The Albanese Government will introduce a financial sector regulatory initiatives grid to make sure the standard business of regulation is carried out in a more coordinated way.
We want to make it simpler and easier to do business in Australia and that’s what this will help achieve in the financial services sector.
By engaging with industry, we believe we get better outcomes and that’s what this is all about – promoting transparency, collaboration and engagement with the private sector is an important part of our economy.
A regulatory grid will help financial services businesses engage with the Government and regulators more effectively and allow regulators to avoid duplication, build shared strategic priorities, and focus on how to best implement reforms.
It will also allow entities to allocate their resources more efficiently when implementing regulation – reducing compliance burden and costs.
The grid will give financial services providers – particularly medium‑sized and smaller players – clear visibility of regulation that might impact their businesses and will support engagement with proposed reforms and their implementation.
It will be modelled on the grid in place in the United Kingdom, which has proved a useful tool in coordinating regulatory effort.
The grid will be a rolling, 24‑month forward program of regulatory initiatives that will materially affect the financial sector, including banking, credit, insurance, superannuation, investment, payments, and capital market entities, updated twice a year.
It will be established and administered by Treasury and include proposed legislation, rule, and regulation and standard making, consultation processes, and data collection processes.
The grid will include initiatives of agencies including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulatory Agency (APRA), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
We thank the Customer Owned Banking Association, the many members of the Finance Industry Council of Australia and other stakeholders for working with us closely on this reform.
Treasury will continue to engage with financial sector stakeholders in the development of the grid.