Provide information on the institutions APRA regulates

If you have a general enquiry or complaint related to how a regulated institution handles your personal affairs, the first step is to contact the institution concerned to resolve the matter. These complaints must be made in writing to ensure that your concerns are properly recorded by the institution.

Confidentiality

APRA treats 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

Here are the preferred ways you can provide useful information about a regulated entity:

1. send an email to info@apra.gov.au setting out the information you wish to refer to APRA; or
2. call 1300 558 849 to discuss the matter.

What happens to your information?

• Written feedback and complaints – includes correspondence received by email or mail. APRA aims to respond to all written complaints within 15 working days, or within a reasonable timeframe depending on the complexity of the enquiry.
• Verbal complaints – are recorded in a report by the person you speak with and referred to the relevant manager within APRA. Generally verbal complaints to APRA about regulated entities will not be followed up unless a prudential issue is identified in the information supplied which requires further investigation. In certain cases where prudential issues appear to have been identified, we may contact you to obtain further details.

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 make an official complaint to the Ombudsman who is able to investigate complaints about the processes that have been followed.