Honourable Michael Lavarch, Russell McKimm, Jenni Mack, David Squire and Susie Upton.
I would also like to thank the Ombudsmen: Colin Neave, Alison Maynard, Sam Parrino and Philip Field for their dedication and support of the development of the amalgamated Financial Ombudsman Service. It has been a period of great change – both for the organisation and in the market itself – but the view from the other side is very positive.
Peter E. Daly, AM
Chair of the Board