Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determinations Nos. 92, 98 and 99 of 2013
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 20 September 2013, APRA made the following determinations (the instruments):
- Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 92 of 2013, which determines Reporting Standard SRS 702.0 Investment Performance (SRS 702.0);
- Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 98 of 2013, which determines Reporting Standard SRS 700.0 Product Dashboard (SRS 700.0); and
- Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 99 of 2013, which determines Reporting Standard SRS 703.0 Fees Disclosed (SRS 703.0).
SRS 702.0 commences on 30 September 2013 and applies to reporting periods ending on and after that date.
SRS 700.0 and SRS 703.0 commence on 31 December 2013 and apply to reporting days falling on or after that date.
- 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 are used internally to assist APRA’s supervisory functions and by 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 2012, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) was amended to introduce MySuper (a diversified superannuation product for contributions where the member has not made a choice of fund or product) by the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Act 2012. At this time, the Act was amended to extend APRA’s existing powers to collect data under the Act and to impose 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).
The reporting standards will enable APRA to meet its new legislative obligations (including to publish MySuper data under new section 348A[1] of the SIS Act and to strengthen its prudential oversight of the superannuation industry. The reforms 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.
The Corporations Regulations 2001 (Corporations Regulations) were amended in 2013 to include new requirements relating to product dashboards and product disclosure statements (PDSs) for MySuper products.[2] The provisions relating to the MySuper product dashboard make reference to reporting standards relating to MySuper products for the purposes of specifying some of the detail underlying the calculation methodologies for the dashboard.
The operation of s. 29QC of the SIS Act means that APRA’s definitions apply in the context of other RSE licensee disclosure obligations. APRA’s reporting requirements must, therefore, be consistent with the required content of PDSs for MySuper products as specified in the 2013 amendments to the Corporations Regulations.
2. Purpose and operation of the instrument
The purpose of making the instruments is to introduce new reporting standards in relation to RSE licensees in order to 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 implementation of the Government’s Stronger Super reforms requires substantive changes to the reporting requirements for RSE licensees. APRA also intends to take the opportunity to make improvements to the reporting requirements of RSE licensees by implementing a number of changes to enhance APRA’s superannuation statistical publications.
The new reporting standards and associated reporting forms are issued under the Act. The collection of data under the new superannuation reporting requirements is staggered over the period from 30 September 2013 to 31 December 2013.
The requirements in SRS 702.0 include items requiring look-through reporting in reliance on subsections 13(4A) to (4C) of the Act.[3] Consequently, notification requirements apply under subsection (3B) where assets of an RSE licensee (or assets derived from such assets) are invested, and the party investing those assets must provide information about those investments and the fees and costs associated with those investments.
3. Consultation
APRA has consulted extensively on the proposed reporting standards since the beginning of 2012, including:
- preliminary consultation undertaken in early 2012 with a small number of external users including large administrators, custodians, accounting firms and RSE licensees;
- release of a discussion paper, Reporting standards for superannuation (September 2012), outlining the main areas proposed to be addressed in the proposed suite of reporting standards (including those relating to the product dashboard, investment performance and the disclosure of fees). APRA received 29 submissions on this discussion paper;
- release of a further discussion package in July 2013 outlining changes to SRS 700.0, SRS 702.0 and SRS 703.0 since previously released versions. APRA received 13 submissions on this discussion package;
- industry seminars in major capital cities in September/October 2012 and January/February 2013 and 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 affected by the reporting standards, including RSE licensees, industry bodies, professional bodies and service providers.
4. Regulation Impact Statement
APRA prepared a Regulation Impact Statement which has been lodged as supporting material.
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 Nos. 92, 98 and 99 of 2013
These Legislative Instruments are 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 introduce new reporting standards in relation to RSE licensees in order to 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.
Human rights implications
APRA has assessed the Legislative Instruments 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 of relevance to the Legislative Instruments.
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 Legislative Instruments will facilitate the disclosure of specific information provided to APRA by RSE licensees in accordance with certain reporting standards. The information required by the reporting standards is either information that is otherwise publicly disclosed or is information about financial products. As the reporting standards do not require the submission of personal information, there are no human rights implications.
Consequently, the Legislative Instruments do 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 Legislative Instruments are compatible with human rights.
[1] Section 348A is inserted by Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Further MySuper and Transparency Measures) Act 2012.
[2] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2013L01246
[3] Subsections 13(4A) to (4C) of the Act are inserted by Item 29 of Schedule 3 to the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Further MySuper and Transparency Measures) Act 2012, effective 1 July 2013.