meta_id 3395530

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) published guidance clarifying its expectations for reporting points of presence under Reporting Standard ARS 796.0 points of presence (ARS 796), with emphasis on co-located face-to-face service channels operated by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs). APRA's points of presence reporting framework aims to ensure consistent and accurate representation of physical banking service channels provided across Australia. As ADIs increasingly operate multiple face-to-face service channels within shared premises, APRA issued specific guidance to support consistent and reliable reporting across the industry. The reporting standard focuses on physical presence and service channels provided, rather than location alone. For non-co-located face-to-face service channels, APRA expects separate reporting where channels are located in different geographic locations, or where multiple channels operate within the same geographic location but are not co-located. This includes circumstances where service channels operate within the same building on different floors with separate customer entrances; each is considered a distinct point of presence and should be reported separately. For co-located face-to-face service channels, APRA expects multiple points of presence within the same geographic location to be reported as a single point of presence. If a branch is co-located with one or more other face-to-face service channels, the point of presence should be reported as a branch. If more than one other face-to-face service channel is co-located, ADIs should report a single "other face-to-face" point of presence. APRA expects ADIs to apply this guidance consistently and review existing reporting practices to ensure alignment with these expectations and maintain accuracy and comparability of data across the industry.