Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 61 of 2013
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, subsections 13(1) and 15(1)
Under paragraph 13(1)(a) of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (FSCODA), 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. Subsection 15(1) of FSCODA provides that APRA may declare a date on and after which reporting standards are to apply.
On 19 April 2013, APRA made Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 61 of 2013 (the instrument), which makes Reporting Standard SRS 001.0 Profile and Structure (Baseline) (SRS 001.0).
The instrument commences upon registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. SRS 001.0 is declared to apply to specified financial sector entities on and after 30 April 2013.
- Background
APRA is empowered to make reporting standards under FSCODA, which require regulated institutions, including RSE licensees, to submit specified data through various reporting forms. Data from these forms are used internally to assist APRA’s supervisory functions and by other agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). APRA also collates and publishes statistical information and analysis using data from these reporting forms.
In 2012, legislative reforms granted APRA the power to make prudential standards for the superannuation industry, extended its existing powers to collect data under FSCODA and imposed additional publication obligations on APRA. These measures were introduced in response to recommendations contained in the June 2010 report of the Review into the Governance, Efficiency, Structure and Operation of Australia’s Superannuation System (Super System Review).
In November 2012, APRA released a suite of prudential standards applying to RSE licensees that implement the Government’s Stronger Super reforms. The reporting standards complement those prudential standards and will enable APRA to meet its new legislative obligations and to strengthen its prudential oversight of the superannuation industry. The reporting standards also assist APRA in fulfilling its role as national statistical agency for the Australian financial sector and promote transparency and comparability within the superannuation industry.
2. Purpose and operation of the instrument
The purpose of making the instrument is to introduce a new reporting standard in relation to RSE licensees in order to collect information about the profile and structure of each RSE licensee’s business operations. This information is necessary to support the implementation of the broader suite of reporting standards for superannuation which will commence on 1 July 2013 and which implement the Government’s Stronger Super reforms, strengthen supervision of the superannuation industry, meet the requirements of users of data collected by APRA in its role as a national statistical collection agency and promote transparency and comparability within the superannuation industry.
The new reporting standard and associated reporting form is issued under FSCODA and collection of SRS 001.0 will commence on 30 April 2013.
3. Consultation
APRA has consulted extensively on the proposed reporting standards since the beginning of 2012, including:
- release of a discussion paper, Reporting standards for superannuation (September 2012), outlining the main areas proposed to be addressed in each reporting standard and each draft reporting form and instructions. APRA received 29 submissions on this discussion paper;
- public seminars in major capital cities in September/October 2012 to present the proposed reporting requirements and to discuss their practical application;
- attendance at a range of industry conferences to present on details of the reporting standards; and
- meetings with individual RSE licensees, industry representative bodies, other regulatory agencies and other interested stakeholders to discuss specific details of the reforms, including APRA’s implementation expectations.
Submissions were received from a variety of organisations that will be impacted by the reporting standards, including RSE licensees, industry bodies, professional bodies and service providers.
The September discussion paper included information about APRA’s intended collection of the baseline information now located in SRS 001.0. The content of the reporting form was consulted on in draft versions of other reporting forms.
4. Regulation Impact Statement
A Regulation Impact Statement has been prepared and has been lodged as supporting material.
5. Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
APRA has assessed the instrument against the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (HRPS Act) and determined that only Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is conceivably of relevance.
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 instrument will facilitate the reporting of information to APRA by RSE licensees in accordance with a reporting standard. The information will be about the profile and structure of each RSE licensee’s business operations but will not involve the collection of information directly relating to individual persons.
Consequently the instrument 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.