Skip to main content
Financial Assistance Hub

Banks welcome appointment of first Chief Scams Officer

26 March 2026

The ABA welcomes the appointment of David Lacey to lead the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s new external scams dispute resolution service.

ABA CEO Simon Birmingham congratulated Mr Lacey on his appointment to this important new role within AFCA.

“Mr Lacey brings extensive experience in law enforcement, in fighting financial crime as well as liaising directly with scam victims to this critical role,” Mr Birmingham said.

“Australia is taking an unprecedented approach to scam prevention by holding telcos and digital platforms alongside banks to account for the actions they take to protect customers from scams.

“This includes a new single body within AFCA, overseen by Mr Lacey, where customers can access free external dispute resolution and where all three sectors will be held to account if they fail to meet obligations to consumers.

“The ABA looks forward to working with AFCA and Mr Lacey as this new external dispute resolution function is stood up. Banks also remain committed to working with all stakeholders as rollout of the broader Scam Prevention Framework progresses.”

Latest news

1 / 3
Transcript
ABA CEO Simon Birmingham transcript of interview on ABC Illawarra with Melinda James on money mules
22 July 2026

E&OERadio InterviewABC Illawarra22 July 2026. Topics: Buying and selling of bank accounts; Efforts to combat money laundering; Scam prevention efforts by banks Melinda James: Well, this is a big and growing problem. There were 13,000 bank accounts shut down by the four major Australian banks in the financial year 2023–24. So, how big a problem… Read more »

Read more
Speech
ABA opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee: Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026
21 July 2026

Thank you for the opportunity to appear alongside our friends and colleagues at COBA today.   The Cash Distribution Framework Bills are a critical step to provide security to the long-term availability of cash in Australia.   Our written submission sets out our position in detail. Today I will focus on a few key points.  The banking industry is committed to ensuring that Australians who… Read more »

Read more
Transcript
ABA CEO Simon Birmingham transcript of interview on 2SM with Tim Webster on the buying and selling of bank accounts
21 July 2026

E&OERadio Interview2SM Sydney21 July 2026. Topics: Buying and selling of bank accounts; Efforts to combat money laundering Tim Webster: Look, we spoke to Peter Price from Crime Stoppers, the boss at Crime Stoppers, about this banking mules. I mean, this ridiculous situation where the young ones are coerced into being, you know, money mules and… Read more »

Read more