The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has given insurers and financial services providers extra time to resolve disputes with customers, easing the pressure brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

The industry will now have 30 days to respond after receiving a notification from AFCA that a complaint has been lodged, up from 21 days previously.

AFCA says the extended deadline will be in place for up to six months.

“This extension allows financial firms more time to resolve disputes with their customers, without the need to come to AFCA for an external dispute resolution service,” CEO David Locke said. “This recognises the pressure some parts of the financial services industry are under, with unprecedented levels of customer queries and financial hardship requests.

“It also gives consumers more realistic expectations about when they will get a response.

“Where the parties are unable to resolve complaints by themselves, the extension provides more time to do things like find the documentation required by AFCA.”

AFCA says the move comes after talks with key stakeholders, who said the present situation has created “complexities” for financial firms, small businesses and consumers.

The service is also providing a flat 21 days as its standard timeframe for an initial response, once the dispute reaches the case management stage.