Former Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Malcolm Edey will chair a team tasked with ensuring the new one-stop financial dispute regime is operational by July 1 next year.

His team will advise the Government on the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s (AFCA) terms of reference, governance and funding, according to Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer.

The authority, which will also handle superannuation disputes, will give people access to “the practical benefits of free, fast, fair and binding dispute resolution”, she says.

Mr Edey’s team will make suggestions on the AFCA authorisation process and transitional arrangements to settle cases currently before the three dispute schemes to be replaced: the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Credit and Investments Ombudsman and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

“Once legislation to establish the AFCA has passed the Parliament, the focus of the transition team will shift to overseeing the operational transition from the existing schemes to AFCA,” Ms O’Dwyer said.