The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has welcomed being named in the top five financial sector workplaces on the Australian Financial Review’s BOSS Best Places to Work list.

AFCA placed at number five, credited for its flexible working scheme, including its revamped parental leave scheme that removed references to “primary and secondary caregivers” and allows employees to spread out leave for two years.

AFCA Chief Ombudsman and CEO David Locke says he is “incredibly proud” of the achievement, saying the group’s “people for purpose” culture was fundamental to its operations.

“At AFCA we support our people to balance their work and personal commitments and to focus on their health and wellbeing,” Mr Locke said.

“It’s also important to us that people feel they truly ‘belong’ at AFCA – that they can bring their whole selves to work.”

“We want to not just respect but also celebrate the diversity of our people and the people we serve.”

AFCA says that in its staff survey last year, 90% of respondents “felt they had the flexibility they needed to meet both work and personal needs,” well above the financial industry benchmarks.