The CSLR can only consider a claim after AFCA has made an eligible determination in your favour, and the financial firm is unable to pay the compensation owed.

For more details, visit our ‘How to make a claim‘ page

You can make a claim for compensation with the CSLR by visiting our claims portal.

Make sure you have the following documents ready:

• Government-issued identification
• A copy of the AFCA determination
• A copy of the AFCA appropriate steps notice

Claims received without a relevant AFCA determination are ineligible. If you have submitted a claim that is ineligible because you are yet to receive a relevant AFCA determination and/or appropriate steps notice, you will need to submit a new claim and restart the claims process once you obtain both your determination and appropriate steps notice. Should you have any questions regarding this requirement, please contact the CSLR on 1800 372 757 prior to submitting your claim.

Your CSLR Claims Officer will be able to update you on the progress of your claim and give you more information about when you should expect payment once your claim is assessed for eligibility.

For complaints made to AFCA before 1 July 2027, if the eligible AFCA determination has already taken into account any money you received from Macquarie, the CSLR may pay the remaining eligible amount, up to the CSLR compensation cap.

If the AFCA determination did not take into account payments you received from Macquarie (or another relevant entity), the CSLR will check what you have received and reduce the compensation amount by that amount.

For complaints made to AFCA on or after 1 July 2027, investors are expected to have already received their capital back from Macquarie. Any AFCA determination is therefore expected to relate only to “but-for” compensation. As the CSLR does not cover this type of compensation, these claims are generally not expected to be eligible for compensation from the CSLR.

The CSLR will usually pay compensation to the person or organisation named in the AFCA determination, using an account held in their name.

In some situations, this may not be possible or appropriate. If that happens, the CSLR may pay the compensation into a different account if it is satisfied that this is appropriate.

Examples include:

• where compensation is payable to a superannuation account that can no longer accept contributions because the claimant has retired; or
• where compensation has been awarded to two people jointly and, because of their personal circumstances, the payment needs to be split between them.

Receiving compensation may have tax implications, depending on your personal circumstances and the type of account that receives the payment. For example, the tax treatment may be different for individuals, companies, superannuation funds and self-managed super funds.

The CSLR cannot provide tax advice. Before accepting a compensation payment, you should consider seeking independent advice from a qualified tax adviser or contacting the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to understand any tax obligations that may apply to you.

The compensation cap that applies to an AFCA determination depends on the circumstances of your case and AFCA’s assessment.

Compensation outcomes can vary. For example, awards may be:

• made jointly to two or more people, with a single compensation cap applying to the award;
• made separately to individuals and their SMSF, with a compensation cap applying to each eligible award; or
• made only to an SMSF.

The CSLR will assess claims based on the language of the relevant AFCA determination.

The CSLR cannot provide advice about whether you should make a claim or accept compensation.

When assessing a claim, the CSLR will check with relevant parties to find out whether you have received, or are entitled to receive, any other compensation related to the AFCA determination. This may include payments from a liquidator, another compensation scheme, or a regulatory action. This helps ensure you are not compensated for more than the loss recognised in the AFCA determination.

If you receive compensation from another source for the same loss after being paid by the CSLR, the CSLR will contact you to discuss whether an adjustment is needed. This is to ensure that the total compensation you receive does not exceed the amount recognised in the AFCA determination.

Example (for illustrative purposes only):
While each situation will depend on the relevant facts and applicable legal arrangements, the CSLR understands that compensation from another source received after a CSLR payment would generally only affect a claimant if, taken together, the amounts received exceed the loss recognised in the AFCA determination.

For example, if an AFCA determination recognised a loss of $400,000 and the CSLR paid the maximum compensation amount of $150,000, there would remain $250,000 of the recognised loss that had not been compensated.

If the claimant later received $10,000 from another source, such as a liquidator’s dividend or other recovery, the claimant would generally be able to retain that amount because the total compensation received ($160,000) would still be less than the $400,000 recognised in the AFCA determination.

AFCA and the CSLR are separate organisations and have different responsibilities.

To make a claim with the CSLR, you will need to provide a copy of your AFCA determination and the Appropriate Steps Notice issued by AFCA. The CSLR will review these documents and let you know if any other information is needed.

You will not need to start the process from the beginning. However, you will need to provide certain information and documents so the CSLR can assess your claim as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Some AFCA determinations include an amount for interest. Where this applies, interest may continue to accrue until the CSLR pays compensation, depending on the terms of the determination. The CSLR compensation cap of $150,000 includes any interest that is payable.

It is difficult to say exactly when the CSLR will receive its next round of funding. As of September 2026, the CSLR is waiting for additional funding to be approved through the special levy process.

Before this funding can be provided, it must go through the required parliamentary approval processes. Because these processes depend on parliamentary sitting schedules, it is difficult to predict how long they will take, and they may take several months to complete.

The CSLR understands that this uncertainty can be frustrating, particularly for consumers affected by the collapse of Shield and First Guardian. The CSLR continues to work closely with Treasury and other stakeholders while the funding process is underway.

The CSLR is also aware of recent discussions about possible changes to the FY27 special levy arrangements. If these changes are introduced, funding may become available sooner than expected. These proposals form part of broader reforms aimed at improving the speed and efficiency of the funding process and the operation of the Scheme. However, as the proposals are still subject to government and parliamentary processes, the CSLR cannot currently provide certainty about whether they will proceed or when they may take effect.

Your Claims Officer will keep you updated on any developments that may affect your claim and will let you know when more information becomes available.

All claims are unique; however, the CSLR generally follows the process outlined below:

Eligibility assessment – are you eligible to receive a CSLR compensation payment?

The CSLR assesses the claim to determine whether it is eligible for compensation.

How much compensation are you eligible to receive?

The CSLR works with liquidators, receivers and other relevant parties to monitor insolvency processes and identify any payments that may be made to claimants. This includes any money recovered or distributed through those processes.

Some AFCA determinations require amounts such as deductions, offsets, recoveries or future payments to be taken into account. In these cases, it may not be clear how much will be received or when it will be received. If there is uncertainty, the CSLR may wait until these amounts are confirmed, or there is enough certainty about them, before calculating and paying compensation.

While this may result in a longer wait, it helps ensure claims are assessed and paid accurately, fairly and consistently.

Early compensation outcomes

Sometimes, the CSLR may be able to make a compensation payment prior to all recoveries, distributions and/or offsets have been finalised – subject to:

• The claimant is eligible for compensation with the CSLR;
• The CSLR has adequate available funds to pay compensation;
• The Claimant agrees to certain conditions that may include (but are not limited to), repaying any amount that results in compensation exceeding the amount recognised in the AFCA determination should further recoveries be received at a later date.

The availability of an early compensation payment will depend on the circumstances of the claim. At this stage, the CSLR expects early compensation payments will be available for all Shield and First Guardian-related CSLR claims.