The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has delayed its program to replace APRA’s Direct to APRA (D2A) data collection tool with APRA Connect, in light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) threat.
 
“Alongside other financial regulators, APRA has examined how the timing of regulatory initiatives might be adjusted to allow financial institutions to concentrate on their businesses and assist their customers as they adjust to the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19),” the prudential regulator said in a statement. “The temporary suspension of the APRA Connect project will provide some relief to entities and ensure flexibility for resourcing of work to ensure the financial resilience of entities and the provision of ongoing customer service.”

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APRA said it expects the temporary hold to last at least six months and will delay all APRA Connect go live dates by at least this timeframe. Entities will continue to use Direct to APRA and other current reporting channels.