Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 25 of 2015 - SRS 801.0 - Investments and Investment Flows

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2015L01011 In force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015

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. Such standards relate to reporting financial or accounting data and other information regarding the business or activities of the entities.

On 24 June 2015, APRA made the following determinations (the revised reporting standards):

  1. Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 11 of 2015, which:

(i)     revokes Reporting Standard SRS 530.0 Investments made under Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 1 of 2014; and

(ii)  determines Reporting Standard SRS 530.0 Investments;

2.      Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 12 of 2015, which:

(i)     revokes Reporting Standard SRS 531.0 Investment Flows made under Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 23 of 2014; and

(ii)  determines Reporting Standard SRS 531.0 Investment Flows;

3.      Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 13 of 2015, which:

(i)     revokes Reporting Standard SRS 533.0 Asset Allocation made under Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 25 of 2014; and

(ii)  determines Reporting Standard SRS 533.0 Asset Allocation;

4.      Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 21 of 2015, which:

(i)     revokes Reporting Standard SRS 700.0 Product Dashboard made under Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 98 of 2013; and

(ii)  determines Reporting Standard SRS 700.0 Product Dashboard; and

5.      Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 25 of 2015, which:

(i)     revokes Reporting Standard SRS 801.0 Investments and Investment Flows made under Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 15 of 2014; and

(ii)  determines Reporting Standard SRS 801.0 Investments and Investment Flows.

The reporting standard listed in paragraph 4 applies to reporting periods ending on and after 30 June 2015.

The remaining reporting standards listed above apply to reporting periods ending on and after 1 July 2015.

  1.    Background

APRA is empowered to make reporting standards under the Act, which require regulated institutions, including RSE licensees, to submit specified data through various reporting forms. Data from these forms is used by APRA to assist with APRA’s supervisory functions, and also by Government and other agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. APRA also collates and publishes statistical information and analysis using data from these reporting forms.

In 2013 and 2014, APRA released a new suite of 39 final reporting standards applying to the superannuation industry. Since the commencement of the new reporting requirements, APRA has received industry feedback on some of these standards, as well as a large number of requests for clarification and guidance on interpretation.

2.      Purpose and operation of the instruments

The purpose of making these instruments is to make minor revisions to five of the existing reporting standards for superannuation to clarify and provide further guidance on existing reporting requirements.

As a result of the questions raised by the superannuation industry about the new reporting standards which were released in 2013 and 2014, APRA publicly released 95 frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the APRA website. The FAQs provided additional information to assist reporting entities to complete the reporting standards and were the result of ongoing dialogue with reporting entities and the superannuation industry more broadly.

Whilst some FAQs provide transition guidance, APRA considered that a number of the matters raised by industry and covered in FAQs should be included in the reporting standards, forms and instructions on an ongoing basis.

The majority of changes within the revised reporting standards are confined to the reporting instructions. The changes are minor in nature and are being released to simplify the superannuation industry’s reporting requirements by consolidating relevant guidance into the reporting standard.

3.      Consultation

As the FAQs had already been publicly released and the resulting changes to the reporting standards were minor in nature, no further consultation with industry was undertaken. Proposed final versions of the reporting standards, however, were released for an eight-week period to allow industry to identify any ‘fatal flaw’ issues in the final requirements; no such issues were reported to APRA during this eight-week period.

4.      Regulation Impact Statement

The revised reporting standards incorporate into five reporting standards minor revisions which do not significantly change the reporting requirements. All of the revised reporting standards provide additional guidance and clarification and no new reporting requirements have been introduced as a result of this process.

The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for these legislative instruments.

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) determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015

 

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

The purpose of making these legislative instruments is to make minor revisions to five reporting standards to provide additional guidance and clarification on how to complete the reporting standards. The data collected in these reporting standards is used by APRA to assist with APRA’s supervisory functions, and also by Government and other agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. APRA also collates and publishes statistical information and analysis using data from these reporting forms.

Human rights implications

APRA has assessed the instrument against the international instruments listed in section 3 of the HRPS Act and determined that only Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is conceivably potentially of relevance to the instrument.

Article 17 of the ICCPR prohibits the arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s privacy, family, home and correspondence, and attacks on reputation. Article 17 is exclusively concerned with prohibiting interference with the privacy and/or reputation of individual persons. It does not extend to the privacy and/or reputation of corporate entities.

The information collected as a result of the continued operation of the reporting standards will be about the profile and structure of each RSE licensee’s business operations. This information ultimately supports APRA achieving its mission of ensuring that, under all reasonable circumstances, financial promises made by the institutions APRA supervises are met within a stable, efficient and competitive financial system.

APRA does not publish the personal information which it collects. Information provided to APRA under reporting standards is protected information for the purposes of section 56 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act) and cannot be disclosed except under a limited range of circumstances provided for under that section. While APRA does publish some protected information gathered under reporting standards, APRA reviews all releases of data received under reporting standards to ensure that no information pertaining to an individual person can be deduced from the data.

Conclusion

Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015 are compatible with human rights because:

 

(i)            to the extent that determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015 limit human rights, those limitations are reasonable, necessary and proportionate; and

(ii)         the remaining parts of the determinations do not raise human rights issues.

Overview

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015, made by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), were enacted to address the need for minor revisions and clarifications in the existing reporting standards for superannuation, as identified through industry feedback and inquiries. The determinations aim to simplify the reporting requirements for superannuation entities by consolidating guidance into the reporting standards themselves, thereby reducing ambiguities and enhancing compliance. These legislative instruments were developed under the authority granted by the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, which empowers APRA to determine reporting standards for financial sector entities. The determinations do not introduce new reporting requirements but focus on clarifying existing ones, ensuring that the collected data supports APRA's supervisory functions and aids other governmental and regulatory agencies. The process included the release of frequently asked questions to provide additional context and guidance, and a subsequent review to refine the reporting standards accordingly.

Scope and Application

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determinations No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21 and No. 25 of 2015, issued under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, apply to financial sector entities within Australia, specifically regulated institutions such as RSE licensees. These determinations were enacted to provide clarification and additional guidance on existing reporting requirements in response to feedback and requests from the superannuation industry. The revised reporting standards cover investments, investment flows, asset allocation, product dashboard, and investments and investment flows, and aim to consolidate relevant guidance into the reporting standards to simplify the industry's reporting obligations. These determinations do not introduce new reporting requirements but focus on clarifying and refining existing ones. The data collected through these standards is essential for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to carry out its supervisory functions and is also used by various government and regulatory agencies. Importantly, the data collected pertains to the business operations of entities and does not include personal information of individuals, which remains protected and is not disclosed by APRA. As such, these legislative instruments are compatible with human rights, particularly Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as they do not infringe upon the privacy or reputation of individual persons.

Key Provisions

Under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Act), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has the authority to determine reporting standards for financial sector entities, including regulated institutions and RSE licensees, regarding the submission of financial and accounting data. The determinations in question (No. 11 to No. 13, No. 21, and No. 25 of 2015) primarily revise and clarify existing reporting standards, which were initially issued in 2013 and 2014. These revised standards aim to address industry feedback, reduce ambiguity, and provide more detailed guidance on completing the reporting requirements. The obligations imposed on the entities governed by these determinations include submitting the specified data through prescribed reporting forms. The data collected is instrumental in aiding APRA's supervisory functions and is also utilized by government and other agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Moreover, APRA uses this data to compile and publish statistical information and analyses. The revised standards apply to reporting periods ending on or after 30 June 2015 and 1 July 2015, depending on the specific standard. Failure to comply with these reporting standards can lead to regulatory scrutiny and potential enforcement actions by APRA. Although the determinations themselves do not explicitly outline specific offences or penalties, non-compliance with APRA's reporting requirements can result in broader regulatory consequences, including fines, enforcement actions, and potentially more severe penalties if the non-compliance is deemed significant. The precise penalties would depend on the nature and severity of the breach, as well as the provisions of other relevant legislation. The determinations are designed to ensure that the data collected is comprehensive and accurate, thereby supporting APRA’s mission to maintain a stable, efficient, and competitive financial system by ensuring that financial promises made by supervised institutions are met. Furthermore, APRA ensures that personal information collected under these reporting standards is protected and not disclosed except under specific circumstances outlined in the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998. This commitment to data privacy aligns with international human rights standards, particularly those concerning the protection of individual privacy and reputation.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Financial Law
Regulatory Standards
Instrument
Regulation
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations
Compliance Obligations
Catchwords
Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.