Australia’s financial regulators are simplifying administration under the Financial Accountability Regime after consultation drew strong industry backing for cutting unnecessary compliance steps. The final changes take effect from today and are expected to reduce reporting requirements across all accountable entities and about 4,500 accountable people.
Highlights
- ASIC and APRA's final FAR guidance removes the need to report key functions and no longer requires accountability maps to identify direct reports to accountable persons.
- Regulators estimate the reforms will reduce the number of accountability map updates by half for regulated entities, offering significant compliance relief without changing FAR obligations.
- Up to 2,000 existing licensees will benefit from ASIC's October 2026 changes, which cut evidence-of-competence requirements for responsible managers who are also accountable persons.
Final guidance removes two reporting requirements
As reported by ASIC, the final guidance removes the requirement to report key functions for the FAR register and drops the need for accountability maps to identify who reports directly to an accountable person.The regulators say the changes provide meaningful relief for regulated entities, with ASIC and APRA estimating the reforms will halve the number of updates to accountability maps. Accountability obligations for FAR-regulated entities and accountable persons remain unchanged.
ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke says industry feedback supports simpler FAR administration, while APRA Deputy Chair Therese McCarthy Hockey says the reforms are part of broader efforts to reduce regulatory burden without weakening the flow of information needed for supervision.
Broader compliance relief across financial services
Some submissions to the consultation also call for wider changes, including clearer thresholds for notifying ASIC and APRA about changes in accountability. The regulators say those issues sit outside the current reform package, but may inform future regulatory or legislative changes.The FAR changes complement other streamlining work across the sector. APRA has recently consulted on removing reporting requirements under its fit and proper regime to reduce duplication with FAR reporting, while ASIC says its October 2026 changes for Australian financial services licensees cut evidence-of-competence requirements for responsible managers who are also accountable persons, with about 2,000 existing licensees set to benefit.
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