Industry Ombudsman Schemes Twenty Years on

See further Smith Simon , ‘The Role of an Ombudsman in an Insurance Company’ (1990) Australian Insurance Institute Journal 13. The SIO was sold to the GIO in 1992 and the brand disappeared. In 1994 SIOCAC was merged with the then insurance industry disputes scheme Insurance Enquiries and Complaints Limited.

See generally Wood John , ‘Government Involvement in Consumer Affairs’ in Smith Simon (ed), In the Consumer Interest: A Selected History of Consumer Affairs in Australia 1945–2000 (2000) 29.

See generally Isaac Joe , The General Insurance Enquiries and Complaints Scheme: The First Ten Years (2001) ch 1.

See further Goggin Gerard , ‘Telecommunications: Consumers on the Line’, in Smith Simon (ed), In the Consumer Interest: A Selected History of Consumer Affairs in Australia 1945–2000 (2000) 101.

Isaac , above n 3.

See further Financial Ombudsman Service , Financial Ombudsman Service Annual Report 2007–2008 (2008) <fos.org.au/centric/home_page/publications/annual_reports.jsp> at 8 August 2009.

International Organization for Standardization , Quality Management: Customer Satisfaction–Guidelines for External Customer Dispute Resolution (2007) <iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=38449> at 30 April 2009. The international standard is only available through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Ibid.

See for example the financial support from FOS for the National Consumer Congress, (2009) <ncc2009.com.au/sponsors.htm> at 15 April 2009.

See Financial Ombudsman Service , Banking and Finance Terms of Reference (2008) [15.1] <fos.org.au/centric/home_page/about_us/terms_of_reference.jsp> at 17 April 2009.

Ibid [1.2].

International Organization for Standardization , above n 7.

Previously called the National Consumer Council (UK) . See further Consumer Focus, <consumerfocus.org.uk/> at 17 April 2009.

For the current membership see the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council listing in the Government Online Directory (2009) <directory.gov.au> at 17 April 2009.

In May 2009, the then Minister of Consumer Affairs released a further discussion paper seeking views on how best to sustain consumer advocacy and research. That the Government believes further consultation is necessary is rather surprising given the issues were fully canvassed in the 2007 Report of the Productivity Commission ‘Review of Australian Consumer Policy Frameworks’. See further Bowen Chris , Consumer Voices: Sustaining Advocacy and Research in Australia's New Consumer Policy Framework (2009) Australian Treasury <treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=037&ContentID=1532> at 20 June 2009.

For material on the current Terms of Reference Project see Financial Ombudsman Service , Terms of Reference <fos.org.au/centric/home_page/about_us/terms_of_reference.jsp> at 17 April 2009.

See further Cooper Mex , ‘Health Minister ‘Dismissed Waiting List Concerns’’, The Age (Melbourne) 3 April 2009, <theage.com.au/national/health-minister-dismissed-waiting-list-concerns-20090403-91p0.html> at 17 April 2009.

The schemes also discourage ‘in person’ attendance. FOS in particular, located at 31 Queen Street Melbourne (colloquially known as ‘Whinge House’) keeps its address low profile. It is not on the ‘contact us’ section of its web site.

See for example AAMI , Working Together: AAMI Customer Charter Annual Report 2007–2008 (2008) <aami.com.au/company-information/news-centre/charter-reports.aspx> at 18 April 2009. See also Smith Simon , ‘Customer Charters: The Next Dimension in Consumer Protection’ (1997) 22 Alternative Law Journal 138.

See International Organization for Standardization , above n 7, Annex I, ISO 10003: 2007 for guidance on the issue of transparency.

See further Australian Securities and Investments Commission , ASIC Improves Dispute Resolution Schemes (2009) <asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/09-88AD+ASIC+improves+dispute+resolution+schemes> at 20 June 2009.

See Australian Securities and Investments Commission , Policy Statement 139: Approval of External Resolution Schemes (1999) [139.62] <fics.asn.au/RG_139.pdf> at 15 July 2009. It may well be cheaper not to hold hearings but it raises questions about whether denying consumers a ‘day in court’ may eventually erode public confidence in the schemes. At the moment however they have nowhere else to go.

The courts have declined invitations to review Ombudsman decisions. For example see: Citipower Pty Ltd v Electricity Industry Ombudsman (Vic) Ltd & Anor [1999] VSC 275 (Unreported, Warren J , 5 August 1999).

Ibid.

For further information see <financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ar08/ia_report.html> at 17 April 2009.

The Financial Ombudsman Service in the UK does conduct and publish qualitative polling results. See Financial Ombudsman Service , Annual Review 2007/08 <financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ar08/who.html#ar4> at 30 April 2009.

Ibid 51.