Understanding the Financial Services Industry Regulatory Environment for Australia

An introduction to the compliance and regulatory environment for the Australian banking, credit lender, insurance and superannuation providers operating in global markets.

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The current regulatory environment

Financial services is one of the most regulated industries when it comes to cybersecurity, consumer protection, and the technology that keeps it all moving.

That regulation reflects the significance of the sector to the Australian economy¹; financial services are critical to a national post-pandemic recovery For regulated entities, compliance with industry regulations is more than staying on the right side of the law.

Across banking, credit lenders, insurance and superannuation, Canon Business Services' inhouse Governance and Compliance team supports 30+ financial services clients to manage their IT environment - to protect data, customers, and your reputation.

Trust the financial services compliance and performance specialists aligned with APRA, ASIC, ISO 27001, ACSC Essential 8 and regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Is your IT stack leaving you vulnerable or protected?

Snapshot: Australian financial sector

Australia's financial services sector is the largest contributor to the national economy²

Directly employs ~450,000 people³
Market size = $196bn⁴
Businesses = 49,661⁵
Cyberattacks on Australian financial system are rated as a substantial risk⁶

How we’re supporting leading financial services brands

Pepper Money: “In our industry, security is more than an expectation – it’s the ticket to the game.”

“Canon Business Services has played a crucial role in ensuring we can continue to stand in front of customers, brokers and investors and demonstrate that we take security, risk and compliance very seriously. Our mission is to help people succeed. This is the view we have taken for the past 20 years and will continue to take with us into the future.”

Jeremy Francis, CIO, Pepper Money

Unity Bank: “We’ve relied on Canon Business Services throughout to help us maintain our operations.”

“APRA not only expect you will make sure you maintain software, they also expect you to be looking for continuous improvement and economies of scale using technology. Even if the regulator wasn’t there we can’t operate on end of life software because it’s no longer secure.”

David Willcox, CIO, Unity Bank

Get in touch

Talk to us today to optimise your operations.

Business-critical compliance driving change

Whether you're a bank, credit lender, insurance provider, or a superannuation fund - being part of a regulated industry demands attention to meet compliance standards across a range of regulators. Here’s a snapshot of the key regulations, regulators and compliance for Australian financial services.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) cross-industry prudential standard for the management of information security - including information asset management by third party providers.

Who needs to comply:
APRA-regulated entities including banks, credit lenders, insurers, and superannuation funds.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has regulatory powers over corporations, managed investment schemes, the financial services industry, and credit activities under Commonwealth laws including the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act) and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act).

Who needs to comply:
Corporations and companies specified under the Acts.

Developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Essential 8 is a series of prioritised baseline strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents - customised based on organisational maturity and risk profile. Who needs to comply: companies working under the condition of E8 compliance, companies who want best-practice compliance and security.

Who needs to comply:
Companies working under the condition of E8 compliance, companies who want best-practice compliance and security.

Global organisations of any size can choose to be certified to ISO/IEC 27001. The Standard provides requirements for an information security management system (ISMS) and delivers best-practice benefits as well as securing your reputation for compliance and security.

Who needs to comply:
Not compulsory - companies who want best-practice compliance and security.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU data privacy and security law for global organisations. Penalties apply for companies who breach specific privacy and security standards.

Who needs to comply:
Companies who collect data, supply goods and services, or monitor individual behaviour in the EU. Different compliance applies based on being a data controller or data processor.

Developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), SOC 2 is an auditing procedure you may apply to your suppliers, or be asked to meet as part of your own contracts regarding secure data management that ensures privacy protection for your organisation and your customers. The framework uses 5 trust service principles for managing customer data: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.

Who needs to comply:
SOC 2 compliance is not a legal or regulatory requirement in Australia - but it is a security compliance expectation for most companies storing client information in the cloud.

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is a global forum founded by key payment industry stakeholders. The Council’s standards for safe worldwide payments fall under 6 key goals:

Build and maintain a secure network
Protect cardholder data
Maintain a vulnerability management program
Implement strong access control measures
Regularly monitor and test networks
Maintain an information security policy

Who needs to comply:
Companies working under the condition of E8 compliance, companies who want best-practice compliance and security.

Your top 3 financial imperatives

1. Secure compliance

Win the race to keep up with regulatory change

Stay compliant with evolving regulations and get their faster than your competitors
Partner with IT specialists to manage complexity and costs
Manage your legal and commercial risks - including valid accreditations

2. Resilience and trust

Optimise operations in a challenging environment

Adopt a customer-first mindset and pull in feedback across channels on what customers want beyond compliance
Work with your own teams to solve challenges and find opportunities in change
Use your security protections and profile to build trust and brand advocacy

3. Transformation

Delivery of agile, secure customer experiences

Stay focused on growth and transformation through change
Identify and simplify gaps or friction in the customer experience
Prioritise security of customer connections - compliance trumps convenience

Where are the key risks?

In a digital-first world, consumer expectations for both service and security are higher than ever. Using compliant systems empowers your team to create change - and keep up with the modern finance customer.

Maintaining cybersecurity standards as business models change
Lack of employee awareness of ransomware, phishing and account compromise
Leveraging technology like AI and low-code platforms to meet demands for digital transformation

Harnessing the opportunities of financial sector challenges

Banking

Challenge
Meeting customer needs in a challenging operating environment

Opportunity
Deliver online and mobile services using smarter tech infrastructure

Superannuation

Challenge
Higher member engagement via early access schemes

Opportunity
Seamless and flexible super access and choice of products and services

Credit lending

Challenge
Keeping up with evolving cybersecurity regulations

Opportunity
Simplify compliance with trusted IT partners

How the right IT helps you grow

Integrated systems to boost internal security efficiency
Simplified compliance to reduce your risk profile
Meet customer expectations for privacy, payments and services
Secure cross-border data exchanges for global reach
Better data asset management and analysis to pinpoint opportunities for growth
Responsive to evolving threats to shut down sophisticated attacks
Empower your people and your customers to safely use mobile technologies
Seamless IT builds trust that your brand is compliant

Finance tech stack solutions

Balance business goals with compliance and performance: Canon Business Services professional services consultancy

Our experienced engineers have delivered secure, compliant and high performance IT environments for hundreds of regulated Australian businesses. Creating comprehensive, end to end solutions that align with customer and staff needs, and broader business goals.

1. Secure and Powerful Private Cloud

Private Cloud powers rich customer experiences and performance without compromising compliance, data protection, or security. Performance meets protection with Australia’s next generation private cloud - purpose built for highly regulated industries like financial services.

PCI compliance – meet governance and compliance needs
27001 certification – swap risk for peace of mind
APRA prudential guidelines – free up time, talent and budgets
GDPR aligned – best practice customer data management
Annual certification audits – stay ahead of the pack

Supported by Cisco

2. High performance Hybrid Cloud

Our own CloudMetro combines with Azure Public Cloud to deliver a high performing hybrid cloud environment that you can manage through our intuitive Cloud Management Platform; workloads and applications sit in the right environment to meet data, business performance, and protection requirements.

3. Endpoint Security Services

Secure Endpoint Services detect, provision, deploy, update, and troubleshoot your organisation’s endpoint devices — as part of a multi-layered security strategy.

4. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) provides a unified view of your security profile and supports compliance, privacy and productivity through defence from malicious attacks.