Consultation on the Data Availability and Transparency (DAT) Bill 2020
6 November 2020
The ABA supports the broad policy that public sector data should be able to be shared with appropriate safeguards if doing so is in the public interest, under the proposed regime (DAT regime). However, the ABA considers the Bill as drafted would significantly undermine Commonwealth regimes that have enabled effective business regulation in banking and other critical economic sectors. As such, the ABA strongly urges the Government to provide an exclusion for data that is covered by existing confidentiality provisions in regulatory regimes, such as section 56 of the APRA Act 1998, and consider alternative means of achieving this policy objective in relation to this class of data.
Download PDFCorporations Amendment (Virtual Meetings and Electronic Communications) Bill 2020
30 October 2020
We strongly welcome the Government’s proposal to make the electronic execution of company documents and virtual meetings reforms permanent for the benefit and convenience of customers and to improve efficiencies in the processing of critical documents. The ABA considers: • Deeds should be able to be created and signed electronically by companies and individuals. • Electronic signatures rather than wet signatures should be able to be used for a broader range of legal and business documents. • Remote witnessing should be legally valid.
Download PDFABA Commentary on Proposed Expansions to CDR Rules 2020
29 October 2020
The ABA does not support the proposed segmentation of banking data into high, medium, and low risk. The speed at which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) intends to finalise the draft Rules is concerning, especially given risks which have been raised in the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). The ABA does not believe that it is possible for the ACCC to mitigate the risks raised in the PIA and concurrently resolve the questions and concerns raised in this submission by December 2020. The ABA is particularly concerned with negative impacts the speed of implementation will have on smaller banks. The ABA is also concerned that consumers may be overwhelmed with the level of complexity in the proposed Rules which may make them less likely to participate in the CDR. Trust in the security of the CDR is paramount to its success. The ABA urges the ACCC to reconsider the intention to finalise these rules by December 2020 and seeks a meeting with the ACCC to discuss the concerns raised in this submission
Download PDFConsumer Data Right On-boarding – Feedback
23 October 2020
The ABA believes that this process flow will benefit from an additional step ‘Testing’. The ABA recommends that testing stages which are aligned to those documented in the ACCC’s ‘Assurance Strategy Consumer Data Right’ (28/8/19) should be implemented for all data holders.
Download PDFTreasury Laws Amendment Bill 2020: CDR Consultation
19 October 2020
The ABA supports the Government’s intention to centralise design and rule making functions and encourages further centralisation of other critical functions of the CDR.
Download PDFProtecting Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance
16 October 2020
The ABA strongly supports the Government’s desire to build on rather than duplicate existing regulation. A harmonised approach is critical to the implementation of these reforms in the banking industry. A single regulator having a clear mandate and a transparent system in place for regulatory co-ordination for banks - a model that may be relevant for other parts of the banking and financial services sector and other sectors.
Download PDFProposed APRA Performance Measures
24 September 2020
The ABA welcomes the timely review of APRA’s performance measures and supports more streamlined performance metrics. Developing new metrics is an opportunity for APRA to clearly demonstrate how it is implementing best practice and considering the compliance costs in its decision making holistically.
Download PDFAPRA consultation on treatment of loans impacted by COVID-19
21 August 2020
The ABA seeks clarification, but welcomes APRA’s approach by requiring a credit assessment to be ‘appropriate'. The ABA welcomes greater data transparency by regulators, but has a list of recommendations for ARS 923.3.
Download PDFInquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence
24 July 2020
The banking industry is committed to working with government and stakeholders to develop workable and effective strategies and policy solutions to support those impacted by family, domestic and sexual violence related financial abuse.
Download PDFBanking Amendment (Deposits) Bill 2020
10 July 2020
The ABA believes that deposits are currently protected and could not be bailed in during the resolution process of any ADI.
Download PDF