APRA responds to feedback on proposed approach to data collection

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has responded to the feedback on its proposal to set a five-year roadmap for transforming its approach to collecting financial industry data from more than 2,000 APRA-regulated entities.

APRA aims to complete the transition of APRA Connect, its new data collection system, by 2027 to fully decommission the Direct to APRA (D2A) data collection tool.

In its response paper, APRA confirmed that it had engaged with the financial industry through roundtables and received written submissions, including a commitment to:

• Providing more detailed roadmaps for the intended design and implementation of new collections for each industry;
• Working with the industry to develop a targeted framework supporting data quality outcomes for more granular collections; and
• Working with insurers and other APRA-regulated entities through strategic and technical working groups to support the planning, design, and implementation of future collection roadmaps and taking a co-design approach to the design of collections.

“The proposed shift to more granular collections will enable APRA and all other stakeholders to benefit from deeper insights while ultimately reducing the burden for the industry. Our data collection roadmap is ambitious and will require significant investment from the industry to achieve this transformation over the next five years,” said APRA Deputy Chair Helen Rowell.

Early this year, APRA released a discussion paper to set out its changing approach to data collection, the rationale for these changes, and an outline of the implementation roadmap for each industry, specifically life insurance, general insurance, private health insurance, superannuation, and banking.