Financial Sector (Collection of Data) determination No. 101 of 2005 Reporting Standard ARS 394.0 (2005) Personal Finance (Cth)

Financial Sector (Collection of Data) determination No. 101 of 2005

Reporting Standard ARS 394.0 (2005)

Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001

I, Wayne Stephen Byres, a delegate of APRA, under paragraph 13(1)(a) of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (‘the Act’) MAKE the reporting standard set out in the Schedule, which applies to the financial sector entities referred to in paragraph 2 of the reporting standard.
Under section 15 of the Act, I DECLARE that the reporting standard shall begin to apply those financial sector entities on the date of registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Dated 27 July 2005
[Signed]
Wayne Byres
Executive General Manager
Diversified Institutions Division
APRA
Interpretation

In this Notice

APRA means the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

Schedule

Reporting Standard ARS 394.0 (2005)

Personal Finance
Objective of this reporting standard
This reporting standard is made under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Collection of Data Act). It requires all ADIs, except locally-incorporated special service providers and specialist credit card institutions that only engage in acquiring business, to report to APRA, generally on a monthly basis, in relation to their personal finance.
This reporting standard outlines the overall requirements for the provision of relevant information to APRA. It should be read in conjunction with:
·Form ARF 394.0.01 Personal Finance in NSW;

·Form ARF 394.0.02 Personal Finance in VIC;

·Form ARF 394.0.03 Personal Finance in QLD;

·Form ARF 394.0.04 Personal Finance in SA;

·Form ARF 394.0.05 Personal Finance in WA;

·Form ARF 394.0.06 Personal Finance in TAS;

·Form ARF 394.0.07 Personal Finance in the NT;

Form ARF 394.0.08 Personal Finance in the ACT,
and the associated instructions (all of which are attached and form part of this reporting standard).
Purpose

Data collected in Forms ARF 394.0.1 to 394.0.8 is used by APRA for the purpose of prudential supervision. It may also be used by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Application and commencement
This reporting standard will apply, from the date of registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, to all ADIs except:

(a) locally-incorporated special service providers; and
(b) specialist credit card institutions (whether locally-incorporated or not) that do not engage in any credit card issuing.
Information required

An ADI that is a:

(a) locally-incorporated bank; or
(b) foreign ADI (other than a specialist credit card institution)
must complete each of Forms ARF 394.0.1 to 394.0.8 on a domestic books basis for each reporting period.

An ADI that is:

(a)      a locally-incorporated building society;
(b)     a locally-incorporated credit union;
(c)      a specialist credit card institution that engages in credit card issuing; or
(d)     Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited
must complete each of Forms ARF 394.0.1 to 394.0.8 on a licensed ADI basis for each reporting period.
Forms and method of submission

The information required by this reporting standard must be given to APRA either:
(a)in electronic form, using one of the electronic submission mechanisms provided by the ‘Direct to APRA’ (also known as ‘D2A’) application; or
(b)manually completed on paper, which must be faxed or mailed to APRA’s head office.
Note: the Direct to APRA application software and paper forms may be obtained from APRA.
Reporting periods and due dates
Subject to paragraph 7, the information required by this reporting standard must be provided in respect of each calendar month.
APRA may, by notice in writing, change the reporting periods, or specified reporting periods, for a particular ADI, to require it to provide the information required by this reporting standard more frequently, or less frequently, having regard to:
(a)the particular circumstances of the ADI;
(b)the extent to which the information is required for the purposes of the prudential supervision of the ADI; and
(c)the requirements of the Reserve Bank of Australia or the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The information required by this reporting standard must be provided to APRA by 10 business days after the end of the reporting period to which it relates.
APRA may grant an ADI an extension of a due date in writing in which case the new due date for the provision of the information will be the date on the notice of extension.
Authorisation
All information provided by an ADI under this reporting standard must be subject to processes and controls developed by the ADI for the internal review and authorisation of that information. It is the responsibility of the board and senior management of the ADI to ensure that an appropriate set of policies and procedures for the authorisation of data submitted to APRA is in place.
If an ADI submits information under this reporting standard using the ‘Direct to APRA’ software, it will be necessary for an officer of the ADI to digitally sign, authorise and encrypt the relevant data. For this purpose, APRA’s certificate authority will issue ‘digital certificates’, for use with the software, to officers of the ADI who have authority from the ADI to transmit the data to APRA.
If information under this reporting standard is provided in paper form, it must be signed on the front page of the relevant completed form by either:

(a) the Principal Executive Officer of the ADI; or
(b) the Chief Financial Officer of the ADI (whatever his or her official title may be).
Minor alterations to forms and instructions

APRA may make minor variations to:

(a) a form that is part of this reporting standard, and the instructions to such a form, to correct technical, programming or logical errors, inconsistencies or anomalies; or
(b) the instructions to a form, to clarify their application to the form
without changing any substantive requirement in the form or instructions.

If APRA makes such a variation it must notify in writing each ADI that is required to report under this reporting standard.

Transitional
If the due date for lodgement in respect of a reporting period is a day after the date of registration of this reporting standard on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, an ADI must report under this reporting standard in respect of that reporting period (including where the reporting period ended before the date of registration).
Interpretation - classifications of ADIs
In this reporting standard:
ADI means an authorised deposit-taking institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959.
ADI list means the attached ADI list.
building society means an ADI whose name appears under the heading ‘Building Societies’ in the ADI list.
credit union means an ADI whose name appears under the heading ‘Credit Unions’ in the ADI list.
foreign ADI means an ADI that is not incorporated in Australia.
locally-incorporated means incorporated in Australia.
locally-incorporated bank means an ADI whose name appears under the heading ‘Australian-owned Banks’ or ‘Foreign Subsidiary Banks’ in the ADI list.
special service provider means an ADI whose name appears under the heading ‘Other ADIs’ in the ADI list (other than the Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited).
specialist credit card institution means an ADI whose name appears under the heading ‘Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs)’ in the ADI list.
If an ADI is not in the ADI list, then:

(a)      if the ADI assumes or uses the word ‘bank’ in relation to its financial business, and it is locally-incorporated, it is taken to be a locally-incorporated bank for the purposes of this reporting standard; and
(b)     if the ADI assumes or uses the expression ‘building society’ in relation to its financial business, and it is locally-incorporated, it is taken to be a locally-incorporated building society for the purposes of this reporting standard;
(c)      if the ADI assumes or uses the expression ‘credit union’, ‘credit society’ or ‘credit co-operative’ in relation to its financial business, and it is locally-incorporated, it is taken to be a locally-incorporated credit union for the purposes of this reporting standard; and
(d) if the ADI engages in credit card issuing or credit card acquiring, or both, and does not otherwise carry on banking business within the meaning of section 5 of the Banking Act 1959, it is taken to be a specialist credit card institution for the purposes of this reporting standard

APRA may in writing determine that an ADI is taken to be a locally-incorporated bank, locally-incorporated building society, locally-incorporated credit union, locally-incorporated special service provider or specialist credit card institution for the purposes of this reporting standard (even if, under paragraph 16 or 17, it comes within a different classification).
Interpretation - other definitions
In this reporting standard:
business days means ordinary business days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Principal Executive Officer means the principal executive officer of the ADI for the time being, by whatever name called, and whether or not he or she is a member of the governing board of the entity.
reporting period means a reporting period under paragraph 6 or, if applicable, paragraph 7.

The ADI list
Australian-owned Banks

Adelaide Bank Limited
AMP Bank Limited
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
Bank of Queensland Limited
Bendigo Bank Limited
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Development Bank of Australia Limited (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia)
Elders Rural Bank Limited
Macquarie Bank Limited
Members Equity Bank Pty Limited
National Australia Bank Limited
St George Bank Limited
Suncorp-Metway Limited
Westpac Banking Corporation
Foreign Subsidiary Banks
Arab Bank Australia Limited
Bank of Cyprus Australia Pty Limited
BankWest (the trading name of Bank of Western Australia Limited, a foreign subsidiary bank following its sale to Bank of Scotland in December 1995)
Citibank Pty Limited (a subsidiary of Citibank N.A.)
HSBC Bank Australia Limited
ING Bank (Australia) Limited
Investec Bank (Australia) Limited
Laiki Bank (Australia) Limited
NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Limited
Rabobank Australia Limited (a subsidiary of Rabobank Nederland from October 1994)
Branches of Foreign Banks
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Bank of America, National Association
Bank of China (subject to depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959)
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd
Barclays Capital (the trading name of Barclays Bank plc)
BNP Paribas
Citibank N.A.
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank AG
HSBC Bank plc
ING Bank NV
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited
Rabobank Nederland (the trading name of Co-operative Central Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A.)
Royal Bank of Canada
Société Générale
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of India
State Street Bank and Trust Company
The International Commercial Bank of China
The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc
The Toronto-Dominion Bank
Taiwan Business Bank
UBS AG
United Overseas Bank Limited
WestLB AG
Building Societies
ABS Building Society Ltd
B & E Ltd
Greater Building Society Ltd
Heritage Building Society Limited
Home Building Society Ltd
Hume Building Society Ltd
IMB Ltd
Lifeplan Australia Building Society Limited
Mackay Permanent Building Society Ltd
Maitland Mutual Building Society Limited
Newcastle Permanent Building Society Ltd
Pioneer Permanent Building Society Limited
The Rock Building Society Limited
Wide Bay Australia Ltd
Credit Unions
Amcor Credit Co-operative Limited
AMP Employees' & Agents Credit Union Limited
Austral Credit Union Limited
Australian Central Credit Union Limited
Australian Defence Credit Union Ltd
Australian National Credit Union Limited
AWA Credit Union Limited
Bananacoast Community Credit Union Ltd
Bankstown City Credit Union Ltd
Berrima District Credit Union Ltd
Big River Credit Union Ltd
Big Sky Credit Union Ltd
Blue Mountains and Riverlands Community Credit Union Ltd
Broadway Credit Union Ltd
Calare Credit Union Ltd
Capital Credit Union Ltd
Capricornia Credit Union Ltd
Carboy (SA) Credit Union Limited
Central Murray Credit Union Limited
Central West Credit Union Limited
Circle Credit Co-operative Limited
Coastline Credit Union Limited
Collie Miners Credit Union Ltd
Combined Australian Petroleum Employees' Credit Union Ltd
Community Alliance Credit Union Limited
Community First Credit Union Limited
Companion Credit Union Limited
Comtax Credit Union Limited
Connect Credit Union of Tasmania Limited
Country First Credit Union Ltd
CPS Credit Union (SA) Ltd
CPS Credit Union Co-operative (ACT) Limited
Credit Union Australia Ltd
Credit Union Home Loans Australia Limited
Credit Union Incitec Pivot Limited
Croatian Community Credit Union Limited
CSR and Rinker Employees Credit Union Limited
Dairy Farmers Credit Union Ltd
Dana Employees Credit Union
Defence Force Credit Union Limited
Discovery Credit Union Ltd
Dnister Ukrainian Credit Co-operative Limited
ELCOM Credit Union Ltd
Electricity Credit Union Ltd
Encompass Credit Union Limited
Ericsson Employees Credit Co-operative Limited
Esso Employees' Credit Union Ltd
Eurobodalla Credit Union Ltd
Family First Credit Union Limited
Fire Brigades Employees' Credit Union Limited
Fire Service Credit Union Limited
Firefighters & Affiliates Credit Co-operative Limited
First Pacific Credit Union Limited
Fitzroy & Carlton Community Credit Co-operative Limited
Flying Horse Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Ford Co-operative Credit Society Limited
Gateway Credit Union Ltd
Geelong & District Credit Co-operative Society Limited
GMH (Employees) Q.W.L. Credit Co-operative Limited
Goldfields Credit Union Ltd
Gosford City Credit Union Ltd
Goulburn Murray Credit Union Co-operative Limited
H.M.C. Staff Credit Union Ltd
Heritage Isle Credit Union Limited
Hibernian Credit Union Limited
Holiday Coast Credit Union Ltd
Horizon Credit Union Ltd
Hoverla Ukrainian Credit Co-operative Ltd
Hunter Mutual Limited
Hunter United Employees' Credit Union Limited
Industries Mutual Credit Union Limited
Intech Credit Union Limited
Island State Credit Union Ltd
Karpaty Ukrainian Credit Union Limited
La Trobe Country Credit Co-operative Limited
La Trobe University Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Laboratories Credit Union Ltd
Latvian Australian Credit Co-operative Society Limited
Lithuanian Co-operative Society (Talka) Limited
Lysaght Credit Union Ltd
M.S.B. Credit Union Limited
MacArthur Credit Union Ltd
Macaulay Community Credit Co-operative Limited
Macquarie Credit Union Limited
Maleny and District Community Credit Union Limited
Manly Warringah Credit Union Ltd
Maritime Workers of Australia Credit Union Ltd
Maroondah Credit Union Ltd
MECU Limited
Media Credit Union Queensland Ltd
Melbourne University Credit Union Limited
Memberfirst Credit Union Limited
N.R.M.A. Employees' Credit Union Ltd
NACOS Credit Union Limited
New England Credit Union Ltd
Newcom Colliery Employees' Credit Union Ltd
North East Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Northern Inland Credit Union Ltd
Nova Credit Union Limited
NSW Teachers Credit Union Ltd
Old Gold Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Orana Credit Union Ltd
Orange Credit Union Limited
Phoenix (NSW) Credit Union Ltd
Pinnacle Credit Union Limited
Plenty Credit Co-operative Limited
Police & Nurses Credit Society Limited
Police Association Credit Co-operative Limited
Police Credit Union Limited
Polish Community Credit Union Ltd
Power Credit Union Limited
Powerstate Credit Union Ltd
Prospect Credit Union Limited
Pulse Credit Union Limited
Qantas Staff Credit Union Limited
Queensland Community Credit Union Limited
Queensland Country Credit Union Ltd
Queensland Police Credit Union Limited
Queensland Professional Credit Union Ltd
Queensland Teachers' Credit Union Limited
Queenslanders Credit Union Limited
RACV Credit Union Limited
Railways Credit Union Limited
Randwick Credit Union Limited
RegionalOne Credit Union Limited
Reliance Credit Union Ltd
Resources Credit Union Limited
RTA Staff Credit Union Limited
Satisfac Direct Credit Union Limited
Savings and Loans Credit Union (S.A.) Ltd
Security Credit Union Ltd
Select Credit Union Ltd
Service One Credit Union Ltd
SGE Credit Union Ltd
Shell Employees' Credit Union Limited
Shoalhaven Paper Mill Employee's Credit Union Ltd
South West Slopes Credit Union Ltd
Southern Cross Credit Union Limited
South-West Credit Union Co-operative Limited
St Mary's Swan Hill Co-operative Credit Society Limited
St Patrick's Mentone Co-operative Credit Society Limited
Statewest Credit Society Limited
Sutherland Credit Union Ltd
Sutherland Shire Council Employees' Credit Union Ltd
Sydney Credit Union Ltd
TAB Credit Union Limited
Tartan Credit Union Ltd
The Broken Hill Community Credit Union Ltd
The Gympie Credit Union Ltd
The Police Department Employees' Credit Union Limited
The Summerland Credit Union Limited
The TAFE and Community Credit Union Limited
The University Credit Society Limited
Traditional Credit Union Limited
TransComm Credit Co-operative Limited
Uni Credit Union Ltd
United Credit Union Limited
Victoria Teachers Credit Union Limited
Wagga Mutual Credit Union Ltd
Warwick Credit Union Ltd
WAW Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Westax Credit Society Ltd
Western City Credit Union Ltd
Woolworths/Safeway Employees' Credit Co-operative Limited
Wyong Council Credit Union Ltd
Yennora Credit Union Ltd
Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs)
Foreign-owned SCCIs
GE Capital Finance Australia
GE Finance Australasia Pty Ltd
Locally Incorporated SCCIs
MoneySwitch Limited
Other ADIs
These companies are run by industry bodies and provide services (e.g. payments clearing) to member building societies and credit unions.
Australian Settlements Limited
Credit Union Services Corporation (Australia) Limited
Creditlink Services Limited
One ADI that provides general banking services which does not fall into the other categories.
Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited

Reporting Form ARF 394.0
Personal Finance
Instruction Guide
The purpose of this survey is to provide monthly statistics on the provision of finance to individuals for personal (non-business) use. The statistics are used by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) for regulatory purposes, and may be provided to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for policy and statistical purposes. Published aggregate statistics from this collection are used for research and policy formulation by economists, State and Federal Governments and the housing industry.
A separate form for personal finance in all eight states should be completed.
ARF 394.0.1 Personal Finance in NSW
ARF 394.0.2 Personal Finance in VIC
ARF 394.0.3 Personal Finance in QLD
ARF 394.0.4 Personal Finance in SA
ARF 394.0.5 Personal Finance in WA
ARF 394.0.6 Personal Finance in TAS
ARF 394.0.7 Personal Finance in NT
ARF 394.0.8 Personal Finance in ACT
General directions and notes
Reporting entity
The Personal Finance form is to be completed by all locally incorporated banks and Foreign ADIs on a Domestic Books basis.
The Domestic books of the locally incorporated banks and Foreign ADI relates to the Australian books of the Australian ADI and has the following scope:
Is an unconsolidated report of the Australian licensed ADI's operations/ transactions that are booked inside Australia.
Exclude offshore branches of the Australian licensed ADI from this reporting unit.
Exclude offshore banking units based overseas from this reporting unit.
Do not consolidate Australian and offshore controlled entities or associated entities that are not ADIs.
Include Australian based offshore banking units of the licensed ADI.
Include transactions with non-residents recorded on Australian books.
The Personal Finance form should be completed by all Credit Unions, Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited, Building Societies and Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs) on a Licensed ADI basis. Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs) that operate as branches in Australia are required to complete this form for the Australian branch only.
Note: Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs) that engage only in credit card acquiring activities are not required to complete this form.
Licensed ADI
This refers to the operations of the reporting ADI on a stand-alone basis
Reporting period
The information provided in this form should be for the calendar month up to and including the last day of the reporting month. Locally incorporated banks, Foreign ADIs, Credit Unions, Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited, Building Societies and Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs) should submit the completed form to APRA within 10 business days after the end of the relevant reporting month.
measurementUnit of
Banks, Credit Unions, Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Limited, Building Societies and Specialist Credit Card Institutions (SCCIs) are asked to complete the form in thousands of Australian dollars with no decimal place.
Amounts denominated in foreign currency are to be converted to AUD in accordance with AASB 1012 ‘Foreign Currency Translation’.
The general requirements of AASB 1012 for translation are:

Foreign currency monetary items outstanding at the reporting date must be translated at the spot rate at the reporting date.
Other items outstanding at the reporting date must not be retranslated subsequent to initial recognition of the transaction.
Monetary items are defined to mean money held and assets and liabilities that are to be received or paid in fixed or determinable amounts of money.
Monetary items arising under foreign currency derivative contracts at the reporting date must be translated as follows:

Where the exchange rate is fixed in the contract, at that fixed exchange rate; and
Where the exchange rate varies, at the spot rate at the reporting date.
Basis of preparation
Unless otherwise specifically stated, information reported on this form should comply with Australian accounting standards.
Definitions
A separate form for personal finance in all eight states should be completed. Where the entity has no activity in any state, check the “nil form” box. The form requests details of new commitments to provide personal finance to individuals for personal (non-business) use. Only the Australian activities of the business should be included on the form. If exact figures are not available please provide careful estimates. Please note that the items listed under Including and Excluding are examples and should not be taken as a complete list of items to be included or excluded.
What is a “commitment”?
A commitment is a firm offer to provide finance which has been accepted by the client. A commitment generally exists once a loan application has been approved, and a loan contract or letter of offer has been issued to the borrower.
With the exception of unsecured loans for alterations and additions (Question 6) and unsecured loans for owner occupied housing (Question 7), commitments are to be reported regardless of whether they are secured or unsecured and, if secured, regardless of the type of security.
Including:
new lending commitments which have also been cancelled during the month;
commitments to provide finance to your employees; and
commitments for revolving credit loans secured by mortgage (mortgage backed overdrafts) on residential properties where the stated purpose at application is as a personal line of credit (see III. Home Equity Loans - Guidelines).
Excluding:
commitments to non-residents;
commitments to secured loans for the construction or purchase of dwellings intended for owner occupation or for alterations and additions to owner occupied dwellings, which should be reported on ARF 292.0 Housing Finance;
commitments to individuals for use in connection with a business carried on by them, which should be reported on ARF 391.0 Commercial Finance; and
commitments for revolving credit loans secured by mortgage where the primary purpose at application is for the purchase of owner occupied residential property (see III. Home Equity Loans).
What is a ‘dwelling’?
A dwelling is a place of residence which is:
contained in a building which is an immobile structure;
private (i.e. not generally accessible to the public); and
self contained (i.e. includes bathing and cooking facilities).

Specific instructions
Part A: Commitments for fixed loans - by purpose
The purpose of the loan is that specified by the borrower. Multi-purpose loans should be split and each component reported in the appropriate purpose classification. Where this is not possible, the whole loan should be classified to the major purpose.
Fixed loans generally involve:
a commitment for a fixed period for a specific purpose; and
repayments over that fixed period which reduce the loan, but do not make further finance available.

Purchase of motor cars
Including:

cars, station wagons, 4WD and forward control passenger vehicles/vans.
Excluding:
trucks, buses, special vehicles, utilities, panel vans (include in Question 3); and
motor cycles/scooters (include in Question 2).

Purchase of other motor vehicles
Including:

trucks, buses, special vehicles, utilities and panel vans.
Excluding:
motor cycles/scooters (include in Question 2).
6. Unsecured loans for alterations and/or additions to dwellings
Including:
all structural and non-structural changes to dwellings (e.g. garages, carports, pergolas, re-roofing, re-cladding etc.).
Excluding:
repairs and maintenance, swimming pools, and other home improvements that do not involve building work (include in Question 13).

Debt consolidation
Including:

commitments where the principal purpose is to consolidate and pay out amounts owing by borrowers to third parties.
Excluding:
commitments for the principal purpose of refinancing existing personal loans (include in Question 11).
11. Refinancing
Including:
commitments for the principal purpose of refinancing existing personal loans.
Excluding:
commitments where the principal purpose is to consolidate and pay out amounts owing by borrowers to third parties (include in Question 9); and
refinancing of personal investment loans (include in Question 12).
12. Loans for personal investment purposes
12a. Dwellings for rent/sale
Including:
only commitments for dwellings to be occupied by persons other than the owner.
12b. Other personal investments
Including:
commitments for the purchase of shares and other investment assets
12c. Refinancing
Including:
refinancing of loans for personal investments, e.g. purchase of shares and other investment assets, purchase of dwellings for rent/resale.
Excluding:
refinancing of personal loans for the purposes listed in Question 1-10 and Question 13, these should be reported in Question 11
13. Other
Including:
commitments for swimming pools and home improvements (other than alterations and additions), motor accessories and any other purpose not covered above
Part B: New commitments for revolving credit loans
Revolving credit facilities involve a commitment for a credit or borrowing limit and where the extent of the borrowings used at any one time may be for any amount up to the authorised limit. Repayments (other than of charges and/or interest) reduce the borrowings thereby increasing the amount of unused credit available e.g. overdraft limits, secured revolving credit facilities (mortgage backed overdrafts), credit card facilities and other personal lines of credit.

New credit limits and increases to existing credit limits approved during the month
15a. Secured
Including:

mortgage backed overdrafts where the primary purpose of the commitment at application is NOT owner occupied residential property. (see III. Home Equity Loans – Guidelines).
Excluding:
mortgage backed overdrafts where the primary purpose of the commitment at application is owner occupied residential property. (report on ARF 392.0 Housing Finance). (see III. Home Equity Loans – Guidelines).

Cancellations of and reductions in previously approved credit limits
Including:

the actual value of credit limits cancelled and the value by which existing credit limits were reduced during the month.
Excluding:
amounts used as balancing or adjustment items (such as adjustments between states). These should be reported in Question 19; and
repayments which reduce the used portion of the credit facility, but not the total credit available. These should be excluded from the form altogether.

Balancing item (+/-)
If the previous month’s ‘total credit limits available’ (Q16 last month) plus (+) ‘total new limits approved’ (Q15c) minus (-) ‘cancellations’ (Q18) does not equal the current month’s ‘total credit limits available’ (Q16), please provide the amount and reason for this discrepancy.
Part C: Comments
Please provide comments

on any of the information you have supplied on this form;
on any questions which caused problems; and
if you would like to suggest improvements to this form.

Home equity loans - guidelines
Introduction
The increasing use of home equity loan products by individual (household sector) borrowers as a source of funding has necessitated some additional clarity in how these products should be treated in reporting to ARF 392.0 Housing Finance and ARF 394.0 Personal Finance. Please contact APRA for further advice on these guidelines.
Home equity loans
A home equity loan is a secured revolving credit facility which is secured by the borrower's equity in the home. In effect, the assets of the borrower (in equity in the home) are freed up so as other activities may be funded.
A home equity loan may be taken to fund a range of activities, including the purchase of a property (for owner occupation), the refinancing of the borrower's existing home (as for all home loan refinancing, this would only be reported if the refinancing involved changing the lender), or any other activity - investment purchases (shares or property), household consumption spending (cars, boats, holidays) or working capital for a small business. A feature of home equity loans which causes reporting difficulties for lenders is that often the borrower intends to use the home equity loan for a combination of the purposes mentioned.
Reporting of home equity loans on ARF 392.0 Housing Finance and ARF 394.0 Personal Finance
Attach one of two major (or primary) purposes to each home equity loan commitment- either "Housing" (for Owner Occupation) or "Other" (than housing for owner occupation).
Primary purpose "Housing" commitments to be reported under Question 10 (Part C) - Secured Revolving Home Loans - on ARF 392.0 Housing Finance.
Primary purpose "Other" commitments to be reported as secured personal revolving credit (Question 15) on ARF 394.0 Personal Finance, with all drawdowns, re-payments and re-borrowing of principal in subsequent months to be reflected in the value of Credit Used (Question 17).
Where it is not possible to isolate the Credit Used (Question 17) for ARF 394.0 Personal Finance on a sub-group of all home equity loan commitments, then some manipulation must be undertaken to ensure the reported value of Credit Used is conceptually consistent with the total value of Used and Unused Credit (Question 16), and previously reported values of new revolving credit commitments on ARF 394.0 Personal Finance.
The intention of the table which forms Question 1a-1e on ARF 392.0 Housing Finance is to monitor the total "stock" of all commitments not advanced. New commitments to lend are added to the stock while advances of commitments and cancellations are removed from the stock. With a fixed term amortising loan, the commitment is either advanced when the finance is settled, or the commitment lapses and is cancelled. Where only part of the initial commitment is advanced, then it may be necessary to report a value advanced and a value cancelled, so that the (previously reported) commitment is wholly removed from the stock of all commitments not advanced. Some lenders may not cancel lapsed commitments until many months after the commitment is made. We prefer that lapsed commitments are reported as cancellations as regularly as possible. Once a commitment is cancelled or advanced, it plays no further role in the table in Questions 1a-1e of ARF 392.0 Housing Finance.
The treatment of home equity loan commitments in Questions 1a-1e is problematic. Given that a home equity loan commitment will be reported for ARF 392.0 Housing Finance only if its primary purpose is the purchase of owner occupied housing, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of the commitment will be advanced in a comparable timeframe as for a regular standard variable loan commitment. As for all new commitments, the new home equity loan commitment should be added to the stock of undrawn commitments (Question 1b). Any amount advanced (for the purchase of owner occupied housing) in the same or subsequent months should be reported as an Advance (Question 1c); at the same time the balance of the commitment (if any) reported as a Cancellation (Question 1d). The home equity loan commitment (like all housing finance commitments) will take no further part in reporting to ARF 392.0 Housing Finance.
Where it is impossible to identify the timing of the drawdown of a home equity loan for the purchase of owner occupied housing, it is acceptable to assume that the entire value of the commitment is drawn down in the month of the commitment, so that the internal consistency of the Question 1 is preserved.
Note on References to Accounting Standards
This Note is about references in these instructions to an accounting standard or accounting standards, e.g. where the instructions say that something must be done in accordance with a particular AASB or international accounting standard, or must be done in accordance with the accounting standards (however described) generally.
Where you see such a reference, you must read it as meaning the version of the accounting standard, or versions of the accounting standards, applying to reporting periods (within the meaning of the accounting standards) beginning immediately before 1 January 2005.
Accordingly, the new AASB standards for 2005 are not to be applied.
Similarly, a reference to principles or conventions (however described) governing an accounting procedure or treatment shall be taken to refer to principles or conventions applicable in relation to reporting periods (within the meaning of the accounting standards) that began immediately before 1 January 2005.