AFCA revealed that it had received 6,652 superannuation complaints in the past 12 months from 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2023.

Of these complaints, 1,575 involved delays in claim handling. In 2022 the number of complaints was 991, up from 712 in 2021, while in 2020 there were 1,269 complaints up from 873 in 2019.

“We are seeing the number of superannuation complaints involving delays increase throughout the year,” a spokesperson for AFCA said.

“The spike in 2020 is attributed to complaints about the early release of super.

“We discuss delay complaints regularly with our member funds, and our understanding from those discussions is that the increase is for a number of reasons including resourcing issues faced by trustees and the insurers, and changes to the way funds handle claims, including engagement of new administrators, movement of responsibility for aspects of claims handling from the insurer to the fund and vice versa.

“There were also concerns around fund mergers, where merger-related activity takes staff away from business as usual activities such as claim handling and the complexity around increasing numbers of mental health claims.”

AFCA said there was also increasing awareness of its role meaning that fund members are more likely to contact it if they are experiencing difficulties.

“There may also be more advisers working in this space who are driving some complaint activity,” the spokesperson said.