The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has backed efforts to ease the resolution of financial disputes.

The Federal Government’s move to establish an independent expert panel to review the financial system’s external dispute resolution and complaints network is a step in the right direction, Chief Ombudsman Shane Tregillis says.

“We are strongly supportive of efforts to reduce complexity for consumers in accessing effective redress for financial sector disputes [that cannot] be sorted out directly between the firm and its customer,” he said.

“The terms of reference for the review by the independent expert panel set out the important criteria against which it is required to assess how well the current dispute resolution arrangements are working.”

The criteria are efficiency, equity, complexity, transparency, accountability, comparability of outcomes and regulatory costs.

Ian Ramsay, Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Melbourne and member of the Law Council of Australia, chairs the panel.

The panel will consult with industry, consumer representatives and other stakeholders before providing a final report to the Government by the end of March next year.