The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) today issued a discussion paper on a proposed online breach reporting system for dual-regulated institutions.

The proposed system aims to simplify the process for regulated institutions to report breaches and reduce breach reporting duplication faced by those institutions regulated by both APRA and ASIC. The superannuation industry is already using an online system to report breaches to APRA. The proposed system will:

• enable all APRA-regulated institutions - authorised deposit-taking institutions, general insurers, life insurance companies, friendly societies and superannuation licensees - to report breaches to APRA online; and
• enable those institutions regulated by both APRA and ASIC to report online breach notifications required to be lodged with both regulators through a single breach report to APRA, thereby eliminating the requirement for jointly regulated institutions to provide separate breach reports for the same incident to both regulators.

APRA member, Mr John Trowbridge, said APRA and ASIC are working closely to reduce the breach reporting burden for dual-regulated institutions and improve supervisory effectiveness.

"This online system will allow all APRA-regulated institutions to report breaches in an efficient and low-cost way. Additionally, it will save them the requirement to report breaches separately to both regulators", he said.

ASIC Deputy Chairman, Mr Jeremy Cooper said "the cooperation between APRA and ASIC on this initiative demonstrates the joint regulatory effort to achieve better outcomes for regulated entities".

"Breach notifications provide APRA and ASIC with valuable information to help identify emerging trends or issues, as well as alerting APRA and ASIC to specific breaches of the law," he added.

The proposal follows the recent passage through Parliament of the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Regulation and Review) Act 2007. The Act introduces a consistent definition of reportable breaches across all institutions in APRA-regulated industries and all ASIC-regulated Australian Financial Services licensees.

APRA and ASIC invite interested parties to comment on the proposals by 31 October 2007. The discussion paper is available on the APRA website at http://www.apra.gov.au/Policy/Home.cfm and the ASIC website at www.asic.gov.au.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the prudential regulator of the financial services industry. It oversees banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry. APRA is funded largely by the industries that it supervises. It was established on 1 July 1998. APRA currently supervises institutions holding approximately $3 trillion in assets for 21 million Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.

Media and industry inquiries only:
Stuart Snell, Head of Public Affairs
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
Telephone: 02 9210 3384
Mobile: 0407 250 276

All other inquiries:
APRA Contact Centre 1300 131 060.