Championing fairness

Stepping into the role of Customer Advocate at ANZ is both an honour and a responsibility I take deeply to heart, especially at a time when trust and fairness are more important than ever.

"My focus is on ensuring that customer insights and lived experiences meaningfully inform the design and delivery of the bank’s products and services.”

This position gives me the opportunity to act as an independent voice for customers within the bank – helping to ensure fair outcomes and amplifying customer perspectives across ANZ.

As Customer Advocate, I will engage directly with customers, consumer advocacy groups and community partners to understand their perspectives, identify systemic issues and influence improvements in our products, services and processes. My focus is on ensuring that customer insights and lived experiences meaningfully inform the design and delivery of the bank’s products and services.

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My immediate priorities reflect some of the areas where customers need us most: reviewing ANZ’s approach to supporting customers experiencing vulnerability; enhancing our understanding of culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and strengthening partnerships with community organisations. These relationships are essential to helping us respond with empathy, integrity and action – especially if things go wrong.

I will be reporting regularly to ANZ’s Executive Committee and Board, sharing important thematic insights and case studies. My work will be guided by the Australian Banking Association’s Customer Advocate Principles – fairness, transparency, and accountability – which set an important benchmark for how banks show up for their customers.

I’m stepping into this role after seven years at ANZ, working within Customer Resolution and Legal. During that time I’ve led teams dealing with some of the most complex, sensitive customer matters: responsible lending issues, scams, hardship, deceased estates and other deeply personal challenges. I have also worked closely with external bodies, collaborating to achieve better outcomes for customers.

Before joining ANZ, I spent many years as a commercial lawyer in Melbourne and London and worked with community legal centres supporting victims of family violence. Those experiences taught me the power of listening and responding with empathy, integrity and action.

That’s exactly what I want customers to feel when they come to us: that if things go wrong, we will show up, stand beside them and make it right.

I look forward to listening deeply, understanding a wide range of perspectives and ensuring our customers’ voices are heard to help drive better decisions and fairer outcomes. This role is an important part of ANZ’s commitment to better support customers – and I’m energised by the responsibility to help shape meaningful and lasting improvements.

Sarah Spencer is Customer Advocate at ANZ.