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On May 18, 2026, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) issued Banking (prudential standard) determination No. 6 of 2026 under the Banking Act 1959 . It establishes updated rules for how certain Australian banks and financial institutions must publicly report their financial health and risk metrics. The new standard revokes the The standard strictly applies to locally incorporated Significant Financial Institutions (SFIs) and authorised Non-Operating Holding Companies (NOHCs), and not to foreign ADIs, non-SFIs, or purchased payment facility providers. Reporting is required on both a Level 1 (standalone institution) and Level 2 (consolidated group) basis, though group structures generally report at Level 2 to avoid double-ups. APRA mandates that public data must meet five core principles: Clear: Understandable to stakeholders (investors, analysts, and customers) using simple language and structured formatting. Comprehensive: Covering all main activities, significant risks, and qualitative management strategies. Meaningful: Highlighting current and emerging risks while cutting out redundant or obsolete data. Consistent: Allowing stakeholders to track trends across reporting periods. Comparable: Formatted so users can easily compare metrics across different banks and jurisdictions. The standard necessitates some internal controls, including: Institutions must have a formal disclosure policy approved by their Board. An accountable person under the Financial Accountability Regime must formally attest in writing that disclosures comply with company policy. APRA reserves the right to force an independent audit of an institution's disclosures if they suspect the data is misleading. Presentation requirements include: Institutions must maintain a dedicated, easily identifiable "Regulatory Disclosures" section on their website. Data must be provided as a standalone document alongside a CSV or Excel file to allow analysts to download and manipulate the quantitative data. A minimum 12-month digital archive of past disclosures must be publicly accessible. Public reporting must happen concurrently with the lodging of financial reports under the Corporations Act. Rather than inventing an entirely new framework, APRA adopts the international Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) Standard. However, the standard also introduces specific Australian modifications to make the global rules fit the local context: All references to Euros in the international standard must be converted to Australian Dollars using a flat multiplier factor of 1.5. Banks must swap out international terms for definitions aligned with Australian standards (e.g., using "non-performing exposures" instead of "defaulted exposures" per APS 220). Australian banks must separately disclose the credit risk exposures of any prudentially regulated New Zealand banking subsidiaries. Institutions can bypass certain global Tier 1 Capital disclosure rows, treating those references strictly as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Capital instead. Banks do not have to follow the BCBS market risk template. Instead, they must provide specific qualitative and quantitative tables outlined by APRA on a semi-annual basis, covering things like Interest Rate Risk and Stressed Value-at-Risk (VaR). SFIs utilizing the minimum liquidity holdings approach under domestic standard APS 210 are exempt from global Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) templates. This new prudential standard revokes the 2024 version, and is effective as of January 1, 2027.

On May 18, 2026, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) issued Banking (prudential standard) determination No. 6 of 2026 under the Banking Act 1959. The determination came into force on the date of issue and is administered by the Department of the Treasury. The legislative instrument (reference F2026L00591) establishes prudential standards applicable to authorised deposit-taking institutions regulated by APRA. Prudential standard determinations set out specific requirements that banks must meet to maintain financial soundness, manage risks effectively, and protect depositors. These determinations typically address areas including capital adequacy, liquidity management, operational risk, governance frameworks, and reporting obligations. The determination applies to all APRA-regulated banks and authorised deposit-taking institutions that fall within its scope. The instrument is binding and enforceable, requiring affected institutions to comply with the standards outlined within the determination or face regulatory action. The full text of Banking (prudential standard) determination No. 6 of 2026 is available on the Federal Register of Legislation. Banks and deposit-taking institutions should review the determination to understand their obligations and ensure compliance with the new or amended prudential standards it establishes. Institutions may need to adjust their risk management frameworks, reporting processes, or operational procedures to align with the requirements set out in the determination. REFERENCES: Federal Register of Legislation: Banking (prudential standard) determination No. 6 of 2026 https://www.legislation.gov.au/