The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has issued an update on complaints relating to Interprac Financial Planning following court proceedings commenced by Interprac against AFCA in the Federal Court.

These court proceedings relate to AFCA’s lead Determinations involving Interprac.

Court proceedings of this nature can take time and may create uncertainty while the issues are being considered by the Court.

While the court proceedings take place, AFCA will continue to receive and accept complaints about Interprac. Complaints will continue to progress through AFCA’s complaints process, including registration, allocation to a case worker, information gathering and initial assessment.

Consumers who have not yet lodged a complaint can still do so and are encouraged to lodge as soon as possible. This ensures their complaint is registered with AFCA and can continue to progress through the investigation process while the court proceedings are underway.

However, AFCA will not make formal decisions (Determinations) while the court proceedings are underway. AFCA will continue to monitor this position and may review it if circumstances change.

This means Interprac complaints will be temporarily paused before they progress to final decision-making stages, including the assessment of loss (loss calculations) and the issuing of Determinations.

Once the court proceedings have concluded and the relevant issues are resolved, AFCA will update impacted consumers on next steps.

Having a complaint lodged with AFCA remains important. Consumers do not need to take any action unless contacted directly by AFCA.