How to Make an AFCA Complaint About Your Credit File in Australia

Quick Answer: AFCA (the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) is the independent external dispute resolution body that handles complaints about financial products and services in Australia, including credit file disputes. Lodging a complaint with AFCA is free, and AFCA's determinations are legally binding on its member organisations — which includes all major Australian banks, lenders, insurers, and credit providers. Before lodging with AFCA, you must first attempt an internal dispute with the credit provider and either be rejected or not receive a response within 45 days. AFCA can order a credit provider to remove a listing from your credit file if it finds the listing breaches Australian law or the credit provider's own policies. Australian Credit Solutions (ASIC ACL 532003) is an AFCA member and regularly manages AFCA escalations for clients whose internal disputes have been rejected.

You've done everything right. You identified the problem with your credit listing. You lodged a dispute with the credit provider. They rejected it. Or they didn't respond at all. Now what?

This is the moment many Australians give up — assuming the rejection is final. It isn't. The internal dispute is just the first step in a two-stage process. The second stage is AFCA, and AFCA has the power to override the credit provider's decision and order the removal of a credit listing.

This guide explains exactly what AFCA is, when you can use it for credit file disputes, how the process works, and what to expect.

What Is AFCA?

AFCA — the Australian Financial Complaints Authority — is an independent body established under the Corporations Act 2001 to provide free dispute resolution for consumers and small businesses who have complaints about financial products and services.

AFCA replaced three previous dispute resolution schemes in 2018: the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO), and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT). It is now the single external dispute resolution authority for almost all Australian financial services.

Membership is mandatory. Every licensed credit provider in Australia — every bank, lender, credit card company, telco providing credit, and utility company that uses credit reporting — must be an AFCA member. AFCA's determinations are binding on members and enforceable. When AFCA rules in your favour, the financial institution must comply.

Australian Credit Solutions is also an AFCA member, which means we're accountable to the same standard — and it means our clients can escalate any unresolved dispute through AFCA if needed.

What Credit File Complaints AFCA Can Handle

AFCA handles a broad range of credit file complaints, including:

Incorrect credit listings. If a credit provider has listed a default, court judgment, or other entry on your credit file that is inaccurate, was listed without following required procedures, or was listed in breach of the Privacy Act 1988, AFCA can investigate and order removal.

Failure to update listings. If you paid a debt and the credit provider failed to update the status of the listing within the required 3-month period, AFCA can order the update.

Hardship variation disputes. If you applied for a hardship variation under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and the credit provider failed to properly assess it before listing a default, AFCA can investigate the provider's conduct.

Dispute handling failures. If you lodged an internal dispute with the credit provider and they failed to respond within 45 days, failed to investigate properly, or rejected your dispute without adequate reasons, AFCA can investigate the dispute handling process itself.

Bureau-level errors. In some cases, AFCA can also deal with complaints about how the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, illion) have handled disputes lodged directly with them.

The Two-Stage Process: Internal Dispute First, AFCA Second

AFCA will generally not accept a complaint until you have completed the internal dispute process with the credit provider. This means:

Stage 1 — Internal dispute. Contact the credit provider directly — by phone, email, or their formal complaint channel — and raise your dispute. Put it in writing. Explain specifically what you believe is wrong with the credit listing, the grounds for your dispute, and what outcome you're seeking. Keep copies of everything.

The credit provider has 45 days to respond to a complaint about credit reporting under the AFCA rules. If they reject your dispute or don't respond within 45 days, you can escalate to AFCA.

Stage 2 — AFCA complaint. Lodge a complaint with AFCA online at afca.org.au. The complaint is free. You'll need to describe the issue, provide copies of your correspondence with the credit provider, and explain the resolution you're seeking.

AFCA will contact the credit provider and give them an opportunity to respond. Most complaints are resolved at this stage through AFCA's case management process — without progressing to a formal determination. If a resolution isn't reached, AFCA makes a formal determination.

What AFCA Can Order as a Resolution

AFCA's remedies for credit file complaints can include:

• An order for the credit provider to remove the listing from your credit file entirely
• An order for the credit provider to correct specific details in the listing
• An order for the credit provider to update the listing status (for example, from unpaid to paid)
• Compensation for financial loss caused by the incorrect listing (such as a higher interest rate you paid because of the error)
• Compensation for non-financial loss (distress, inconvenience) in appropriate circumstances

These remedies are not just recommendations — they're binding determinations. If AFCA orders a listing removed, it must be removed.

Timelines and What to Expect

Most credit file disputes lodged with AFCA resolve at the case management stage rather than progressing to a formal determination. The credit provider often agrees to remove or correct a listing once AFCA is involved and the legal basis for the dispute is clearly articulated.

Real Story: Internal Dispute Rejected, AFCA Got It Done

Damien, a construction supervisor from Hobart, had a $1,400 Westpac credit card default from 2021. He lodged an internal dispute with Westpac, arguing that the bank had listed the default while his hardship application was still being assessed — in breach of its own hardship policy and its obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. Westpac rejected the dispute, saying the hardship application had been declined before the default was listed.

Damien engaged Australian Credit Solutions. Our team reviewed the correspondence and identified that the bank's rejection timeline was inconsistent with the internal documentation — the hardship application had not, in fact, been formally declined before the default was listed. We escalated the case to AFCA with detailed submissions.

AFCA's case manager reviewed the documentation, raised the inconsistency with Westpac, and the bank agreed within three weeks to remove the listing. Damien's score went from 531 to 689. He was approved for a home loan four months later.

The internal dispute process said no. AFCA said otherwise.

Get a free assessment from Australian Credit Solutions →

Can You Lodge an AFCA Complaint Yourself, or Do You Need Help?

You can lodge an AFCA complaint yourself. The process is designed to be accessible without legal representation, and AFCA has case managers who help guide complaints through the process.

Where professional assistance adds value is in the preparation of the complaint. An AFCA complaint that clearly articulates the specific legal or procedural breach — citing the relevant provisions of the Privacy Act 1988, the Credit Reporting Privacy Code, or the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 — is significantly more effective than a general complaint that "the listing is wrong."

Credit providers have compliance teams and legal representation in AFCA proceedings. A well-prepared complaint levels that playing field.

Australian Credit Solutions manages AFCA escalations as part of our credit repair process. We prepare submissions, manage the case correspondence, and represent our clients' interests through the process. If your internal dispute has already been rejected and you're considering AFCA, a free assessment from our team will tell you whether your case has merit at the AFCA level and what approach is most likely to succeed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does AFCA cost anything to use? No. Lodging a complaint with AFCA is completely free for consumers and small businesses. AFCA is funded by its members (the financial institutions) rather than by complainants.

Do I have to have tried the internal dispute first? Yes. AFCA will generally not accept a complaint until you have raised it with the financial institution first and either received an unsatisfactory response or not received a response within 45 days.

How long does AFCA take to resolve a credit file complaint? Most credit file complaints are resolved within 4–8 weeks at the case management stage. Formal determinations — required if the case management process doesn't produce a resolution — take longer, typically 8–16 weeks.

What if AFCA rules in my favour but the credit provider doesn't comply? AFCA determinations are legally binding on member organisations. If a credit provider fails to comply with an AFCA determination, it can be reported to ASIC and faces regulatory consequences. In practice, compliance with AFCA determinations by member institutions is very high.

Can AFCA look at complaints about credit bureaus? AFCA can investigate complaints about how financial institutions (including credit providers) have handled credit reporting — but complaints about the credit bureaus themselves (Equifax, Experian, illion) as information processors rather than credit providers may fall under the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) rather than AFCA. The distinction depends on the nature of the complaint.

Is there a time limit for lodging an AFCA complaint? You generally have 2 years from the date of the credit provider's final response to your internal complaint to lodge an AFCA complaint. If the internal dispute didn't receive a response, the clock runs from when a response was due.

Your Dispute Wasn't Final — It Was Just the Beginning

A rejection from the credit provider's internal complaints team is disappointing. It's also not the end. AFCA exists precisely because internal disputes are decided by the people you're complaining about — the AFCA process brings an independent adjudicator with the power to override that decision and order real outcomes.

Australian Credit Solutions is ASIC-licensed (ACL 532003) and an AFCA member. We manage AFCA escalations regularly and understand what makes a compelling submission. If your internal dispute has been rejected and you believe there are genuine legal grounds for removal, a free assessment will tell you whether AFCA is the right next step.

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Australian Credit Solutions Pty Ltd holds Australian Credit Licence ACL 532003. Credit repair services are subject to individual assessment. Results may vary. This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.

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