If you have a general inquiry or complaint related to how a regulated institution handles your personal affairs, you should first contact the entity to resolve the matter. Such complaints should be made in writing to ensure that your concerns are properly recorded by the institution.
Confidentiality
APRA will treat the information you give us confidentially. We will not inform anyone outside APRA, unless you authorise us to do so, except to the extent we are required to by law. Your personal information will be protected from disclosure except where you authorise its release.
What APRA can tell you
Even where you have provided us with information, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 restricts the information APRA can disclose to you or to the public about the entities we regulate and about the action that may be taken.
So while you can expect APRA to take seriously the information you provide, legal provisions restrict the type of information that can be released to you and any specific outcome arising from a complaint is unlikely to be publicly released unless some formal enforcement action occurs.
Giving APRA information
There are five ways you can provide useful information about a regulated entity:
- by phoning our Contact Centre on 1300 13 10 60;
- by sending us the on-line information form electronically;
- by printing off the printable information form completing it and sending it to:
| The Secretary
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority |
Level 26
400 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000 | or | PO Box 9836
Sydney NSW 2001 |
- by writing a letter to the above address setting out the information you wish to refer to APRA; or
- by faxing your letter or form to 02 9210 3430.
What happens to your information?
Verbal complaints – will be recorded in a report by the person you speak with and referred to the relevant manager within APRA. Generally verbal complaints to the APRA Contact Centre about regulated entities will not be followed up unless a prudential issue is identified in the information supplied which requires further investigation.
Written feedback and complaints – include both email and hard copy correspondence. Emails will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt and if a more detailed response is required, this will be provided within 15 days. Where hard copy correspondence is received, we will provide an interim acknowledgement within five working days of receipt and then we will review it to ascertain whether you have raised issues which come within our prudential responsibilities. All written complaints will be reviewed, addressed and responded to in a reasonable timeframe depending on the complexity of the inquiry.
In certain cases where prudential issues appear to have been identified, we may contact you to obtain further details.
Why is APRA collecting this information?
APRA collects information provided by the public as an additional source which can assist us in our regulatory role. Where the information is about APRA, we are committed to improving the performance of our functions. The information you provide will not be disseminated outside APRA except with your permission or as authorised by law.
Investigating APRA’s processes
APRA’s administrative processes may be investigated by other agencies such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman. At first instance, complaints about APRA’s service should be made directly to APRA but if you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can complain to the Ombudsman who is able to investigate complaints about the processes that have been followed.
