Dispute Resolution Specialist - Financial Difficulty

Australian Financial Complaints Authority; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gold AWEI Accreditation 2025

Family Friendly Workplace

Hybrid working

Inclusive leave options

Job summary

AFCA is hiring a Dispute Resolution Specialist to help drive fairness in financial complaints. You will manage standard and complex matters, assess issues, and conduct conciliations with a focus on fair, timely outcomes.

You will work within AFCA’s Financial Difficulty team, collaborating across stakeholders to deliver high-quality determinations and support vulnerable customers with clear, empathetic communication.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or demonstrated experience in financial services, hardship or vulnerability, dispute resolution, legal, community, or ombudsman environments.
• Ability to assess financial difficulty matters objectively and make fair, accountable decisions, including analysing complex information.
• Ability to draft clear written outcomes and explain complex information in plain English.
• Engage effectively with complainants, financial firms and representatives to facilitate resolution.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to handle sensitive conversations with empathy.

Responsibilities

• Manage standard complaints autonomously and handle complex matters when required.
• Identify issues, investigate, and produce preliminary assessments.
• Use negotiation to conduct conciliation conferences and communicate with parties.
• Investigate disputes and develop preliminary assessments in line with AFCA’s approach.

Skills

Dispute resolution

Analytical thinking

Negotiation

Communication

Empathy

Education

Tertiary qualifications in financial services or law

Job description

Fairness feels good Make a real impact at AFCA. Where fairness drives every decision. Help us deliver world-class, independent complaints resolution for Australians. As a not-for-profit and progressive financial ombudsman, we’re championing positive change. Achieving our purpose takes progressive thinking, accountability and resilience. At AFCA, our inclusive leadership values every voice. We offer our people flexible work options, thoughtful benefits and opportunities to deepen expertise. Flourish in a diverse, caring culture. Feel the difference of belonging to an organisation intentionally designed to put people first.

Company Description

Fairness feels good Make a real impact at AFCA. Where fairness drives every decision. Help us deliver world-class, independent complaints resolution for Australians. As a not-for-profit and progressive financial ombudsman, we’re championing positive change. Achieving our purpose takes progressive thinking, accountability and resilience. At AFCA, our inclusive leadership values every voice. We offer our people flexible work options, thoughtful benefits and opportunities to deepen expertise. Flourish in a diverse, caring culture. Feel the difference of belonging to an organisation intentionally designed to put people first.

Job Description

We have fantastic career opportunities for passionate Dispute Resolution Specialists to help drive financial fairness in our Financial Difficulty team.

As a Dispute Resolution Specialist, you will play a central role in how we consider and resolve complaints. You will:

• Manage standard complaints autonomously, while also handling complex matters as required, delivering effective and timely resolutions
• identify and investigate key issues and produce preliminary assessments and determinations in plain English
• Use experience in negotiation to conduct telephone conciliation conferences and communications with the parties to a complaint in attempt to resolve complaints fairly and efficiently
• Investigate disputes and develop preliminary assessments in line with AFCA's approach and relevant legislation
• Demonstrates values and behaviours in the Leadership Capability Framework
• Work collaboratively in a team to achieve own performance goals around service delivery, customer experience and continuous improvement
• Have the ability to utilise strong communication and interpersonal skills effectively to assist customers in vulnerable circumstances to work towards achieving outcome

Qualifications

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or demonstrated experience in financial services, hardship or vulnerability, dispute resolution, legal, community, or ombudsman environments, with a strong understanding of financial difficulty and customer vulnerability issues
• Ability to assess financial difficulty matters objectively and make fair, accountable, and well‑reasoned decisions, including analysing complex information, identifying key issues, and developing practical outcomes that align with AFCA’s approach and community expectations
• Ability to draft clear, logical, and well‑supported written outcomes, and explain complex financial information, hardship circumstances, and relevant policies or processes in plain English
• Ability to engage effectively with complainants, financial firms, and representatives to facilitate resolution of financial difficulty matters through negotiation, conciliation and outcome‑focused communication
• Excellent analytical, judgement and critical thinking skills, with the ability to consider vulnerability, hardship, fairness and practical resolution options in complex matters
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust, manage sensitive conversations and communicate with empathy, clarity and professionalism across a range of stakeholders
• Strong problem‑solving and decision‑making capability, with a demonstrated commitment to fair complaint resolution, customer‑centred service, and achieving appropriate outcomes for people experiencing financial difficulty.

Additional Information

• Gold AWEI Accreditation 2025 – Recognised for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.
• Accredited Family Friendly Workplace – Supporting work‑life balance and inclusivity.
• Hybrid working – Flexible arrangements with two days a week in our modern offices designed for collaboration and wellbeing.
• Additional and inclusive leave options – Flexible public holidays, gender affirmation leave, women’s health leave, and bonus paid time off over the end of year holiday period.

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was established in 2018 as a private not‑for‑profit ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. The original team has grown to over 1600 dedicated professionals. Since 2018, AFCA has received more than 634,000 complaints, helping to secure $2.1 billion in compensation for consumers.

AFCA is a 2026 Circle Back Initiative Employer - we are committed to responding to every applicant.