AI slop is clogging up Australia’s financial complaints system
Industry funded agency AFCA is about to get a bigger remit in scam prevention. In the meantime, it’s facing a record breaking deluge of claims of wrong doing in finance.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has warned its systems are being clogged up by AI slop as it grapples with another record year of alleged bad behaviour and braces for a major expansion of its remit.
AFCA told Capital Brief it had received more than 30,000 complaints in the first quarter of 2026, up 23% on the same period in 2025 — itself a record year.
“AFCA is seeing increased AI use in how consumers engage with financial firms and lodge complaints,” a spokesperson said in response to questions.
“Complaints generated using AI can sometimes include irrelevant, inaccurate or generic information, or may use legal arguments that don’t apply in Australian law. This can slow down the dispute resolution process as it requires AFCA to work through large volumes of material to identify the relevant issues.”
