| Term | Explanation |
| ACR | Authorised credit representative – a business that is authorised to engage in specified credit activities on behalf of a business with an Australian financial services licence or a credit licence from ASIC |
| ACL | Australian Credit Licence – required licence for a business to engage in consumer credit activities |
| ADR | Alternative dispute resolution – ways of resolving disputes that do not involve going to court, such as conciliation and negotiation |
| APRA | Australian Prudential Regulation Authority |
| ASIC | The Australian Securities and Investments Commission |
| Authorised representative | A business that is authorised to engage in specified activities on behalf of a business with an Australian financial services licence or a licence from ASIC |
| borrower | A consumer who receives an amount of money from a lender and is obligated to repay it |
| Closed dispute | a dispute is closed once our handling of it is complete – this can be achieved through an agreement between the parties involved, through a decision by FOS, or because the dispute is discontinued or outside our Terms of Reference |
| Code | An industry code of practice |
| consumer | An individual or small business owner who uses the services of a financial services provider |
| credit contract | A credit facility provided to an individual or small business which may include a consumer credit contract |
| Credit facilities table | A summary of all of an applicant’s credit facilities provided by their financial services provider |
| Document exchange portal | A system for transferring documents between the applicant, FOS and the FSP securely online |
| EDR | external dispute resolution – dispute resolution managed by an independent third party (the Financial Ombudsman Service is an EDR service) |
| eSOFP / SOFP | Electronic Statement of Financial Position / Statement of Financial Position |
| Fast Track process | An accelerated dispute resolution process for straightforward and low-value disputes. |
| Financial difficulty | A consumer (individual or small business owner) may experience financial difficulty if they are unexpectedly unable to meet the repayment obligations on a credit contract |
| FOS | The Financial Ombudsman Service |
| FOSSIC | A software system FOS uses to track and manage information relevant to disputes |
| FSP | Financial services provider |
| FSRA | Financial Services Reform Act |
| GFC | Global financial crisis |
| IDR | Internal dispute resolution – every member should have IDR processes in place to handle disputes they receive about their business |
| member | A financial services provider that is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service |
| merchant | A business accepting payment for the supply of goods or services to consumers |
| mortgage | An encumbrance on land or property owned by a borrower to secure a loan from an FSP |
| NCC | National Credit Code (part of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009) |
| NCCP | The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| Ombudsman | Someone who investigates disputes between aggrieved parties (e.g. consumers and small businesses) and organisations (e.g. financial services providers) and mediates a fair settlement or makes a final decision on the matter |
| outcome | The way in which a dispute has been resolved or finalised |
| outcome type | The result or consequences of the resolution or finalisation of a dispute |
| product | A specific type of product within a product category (e.g. shares are a product within the securities product category) |
| product category | A group of products within a particular product line (e.g. securities are a product category within the investments product line) |
| product line | A broad line of products (e.g. investments) |
| registered dispute | A dispute that has entered the Registration stage of our dispute resolution process (compare to accepted dispute) |
| RG 139 | ASIC Regulatory Guideline 139 – this document sets out the requirements of how an organisation like the Financial Ombudsman Service can become an ASIC-approved EDR scheme and how they have to operate and report to maintain that approval |
| sales/service channel | The channel a consumer used to purchase or get advice about the product in dispute |
| Secure Services | The password-protected online member portal FOS provides for members |
| SOFP / eSOFP | Statement of Financial Position / Electronic Statement of Financial Position |
| Statement of Claim | A Statement of Claim is an official document completed by someone who believes they’re owed money |
| TOR | Terms of Reference – the document setting out the broad rules and processes that the Financial Ombudsman Service follows |
| UCCC | Uniform Consumer Credit Code (replaced by The National Credit Code) |
