Australia's financial watchdog says it received a "record" number of complaints last year, as the fallout from major investment firm collapses rippled through the sector. In 2015, Australians lodged 111,373 complaints across areas such as banking, insurance, financial advice, super funds and financial advisers — a 14 per cent increase on the previous year, according to a statement released on Thursday. It's the highest number of complaints the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has ever received in a calendar year.