Treasury is seeking submissions on draft legislation to “clarify” the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s (AFCA) jurisdiction in relation to superannuation disputes. 

The proposed changes come after the Full Court of the Federal Court late last year held that AFCA has authority to determine a superannuation dispute only if it falls within the 10 types of complaints listed in section 1053(1) of the Corporations Act. 

The ruling last October was made in a MetLife challenge to a previous decision in the Federal Court that arose from a complaint made in 2018 against the insurer by a super fund member whose claim for total and permanent disability had been declined. 

The key issue was whether AFCA had jurisdiction to determine the complaint. The complaint did not meet the time limits as set out in AFCA Rules in relation to a dispute about an insurer’s decision under an insurance policy held by a trustee. 

But AFCA said at that time it “may be able to accept a complaint against the insurer under our general jurisdiction”, referencing the ombudsman’s operational guidelines. 

Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said the Full Court decision “created uncertainty around whether certain complaints could be heard by AFCA when they relate to superannuation”. 

“The legislation will clarify that AFCA can consider complaints that ‘relate to superannuation’ in line with its established practice prior to the MetLife decision,” he said in a statement. 

“The amendments will apply retrospectively to ensure that consumers do not lose access to external dispute resolution and consumers who have had their complaints paused will be able to have their claims considered by AFCA as intended when AFCA was established.” 

Treasury says the complaints listed in section 1053(1) correspond to the jurisdiction of the former Superannuation Complaints Tribunal and the Corporations Act provides AFCA with certain statutory powers in relation to these types of complaints. 

“However, this section was never intended to limit AFCA’s ability to consider other complaints related to superannuation outside of its superannuation jurisdiction,” it says. 

Closing date for submissions is June 16. 

Click here for the exposure draft and submission details.