The Government has made changes to the corporations law to strengthen international business regulation through better cross-border cooperation and information sharing.
The Mutual Assistance in Business Regulation Act 1992 (MABRA) and associated regulations allow Australian business regulators (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority) to respond to requests from foreign counterparts to gather information to assist with their supervisory functions.
Recent amendments to the MABRA framework through regulations will improve the speed and scope of cross-border cooperation and information sharing, in accordance with recent developments in international regulatory cooperation.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Bernie Ripoll, said the Gillard Government was committed to ensuring that Australia's domestic regulators are able to effectively cooperate with their international counterparts in order to support and protect global financial markets.
"These reforms will allow Australian business regulators to better engage with their foreign counterparts to drive better enforcement both in Australia and abroad," said Mr Ripoll.
"Better enforcement will lead to more stable markets and greater confidence for market participants."
These reforms are part of wider Government initiatives to promote international cooperation, including recent amendments to the corporations law regarding over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, passed by Parliament in November last year.
These amendments establish the legislative framework for Australia to implement its G20 commitments in relation to OTC derivatives.
The G20 commitments require countries to adopt harmonised and cooperative arrangements to ensure transparency and manage risk. Reforms to facilitate appropriate information sharing between regulators in different jurisdictions form a key part of these reforms.
Following the global financial crisis, business regulators have been developing ways to more effectively oversee financial service providers that have global operations. The cooperation of international business regulators has been critical to this process.
24 January 2013