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Technical Working Group Minutes 26 June 2019

Attendee list

ChairDaniel Hunt
Members

APRA

  • Daniel Hunt, Business Leader, DCS
  • Natalia Aziz, DCS & EDW Change Manager
  • Matt Berry, IT Technical Consultant 

Industry

  • Koustubh Bandyopadhyay, CBA Wealth (Superannuation) 
  • Hitesh Rathi, Westpac (Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions) 
  • Stanley Breskin, TAL (Life Insurance) 
  • Saket Narayan, ASIC (Partner Agency)
  • Prashant Shetty, IAG (General Insurance)
  • Matthew Rea, Link Group (Superannuation)
Guests
  • Martine Hall, Vizor Software
  • James Burke, Vizor Software
  • Matthew Artz, HAMBS (Private Health Insurance)
Apologies
  • Bai Lu, UBS (ADI)
  • Rebecca Lush, HAMBS (Private Health Insurance) 
  • David Crow, SCU (ADI)
  • Glen Lapham, Medibank Private (Private Health Insurance) 
Date26 June 2019
LocationAPRA Office, Sydney, and by video conference, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide

Decisions Made

N/A

Action List (New or Carried forward) 

No.ActionWhoBy when
310119.1APRA to provide 'Key messages' for TWG members to share DCS updates with their industry.Daniel Hunt15 February 2019 (and then ongoing)
260619.1APRA to advise which user in an entity is contacted during the query process.Daniel HuntAs soon as practicable
260619.1Circulate the list of requested submission forms for APRA to obtain sample submission files from entities.Daniel Hunt5/7/19
260619.3Circulate the list of SVWG members with the TWG. Daniel Hunt5/7/19

Closed action items

No.ActionWhoBy when
 N/A  

1. Meeting objectives and priorities

Daniel Hunt welcomed members of the group and confirmed the meeting objectives.

2. Adoption of minutes and matters arising

The minutes of the April 2019 TWG meeting were agreed.

Action 310119.1 - APRA confirmed that key messages following each TWG meeting will be provided.

3. New Data Collection Solution 

DCS demonstration

Vizor Software presented a demonstration of the standard out-of-the-box solution from the perspective of an entity submitting a return. 

The demonstration included:

  • A standard authentication process, which is a multifactor authentication using a text message. This will be customised for APRA, and the intent is that the authentication process used in the external test environment will be the same as the process used for go-live;
  • An overview of the process to log in, identify outstanding returns and submit returns;
  • How an entity can submit data using manual entry or by uploading a file, such as XBRL;
  • A walkthrough of the validation and query process for entities, and
  • A demonstration of how communication between APRA and the entities will be captured within the solution itself, rather than following the current process of communicating offline via email.  

APRA advised that Vizor’s off-the-shelf solution will be configured to meet APRA’s needs, and the intention is to minimise the impact to the submission process at go-live. Returns in the new solution will accept data via manual entry and in file formats available in D2A today, including XML and XBRL, as long as the file extensions match the file format itself. 

The TWG were pleased with the look of the new solution and highlighted the intuitiveness of the interface. The TWG suggested that it would be helpful if the resubmission audit trail included functionality to show tracked changes. The TWG asked about the system configuration that determines which user in an entity will receive the notification regarding a query from APRA, given some entities will have multiple different teams submitting data via the new solution. APRA will consider these points and intends to address this feedback shortly, when further information regarding user roles is communicated. 

Technical information

APRA shared the browsers and browser versions that will be supported by the new solution. The TWG asked for more information regarding which Windows operating system will be supported. APRA intends to provide this information as part of the broader release of technical specifications for the solution. 

External test environment form rollout

The objective for the external test environment is to enable users to become familiar with the solution and feel confident in submitting data, ahead of go-live. APRA advised that the returns for each industry will be made available in the test environment in a series of phases over the course of a few months, with the first phase likely including only one return per industry. 

A number of factors were considered when determining which returns would be available in the first release of the test environment. APRA aimed to select a series of returns that would capture the breadth of complexities, entity coverage and submission time-frame. The rest of the returns will be included in subsequent phases and the test environment will be fully production-like before go-live. 

4. DCS Project next steps

The date for the next TWG meeting is TBC. 

APRA requested the TWG to share sample submission files with test data. These files will be used as part of APRA’s analysis of existing submission methods and to help minimise changes and impacts ahead of go-live. APRA also requested the TWG to review the current list of nominees for the SVWG and advise if there are any other vendors that should be included. 

Action: APRA to share a list of the requested submission forms with the TWG.

Action: APRA to share the list of SVWG nominees.