APRA’s 2026-27 Corporate Plan is built around three strategic objectives. These reflect our statutory responsibilities, the Government’s Statement of Expectations and our assessment of the key risks facing the financial system.

Strategic objectives accessible version

The first two objectives focus on maintaining financial safety and stability while minimising unnecessary regulatory burden. Under these objectives, APRA has outlined its specific policy, supervision and data initiatives planned for the next 12 to 24 months. Entities should read these priorities in conjunction with their entity-specific supervisory programs, which are calibrated to their Tier and Stage. 

In developing this plan, we have worked closely with other regulators to improve efficiency and reduce duplication. This year, we will work alongside the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on reviews of small business lending practices and in streamlining certain aspects of the Financial Accountability Regime. We will continue to look for opportunities for regulatory cooperation using the Regulatory Initiatives Grid.

Our third strategic objective is internally facing – it is focused on improving our own organisational effectiveness. As the operating environment becomes more challenging, it is critical that we expand our skills, increase our agility and invest in new ways of working. APRA too needs to be ready to face a more uncertain and dynamic operating environment. 

While this plan sets out our current priorities, these may evolve as new risks emerge. During the year, we will communicate our views on emerging risks through publications such as the System Risk Outlook. 

With risks remaining heightened, we expect regulated entities to act quickly in strengthening their resilience. APRA retains a strong appetite to increase the intensity of its supervision to address inadequate practices, and to take formal enforcement action against entities or individuals, particularly where risks are material or there is a lack of cooperation.

To ensure that APRA-regulated entities remain resilient in an environment of rising risks, we are prioritising five prudential outcomes in 2026-27. This year, we will work with industry, government and regulatory peers to:

• strengthen operational resilience in response to AI and cyber risks
• strengthen resilience to geopolitical risks
• ensure the system is prepared for severe stress
• improve outcomes for superannuation members
• prepare for a new payments role

Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management (CPS 230) commenced on 1 July 2025, establishing stronger requirements for APRA-regulated entities to manage operational risk, maintain critical operations through disruption and strengthen oversight of material service providers.1 While CPS 230 has strengthened operational risk management, risks continue to evolve and entities must keep pace. This year, entities should expect more frequent and deeper engagement from APRA on cyber and AI risks in our supervisory interactions. APRA expects that entities will be readily able to demonstrate how risks are being managed.

This year, we will continue to strengthen resilience to geopolitical risks at both the entity and system level. Our focus is on risks that could stem from international tensions, such as trade disruptions, sanctions, grey-zone activities and conflicts. 

Amid a highly uncertain economic outlook, it is important that regulated entities are prepared for a broad range of shocks, including those where multiple risks could crystalise simultaneously. This year, we will be increasing our focus on contingency planning to ensure that the financial system can continue to play its role in absorbing, rather than amplifying, the impact of any severe downturn or disruption.

APRA will maintain strong regulatory oversight of superannuation trustees. Our priorities aim to ensure that trustees are conducting their affairs prudently and meeting the reasonable expectations of members, in line with the requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) and APRA’s prudential framework. 

The Government is currently consulting on reforms that would give APRA new responsibilities for the prudential regulation of large stored-value facility (SVF) providers, including tokenised SVFs. Smaller providers would remain solely under ASIC oversight. 

To prepare for this role, APRA is developing a new prudential framework for large SVF providers and working with ASIC on joint guidance to support implementation. APRA plans to publicly consult on its new proposed prudential framework once legislation is finalised – the timing of this is subject to Government. We will also need to establish our approach to supervising and, where necessary, resolving SVF providers. 

More broadly, APRA will be increasing its focus on tokenised finance. Tokenisation has the potential to offer efficiency and transparency benefits, but may also introduce new prudential risks. APRA is engaging with peer regulators to support responsible innovation that could enhance the functioning of the Australian financial system.

APRA's goal is to promote financial safety and stability in the most efficient way possible. This year, we will make certain targeted amendments to our prudential framework to ensure safety and stability is maintained; we will also simplify certain requirements, reduce duplication and free up capacity for lending and investment. Our aim is for these simplification measures to offset the impact of new requirements introduced. In aggregate, the planned policy changes outlined below aim to have a broadly net-neutral impact on regulatory burden.9

This plan seeks to provide transparency on our planned policy work, but the operating environment is rapidly evolving and our priorities may need to adjust in response to emerging risks or new legislative changes. In the event of any reprioritisation, we will engage with industry and other regulators in a timely manner.

Cross-industry 

Governance

We plan to finalise new governance requirements in the first half of 2026-27. The proposed new requirements, currently subject to consultation, aim to reinforce expectations of boards and senior leaders, while reducing duplication and providing greater flexibility. Our preliminary estimates suggests that these changes will be cost neutral overall for industry. APRA plans for the new requirements to come into effect at the start of 2028. 

Financial Accountability Regime 

In the first half of 2026-27, APRA and ASIC will jointly consult on proposed changes to the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR). These changes aim to reduce administrative burden, while maintaining strong accountability standards. The proposed reforms include simpler notification requirements and streamlined accountability maps.

Simplification package 

In the second half of 2026-27, APRA will consult on a simplification package that was co-developed with industry. This package aims to reduce unnecessary complexity in APRA's prudential framework, by removing outdated guidance, improving clarity and addressing practical implementation issues. As part of the consultation, we will also seek ideas for future simplification opportunities. 

Banking

Over the course of 2026-27, we plan to make targeted updates to our capital and liquidity standards for banks. APRA will consult on the package in three stages, as set out below.   

Capital

We plan to finalise targeted changes to the bank capital framework in the first half of 2026-27. These changes aim to reduce regulatory burden while maintaining unquestionably strong capital standards. Our initial estimates suggest that a more risk-sensitive treatment of selected forms of corporate lending could materially increase lending capacity and support business investment. APRA plans for the new requirements to come into effect from 1 April 2027. 

Liquidity

In the first half of 2026-27, we will consult on proposed revisions to liquidity requirements for banks. These reforms aim to strengthen practices for larger banks, while introducing a more risk sensitive approach to determining minimum liquidity holdings for smaller banks. Small banks with more stable funding sources are expected to benefit from moderate cost savings.

Market risk

In the second half of 2026-27, APRA intends to consult on a proposed simplified version of the Basel Committee’s Fundamental Review of the Trading Book standard. This simplified approach will be tailored to Australian conditions, aiming to maintain resilience at a meaningfully lower implementation, and ongoing cost.

Licensing

In the first half of 2026-27, APRA intends to finalise reforms that will simplify and speed up the licensing process. These changes will reduce the time taken to process new bank licence applications by around half. 

Reviewing requirements for non-operating holding companies 

During 2026-27, APRA will be reviewing existing authorisations that apply to banks with non-operating holding companies (NOHC), where these are deemed no longer fit for purpose. Under APRA’s prudential framework, APRA can grant authorisation for individual entities to establish a NOHC structure, subject to certain conditions. 

APRA’s review aims to ensure existing authorisations remain consistent with APRA's current regulatory expectations. While individual review outcomes will not be published, any updates to NOHC authorisations will be made public. APRA expects to substantially complete its review in the second half of 2026-27.  

Summary of APRA’s planned policy changes in 2026-27

Our planned changes to prudential standards are summarised below. These may be subject to further reprioritisation as the risk outlook evolves. 

APRA must continue to improve its organisational effectiveness. The risks we face are becoming more complex, interconnected and fast-moving. To remain an effective regulator, we need to strengthen our capabilities, modernise how we work and improve our agility.

APRA's effectiveness depends on the capability and judgement of its people. This year, we will invest further in leadership, talent and workforce capability to ensure we remain ready for future challenges. We will do this through five connected priority areas: 

• Leadership: We are prioritising targeted development for leaders and senior managers to strengthen leadership capability and effectiveness. 
• Talent and succession: We are creating clearer pathways for emerging talent and early-career professionals, supporting succession planning, growth, mobility and the development of future-critical skills. 
• Skills and capabilities: We are investing in new training programs, building the skills needed to supervise emerging and increasingly complex risks.  
• Performance and remuneration: We are implementing a new remuneration model to strengthen accountability through clearer links between performance and remuneration. 
• Inclusion and diversity: We will continue to strengthen our position as a leading inclusive employer through an updated Inclusion and Diversity strategy that builds on current strengths and supports future ways of working.
   

As a supervisory-led organisation, APRA’s ability to achieve its prudential objectives depends critically on the quality of its supervision. This year, we will continue strengthening our supervisory capability, tools and frameworks to ensure they remain fit for purpose in a changing risk environment. 

• Building supervisory capability: We will continue to develop and refine our supervision training programs, which are at the leading edge of global best practice. To enhance supervisory and industry expertise, this year we will develop a new supervision learning pathway that builds a link between on and off-the-job learning. We will also continue to embed and refine our Supervision Development Centre, which uses scenario-based training to support supervisors in navigating complex challenges. 
• Sharpening our supervision tools: We are developing new supervisory dashboards and advanced analytics to make supervision more data‑driven, proportionate and timely. These tools aim to better enable supervisors to identify risks early, intervene proactively and hold entities to account for timely remediation of issues.
• AI-enabled supervision: Our goal is to become an AI-enabled regulator. We have developed an AI strategy working with industry experts to broaden our thinking and ambition. Our strategy aims to support APRA in: identifying emerging prudential risks earlier; developing and applying timely, high-quality data analysis and insights; increasing our efficiency and effectiveness; and building a deeper understanding of AI use across the financial system. In the first half of 2026-27, we will be developing priority use cases for AI implementation.    
• Renewing our supervisory frameworks and methodology: APRA will review its supervisory frameworks and methodologies to ensure they remain effective in a more complex and uncertain operating environment. Our Supervision and Risk Intensity (SRI) model is the central tool by which all regulated entities are assessed. It is also used to guide APRA’s allocation of its supervisory resources and overall level of supervisory intensity. 

Strong data and secure systems are essential to effective supervision. During 2026-27, we will continue to strengthen our data platforms, governance and cyber security.   

• Implementing a secure cloud-based platform: We are implementing a new cloud-based platform to support both current and future data collections. This platform will significantly enhance data analytics capabilities, delivering deeper and more timely insights. It will also improve data accessibility for supervisors, enabling more timely decision-making.
• Finalising the transition to APRA Connect: We are accelerating our program to transition all APRA’s data collections onto the singular interface of APRA Connect. The new system provides enhanced user experience, performance and security features. APRA estimates long-term savings for industry at approximately $6 million annually.
• Strengthening data governance and data management: We will strengthen further our oversight of data assets and priorities. We will improve data governance while continuing to retire, simplify or share data collections where appropriate.
• Enhancing cyber security and privacy controls: APRA is strengthening its cyber security and privacy practices in alignment with key government frameworks and the Privacy Act. Ongoing improvements to existing controls are focused on safeguarding sensitive information and systems. Priority areas include the Australian Signals Directorate’s ‘Essential Eight’, the Protective Security Policy Framework, and the Australian Privacy Principles.
• Upgrading supervision management systems: To support integrated analytics, streamlined reporting and improved efficiency, APRA is implementing an enhanced supervision management system. The new platform went live in November 2025.

External reviews help benchmark APRA against best practice principles, in line with our vision to be a world class prudential regulator. Over the course of the year, APRA will be subject to two reviews. 

Financial Sector Assessment Program  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently conducting a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) of Australia. The IMF typically conducts this assessment every five years. This is an in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector, which aims to identify vulnerabilities, assess regulatory and supervisory frameworks and make recommendations to enhance financial stability and development. APRA expects the outcome of the IMF’s assessment to be published in the first half of 2026-27. APRA’s 2027-28 Corporate Plan will set out our approach to implementing the IMF’s recommendations. 

Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA)  

The Financial Regulator Assessment Authority’s (FRAA) statutory mandate requires it to assess and report on the effectiveness and capability of ASIC and APRA, every five years. The next review of APRA will commence in 2026-27. Like the FSAP, the FRAA involves an intensive review aimed at identifying opportunities for improvement – the last review involved a public consultation, roundtables, bilateral meetings, an external stakeholder survey, an APRA staff survey, focus groups with staff, interviews with APRA leadership, and an APRA self-assessment. The scope and panel for the review are yet to be determined.

During the first half of 2026-27, we will revise our internal governance committees to drive quicker decision making, stronger accountability and improved leadership agility. We will establish a new organisational effectiveness committee, to replace the existing Management Committee. The organisational effectiveness committee will be the primary forum for overseeing strategic initiatives aimed at improving APRA's effectiveness, efficiency and agility. It will sit alongside APRA’s policy and supervisory committees, as one of the three key pillars of our internal governance arrangements.