Introduction to banking and finance regulators in Australia

The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) is the coordinating body for Australia's main financial regulatory agencies. The CFR is made up of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Treasury. Chaired by the RBA, these agencies work together for a coordinated approach to resolve matters relating to the stability of the Australian financial system. Further, the CFR provides advice to the Australian Government on the adequacy of Australia’s financial regulatory arrangements. In addition to the CFR, practitioners are likely to come across a number of other regulators. They include Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). This subtopic provides practical guidance relating to the roles and powers of, and how to deal with, these regulators.

The role and powers of APRA

This guidance note explains APRA’s relevance to banking and finance lawyers, and covers:

• • key concepts (such as authorised deposit‑taking institutions);
• • APRA's role and its prudential framework;
• • the Prudential Standards and the Prudential Practice Guides;
• • APRA’s Reporting Standards; and
• • the regulator’s enforcement powers.

See The role and powers of APRA.

The role and powers of ASIC

This guidance note explains:

• • ASIC’s relevance to banking and finance lawyers;
• • ASIC’s role and the laws that it administers;
• • ASIC’s enforcement powers; and
• • ASIC Regulatory Guides and other regulatory resources that are useful to practitioners.

See The role and powers of ASIC.

The role and powers of RBA

This guidance note explains:

• • RBA’s relevance to banking and finance lawyers;
• • RBA’s responsibilities (such as being a policy-making body);
• • RBA’s role and the laws that it administers;
• • RBA’s governance structure (including the Reserve Bank Board and the Payments System Board); and
• • RBA’s guidance that are useful to practitioners (including guidance notes, minutes of the monetary policy meetings, statements on monetary policy, and the Financial Stability Reviews).

See The role and powers of RBA.

The role of the Australian Treasury

This guidance note explains:

• • the Australian Treasury’s relevance to banking and finance lawyers;
• • the Treasury’s role in providing sound and timely advice to the Australian Government; and
• • two areas of particular interest to practitioners:
• • ◦ the work of the Foreign Investment Review Board; and
• • ◦ recent developments in the Future of Financial Advice reforms.

See The role of the Australian Treasury.

The role of AUSTRAC and OAIC

This guidance note focuses on AUSTRAC and the OAIC’s role and powers and their relevance to banking and finance lawyers.

With regards to AUSTRAC, it explains the relevant legislation and AUSTRAC’s responsibilities relating to acting as Australia's financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulator. This guidance note also provides tips to practitioners for using AUSTRAC’s Compliance Guide, and outlines the consequence of non-compliance to AML and CTF legislation.

With regards to the OAIC, this guidance note explains the relevant legislation and the OAIC’s key functions, including those relating to privacy and freedom of information. It also provides tips to practitioner for using the Australian Privacy Principles guidelines, and outlines the consequence of non-compliance to privacy legislation.

See The role of AUSTRAC and OAIC.

Practice tips for dealing with regulators

This guidance note provides practical tips useful to practitioners when dealing with regulators in general, as well as dealing specifically with APRA, ASIC and the Australian Information Commissioner of the OAIC. It looks at:

• • the importance of good compliance culture;
• • the importance of good compliance culture;
• • how to use official guidance relating to dealing with certain regulators; and
• • how to handle investigations by certain regulators.

See Practice tips for dealing with regulators.