Our latest insights

APRA’s latest reforms are designed to make its banking framework more proportionate, supporting a more competitive banking environment and fostering innovation. For smaller and medium-sized banks, this could mean reduced compliance pressures and more scope to focus on customers and growth.

ASIC’s review of 50 responsible entities revealed outdated and incomplete compliance plans – some missing key regulatory obligations like DDO and IDR entirely. With investigations now underway, responsible entities must act.

APRA has proposed eight updates to governance and fit and proper requirements for banks, insurers, and superannuation trustees. Businesses must proactively adapt their governance practices to align with these enhanced standards.

Discover APRA's proposed new guidelines on Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB) through APS 117, impacting non-significant financial institutions (non-SFI). Learn about key requirements, including risk management framework integration, technology capacity assessment, and data quality evaluation, ensuring compliance and effective risk management.

Read more for insights from the latest APRA statistics and ICAAP reviews highlighting the Australian banking sector's strengthened capital management. Learn key considerations for ADIs to balance risk and growth effectively, including data quality, operational risk focus, and leveraging automation.

Recent action from the Payment Times Reporting Regulator – the first such action since the PTR Act commenced three years ago – has highlighted the importance for organisations to ensure that they are compliant with reporting obligations.

In a complex operating environment, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is encouraging regulated entities to prioritise quality data as a valuable asset. APRA's growing emphasis on data risk management, evident in regulatory guidance such as CPG 235, CPS 234, and CPS 230, underscores the vital role of quality data for entities under its regulation. Despite progress revealed in APRA's 100 Critical Risk Data Elements Pilot study, a significant gap persists between current and optimal data risk management practices, with potential consequences including reputational damage and financial loss.

Today, APRA shared a letter outlining their expectations regarding credit risk provisioning for ADIs. Its focus includes robust model risk management, ongoing sensitivity analysis to navigate economic fluctuations, and the development of systematic procedures for identifying and addressing sector-specific risks – particularly in the context of AASB 9 Financial Instruments.

This week, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) finalised new requirements to Prudential Standard CPS 511 Remuneration, which will significantly impact authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), insurers, and superannuation entities. This new standard requires APRA-regulated entities to publish details around their remuneration frameworks, design, governance, and outcomes. These changes come in an effort to create more transparency and improve risk management, in particular in the context of the poorly designed and executed remuneration frameworks exposed through the financial services Royal Commission.

APRA has released the long-awaited findings from its independent tripartite cyber assessment over compliance with CPS 234. The themes identified by APRA are based on the audit of more than 300 banks, insurers and superannuation trustees – a significant industry wide program.

The Queensland Government announced that the expansion of Project Trust and Retention Trust Accounts originally scheduled to take effect 1 April 2023 will be extended by three years to 2025. Eligible contracts valued between $3m and $10m will now need to comply from 1 March 2025, and contracts above $1m will need to comply from 1 October 2025.

From 1 April 2023, private sector, government-owned corporations and local government contracts valued at $3m or more (excl. GST) become subject to the Project Trust Account (PTA) regime. The threshold further drops for these valued to $1m from 1 October 2023. Organisations impacted by the requirement to operate PTAs on each project they undertake need to prepare for the additional regulatory compliance required, as well as the cashflow implications of restricted access to progress claim receipts and subcontractor retention monies after the relevant commencement date.