Following our October 2019 update on the Consumer Data Right (CDR), Latest developments on the Consumer Data Right, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has finalised and published its first version of the Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data Right) Rules 2020 (CDR Rules). It has also revised the implementation timetable for the CDR as it applies to non-major banks. 

CDR Rules

On 3 February 2020, the ACCC formally published version 1.1 of the CDR Rules. The CDR Rules were made on 4 February and commenced on 6 February, ready for the launch of the CDR in July 2020 (Launch).

The CDR Rules indicate that, besides the legal requirement for the four major banks to share product reference data with accredited data recipients (interest rates, fees and charges, and eligibility criteria for banking products), the Banks will now be expected to be ready to perform their respective consumer data sharing obligations under the CDR. These relate to:

• credit and debit card, and deposit and transaction account data, on and from 1 July 2020; and
• mortgage and personal loan data, on and from November 2020

The ACCC anticipates no additional changes will be made to the CDR Rules, unless critical, before the Launch. 

Revised timetable for non-major banks

The ACCC is also seeking industry views on a proposal to revise the timetable for implementing the CDR for non-major ADIs. The revised timetable proposes that data sharing obligations for all non-major ADI financial products ('Phase 1 to 3' products) commences on and from 1 July 2021, with additional time being proposed to allow those ADIs to ready themselves for the commencement of 'direct to consumer' data sharing obligations.

This is a material departure from the original implementation timetable, that recommended a staggered, twelve monthly commencement regime for each product Phase for non-major ADI products.

To encourage early, voluntary participation, the ACCC has also proposed that non-major ADIs ready to share consumer data in certain Phases, be able to do so from 1 February 2021.

Following industry consultation, the ACCC plans to announce a revised implementation timetable in the first quarter of this year and amend the Rules to reflect this revised timetable.