The Turnbull Government today introduced legislation that will bolster the ability of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to ensure stability and accountability in our critical financial sector through the appointment of a second Deputy Chair.
Our financial regulators need to have the capacity available to ensure our financial system remains strong and stable, that’s why we are acting to further strengthen APRA’s ability to do its job.
The appointment of up to two Deputy Chairs will provide greater flexibility in the way in which APRA is governed and the allocation of responsibilities to each APRA member. This helps to maximise the skills and capabilities available to APRA within its leadership.
The Government has already moved to appoint a second Deputy Chair at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and it’s appropriate this also occurs for APRA.
This reform supports the Government’s actions to increase accountability and competition in the financial sector. These actions include APRA’s implementation of the Banking Executive Accountability Regime, as well as helping foster competition and drive out complacency amongst incumbents by supporting the entry of new banks into the sector.
Monitoring, and where necessary strengthening, the capabilities of our financial regulators is an ongoing process under the Turnbull Government.