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Senate greenlights regulator of regulators By Sarah Simpkins 24 June 2021
The Senate has passed a bill that will establish an authority that ASIC and APRA are accountable to, two years after it was recommended by the banking royal commission.
On Tuesday night (22 June), the Senate passed the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Bill 2021 with amendments. The law’s primary purpose is to establish the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA), a body tasked with assessing the effectiveness and capability of ASIC and APRA.
It will become law once the Governor-General gives royal assent.
When he handed down his final report from the royal commission, commissioner Kenneth Hayne had called for a new oversight authority for the financial watchdogs, independent of government, as one of his recommendations.
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Opt out data sharing clause will damage trust in open banking
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Major banks and privacy experts are flummoxed at Treasury’s planned shift to an “opt-out” model for joint accounts under open banking, warning it contradicts the fundamental tenet of the consumer data right: that customers provide consent before their data moves.
The Australian Banking Association and consumer groups, including the Financial Rights Legal Centre, said in submissions to Treasury last week the proposed opt-out model conflicts with core privacy principles and the competition regulator’s push in the Digital Platforms Inquiry for stronger consent protections.
Drew MacRae, of the Financial Rights Legal Centre: “This contradicts everything that’s been implemented so far – it’s confounding.”
A consumer advocate group has urged the government to reconsider opting all joint account holders into data sharing under open banking, warning that the model places industry ambitions ahead of individuals’ right to privacy.