Who we are
The Ombud Council was established through the Financial Sector (FSR)Regulation Act (2017), Chapter 14. Its objective is to assist financial customers to have access to affordable, effective, independent and fair alternative dispute resolution when they have complaints about financial institutions. This includes complaints that relate to financial products, financial services and services provided by market infrastructures such as exchanges.
The Ombud Council does not handle customer complaints itself, but oversees all financial sector ombud schemes, in essence operating as the regulatory authority for ombuds. The Ombud Council will assist complainants with identifying which ombud is responsible for hearing their complaint in cases where the jurisdiction is unclear.
The Ombud Council will promote:
- Accessibility and use of the ombud system,
- Cooperation and coordination among ombuds
- Effectiveness of the ombud system - including through imposing common standards of good practice.