Our people
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BFSO employs a group of highly qualified and skilled professionals whose expertise in areas such as the law, accountancy, financial markets and information technology contributes significantly to the quality of the service provided by BFSO.
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We also use consultants regularly to provide specialist advisory services to our staff. A financial planning adviser is called on from time to time to advise on specific cases. A professional writing consultant assists the case management team and a voice and word consultant advises case officers who provide the telephone service to the public.
BFSO employs the services of 33 full-time and 19 part-time staff members. The roles performed by some staff have changed to meet the different demands faced by the Scheme during the year.
A number of staff are employed to provide services to FOS.
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Administrative Support (3)
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The Administrative Support staff provide personal assistant services to the Ombudsman and reception, mail and maintenance services for the Scheme. They contribute to case management by documenting all incoming correspondence to the office on the Scheme’s case management database.
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Assistant Finance Manager (1)
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The Assistant Finance Manager provides clerical assistance to the Finance Manager.
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Banking Adviser (1)
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The Banking Adviser provides advice to the Ombudsman and staff on banking practice standards, technical knowledge of banking and banking procedures and systems. The banking adviser is seconded annually from one of the member banks.
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Case Managers (14)
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Case Managers are responsible for resolving disputes that have not been resolved at the initial referral and facilitation stage and which require investigation. They investigate disputes and resolve them through providing a written Finding, convening conciliation conferences and facilitating negotiation. Several of the Case Managers have additional responsibilities. One performs the role of Privacy Officer, a second is the Training and Development Coordinator and a third is the EFT Disputes Manager. Two of the Case Managers provide quality assurance services to the Case Officers.
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Case Officers (15)
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Case Officers provide the telephone information and referral service of the BFSO. They classify and summarise written disputes, manage the initial referral and facilitation process and are also involved in investigating some disputes.
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Finance Manager and Company Secretary (1)
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The Finance Manager and Company Secretary is responsible for the preparation of the Scheme’s annual budget and arranging the funding of the Scheme from members. Other responsibilities include the maintenance of all financial records and the company registers, the preparation of the Scheme’s financial statements and the payment of staff salaries and benefits.
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General Manager (1)
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The General Manager contributes to internal management, BFSO policy, quality assurance in case management and the management of external relationships. The General Manager also reviews and responds to complaints about the Scheme.
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Legal Counsel (4)
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The Legal Counsel group, which includes the Special Counsel to the Ombudsman and General Manager - Corporate, provides legal and jurisdictional advice to the Ombudsman and to staff and also provides quality assessment services to Case Managers and Case Officers to ensure all relevant legal and decision-making principles are considered during dispute resolution. The group also contributes to policy direction and to internal and external education. The General Manager – Corporate also has responsibility for assessing institutions which apply for Scheme membership, overseeing the provisions of services to other dispute resolution schemes and managing relationships with non-bank financial institutions.
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Ombudsman (1)
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The Ombudsman is the Chief Executive Officer of the BFSO whose principal powers and duties are to consider disputes within the Terms of Reference and to facilitate the satisfaction, settlement or resolution of such disputes.
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Policy and Public Affairs Manager (1)
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The Policy and Public Affairs Manager is part of the team which develops and publishes internal and external policy, and coordinates the publication of BFSO materials. The Policy and Public Affairs Manager also has responsibility for preparing submissions to government enquiries, responding to other requests for information about the Scheme’s procedures and coordinating projects undertaken by the Scheme throughout the year.
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Public Affairs Officer (1)
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The Public Affairs Officer assists in the coordination of BFSO publications, including the Scheme’s Annual Report, and the promotion of the Scheme to the community. The Public Affairs Officer also has responsibility for coordinating special events, such as the BFSO Members’ Conference.
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Systemic Issues Manager (1)
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The Systemic Issues Manager is responsible for the management of all systemic issues including reporting quarterly to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
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Team Leader – Complaints (2)
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The Team Leader – Complaints provides leadership and case management support to Case Officers, in addition to producing assessments of disputes and monitoring Case Officers’ workloads.
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Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
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FOS is a joint venture between BFSO, IOS and FICS. FOS provides a shared telephone enquiries area and also provides joint information technology services to the three schemes. The cost of providing the staff described below is shared by the three schemes.
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Enquiries Officers (2)
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The Enquiries Officers are responsible for answering all calls received by FOS. They direct callers through to the participating scheme with the most appropriate jurisdiction or to other more appropriate organisations.
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Chief Information Officer (1)
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The Chief Information Officer has the responsibility for the FOS IT network infrastructure and staff. This includes the daily management of internal and external IT resources and desktop support for all users of BFSO, FICS and IOS. Additionally the Chief Information Officer is responsible for initiating and overseeing IT project work in accordance with schemes’ stakeholder requirements.
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Communications Systems Manager (1)
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The Communications Systems Manager ensures the provision of quality telephone systems through the management of call flow traffic and the review and improvement of telephone processes, including the shared call centre service. The Communications Systems Manager is also responsible for the maintenance of the BFSO website, electronic communications systems as well as technical support for special projects.
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Information Systems Manager (1)
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The Information Systems Manager has direct responsibility for the FOS information technology infrastructure which is shared by BFSO, FICS and IOS users. He directly manages and is involved in the management of desktop support for all users, network and infrastructure housekeeping, and liaison with external IT resources. Assisting the CIO, the Information Systems Manager will make recommendations as to the network and desktop requirements in relation to the infrastructure, security, access and software.
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Technical Support (1)
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FOS employs one person for technical support, who is primarily responsible for fulfilling user desktop support requests according to internal Service Level Agreements. This person also assists the Information Systems Manager in relation to conducting housekeeping tasks for the system, research and resourcing for IT projects.
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