Redact documents for an AFCA complaint
AFCA asks for tax file numbers, government identifiers and card numbers to be removed before documents reach it. AusRedact looks for them, you check every page, and the copy you send has them burnt out.
An example hardship application. The applicant name, address, tax file number, Medicare number, credit card number, licence number and signature are each highlighted, then blacked out.
What AFCA asks you to remove
AFCA has asked its members not to send these in complaint documents.
Read AFCA's guidance on redacting sensitive information before sharing it with AFCA and on redacting TFNs and government identifiers. Together they have the detail and the exceptions for your case.
- Tax file numbers
- On tax returns, payslips, loan applications and super statements.
- Government identifiers
- Such as Medicare and driver licence numbers, unless they are needed to confirm identity in a fraud complaint.
- Credit card numbers
- On statements, application forms and call notes.
What AusRedact looks for in a complaint file
Statements and application forms are full of numbers. AusRedact tests each one against its check digit, so it flags numbers that pass, like a TFN or a card number, and leaves most others, like the loan amount, alone.
For a name or reference that appears all through the file, type it into "Redact every occurrence of" and each place we find it is boxed for you to check.
- TFNs, Medicare and card numbers
- By pattern, with their check digits tested.
- Driver licence numbers
- By the words beside them, such as "licence no.".
- BSBs and account numbers
- By the words beside them.
- Names, addresses and signatures
- By the AI check, which you can switch off.
Whichever side you are on
For financial firms
Clean up statements, loan files, hardship applications and call notes before you lodge your response. Upload one document or a whole batch, priced by the page, with no subscription to set up.
For people making a complaint
Take your tax file number, Medicare number and card numbers out of the documents you send with your complaint. The first 10 pages are checked free, and a short document costs $1.50, and the unused pages go to your page balance.
AusRedact removes what you choose. It does not tell you what AFCA needs for a particular complaint. If you are not sure whether to keep a detail, check AFCA's guidance or ask the case manager.
Other ways people use AusRedact
- FOI requests
Edited copies for freedom of information releases, with other people's names, phone numbers and signatures blacked out.
- TFNs for accountants
Tax returns and notices of assessment for lenders and brokers, with the tax file number taken out of every page.
See what is in your document before you pay
Upload a PDF, Word document, JPG or PNG. We check the first 10 pages for Australian identifiers free and show you the price. No account needed.