Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 13 of 2017
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, sections 13 and 15
Under subsection 13(1) of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Act), APRA has the power to determine reporting standards, in writing, with which financial sector entities must comply. Under subsection 13(2B) of the Act, the matters that may be included in reporting standards may relate to reporting of amounts for the purposes of the Major Bank Levy Act 2017.
On 28 July 2017, APRA made Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 13 of 2017 (the instrument) which determines Reporting Standard ARS 760.0 ATO collection for Major Bank Levy Act (ARS 760.0).
The instrument commences upon registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.
- Background
In June 2017, the Government passed the Major Bank Levy Act 2017 (MBL Act) and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Major Bank Levy) Act 2017 (TLA Act) to implement the major bank levy, which was announced as part of the 2017-18 Budget. This legislation empowered APRA to collect data from authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the Act for the purposes of the major bank levy.
2. Purpose and operation of the instrument
The purpose of this instrument is to determine ARS 760.0, which contains the requirements for the provision of information to APRA, using the definitions and methodology set out in the MBL Act, for the purposes of the major bank levy. The information reported under ARS 760.0 will be provided to the Commissioner of Taxation for the purposes of the MBL Act.
ARS 760.0 applies to ADIs with liabilities that exceed the levy threshold set out in the MBL Act.
Where ARS 760.0 refers to Acts, Prudential Standards, Australian Accounting Standards or Audit Standards, these are references to those instruments as they exist from time to time.
3. Consultation
In response to the Treasurer’s request to APRA to determine a reporting standard to facilitate the administration of the bank levy, APRA undertook public consultation on a draft of ARS 760.0 between 13 June 2017 and 20 June 2017.
Six submissions were received from ADIs and industry bodies. Treasury, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and APRA also met with the five directly affected ADIs to discuss issues raised in the submissions.
Most submissions sought clarification on the role of APRA and the ATO, and in particular sought confirmation that ADIs would not be required to separately report to both agencies.
The submissions also raised concerns regarding implementation, particularly in relation to the timeline and the compliance cost of quarterly reporting, as well as difficulties relating to the generation and calculation of some required information. Recognising that the ADI’s systems may need to be altered in order to report the information required, ARS 760.0 was amended to allow reporting on a ‘best endeavours’ basis for reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2019.
The issues raised in submissions predominantly related to the operation of the MBL Act and the definitions and methodology set out in the MBL Act, which were represented in the draft ARS 760.0. These issues were considered by Treasury and the ATO with a view to minimising the compliance costs for the ADIs within the scope of the MBL Act and the TLA Act. Further, submissions requested the clarification of particular concepts in ARS 760.0.
Clarifications made by Treasury and the ATO on the operation and definitions of the MBL Act during this process were communicated to the directly affected ADIs, and are covered in an industry response letter. Clarifications to concepts were also reflected in ARS 760.0.
4. Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for this legislative instrument.
5. Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
A Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is provided at Attachment A to this Explanatory Statement.
ATTACHMENT A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 13 of 2017
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instrument listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (HRPS Act).
Overview of the legislative instrument
In June 2017, the Government passed the Major Bank Levy Act 2017 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Major Bank Levy) Act 2017 to implement the major bank levy, which was announced as part of the 2017-18 Budget. This legislation empowered APRA to collect data from authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the Act for the purposes of the major bank levy.
The instrument determines a new reporting standard under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 which will facilitate the collection of data by APRA from ADIs, which will be provided to the Commissioner of Taxation for the purposes of administering the bank levy.
Human rights implications
APRA has assessed the instrument and is of the view that it does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the HRPS Act. Accordingly, in APRA’s assessment, the instrument is compatible with human rights.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.