Financial Services Minister takes over CDR rule making

The Consumer Data Right (CDR), the regime which gives consumers greater access to, and control of, their data in a bid to help them compare and switch between products and services, has officially been handed over from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to the Treasury.

The rule-making function for the CDR – which currently only applies to banking – has now been passed to Senator Jane Hume, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy.

With this shift, accountability for development and advice on the rules and for assessing future sectors has moved from the ACCC to Treasury, along with overarching leadership and responsibility for the Consumer Data Right program.

The ACCC stated that “functional reallocation, which also includes the transfer of the Data Standards Body (DSB) from CSIRO to Treasury, will support a streamlined and unified approach to the development and implementation of Consumer Data Right policy, rules and standards”.

“To reflect the shift in accountabilities, members of the ACCC rules, framework development and communications teams will move to Treasury. Treasury will develop a whole of CDR program management office, and the DSB will commence discussions with the ACCC in relation to the DSB setting standards for the register as well as data standards,” it said.

Jodi Ross, who has been most recently in the role of acting general manager, CDR policy engagement and compliance at the ACCC, has transferred to Treasury and will continue to be involved in developing the CDR rules.

In Treasury, Ms Ross will take up the position of acting assistant secretary, CDR Regulatory Frameworks, working in the Consumer Data Right division with Kate O’Rourke (first assistant secretary) and Jessica Robinson (assistant secretary, CDR Policy, governance and engagement).

The ACCC thanked the CDR rules, framework development teams and communications teams, and Jodi Ross, for their “very significant contribution to the successful development of the Consumer Data Right”, adding that it “looks forward to continuing to work with them and the broader Treasury team”.

The ACCC will continue to be responsible for accreditation of data recipients, registration and onboarding of data-holders and data recipients, compliance and enforcement (together with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

It will also continue to lead on the designing, developing and running the Register and Accreditation Application Platform (RAAP) that supports secure sharing of data between participants, and for the conformance test suite for participants.

“Treasury, the ACCC and DSB have worked closely to implement these changes, and have, together with OIAC, a collaborative and coordinated partnership to deliver an ambitious Consumer Data Right agenda,” it said.

The ACCC also announced that CDR turnkey compliance company Adatree and major bank Commonwealth Bank of Australia, have now been accepted as accredited data recipients, taking the number of accredited data recipients to 10.

[Related: Ezidox becomes CDR recipient]