The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer, has authorised Australian Financial Complaints Limited to operate the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, the new external dispute resolution scheme for financial matters.This is the final administrative step needed to get the Authority underway, although it will not begin accepting complaints about financial firms including banks, credit providers, insurance companies and brokers, financial advisers, managed investment schemes and superannuation trustees until 1 November 2018. This date will allow AFCA sufficient time to put in place the necessary infrastructure and staff to be ready to receive complaints, the minister said.All financial firms that are required to have a dispute resolution system to deal with complaints from consumers and small businesses must become members of AFCA by 21 September 2018.  This includes trustees of regulated superannuation funds who are currently subject to the SCT.In the meantime, aggrieved consumers will be able to lodge complaints with the existing industry ombudsman schemes - the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Credit and Investments Ombudsman - and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.FOS and CIO are making arrangements to transition to the new authorised operator: AFC Limited, which will then operate FOS and CIO until all outstanding complaints are finalised.The SCT will continue to operate beyond AFCA's commencement to resolve the existing complaints it has on hand, the minister said.ASIC will oversee the operation of AFCA and receive reports including about systemic issues and serious contraventions by financial firms. The corporate regulator noted that the new Authority will "operate [with] significantly higher monetary and compensation limits for consumer and small business complainants, as well as provide [improved] access to free dispute resolution for primary producers."