FinTech Voice, October 26, 2022
Dear community,On Tuesday night the Government handed down the Federal Budget. We are pleased to see the Government deliver on its election commitments as well as its support for tech talent, leadership and training. There were however no big wins for fintechs and start-ups.There is another Federal Budget around the corner and FinTech Australia is hopeful of targeted measures that will support our maturing fintech sector, including expansions to R&D and investor incentives and funding for initiatives to help fintechs expand abroad. See Policy advocacy section for more information on key measures.We recently announced the restructuring of our policy working groups. The restructure will consolidate our existing working groups to increase member engagement on policy. Giving you a shared voice in shaping policy regulation will continue to remain a key priority for the organisation.Our next big announcement is the outcomes of the EY FinTech Australia Census on November 2. Hear from our guest speaker, The Hon Ed Husic MP and an industry panel of leaders on their reaction to the insights.Policy work has ramped up significantly. See below section for more information on the current consultations we are working on.For any queries and support, please reach out to us.Regards,Rehan D’Almeida,General Manager,FinTech Australia
Federal Budget released
Tuesday's Federal Budget had a strong focus on the Government's commitments around housing, aged care and childcare.As with the broader tech sector, Australian fintechs are experiencing a talent shortage and we welcome the additional funding for the Department of Home Affairs to increase visa processing capacity and to raise awareness of opportunities for high-skilled migrants.Although we would like to see additional support for small businesses, the funding to support the financial and mental wellbeing of small business owners is timely given tough market conditions.Key Budget measures:Tech training$50.0 million to establish a TAFE Technology Fund and around 180,000 fee-free TAFE and vocational education places will be delivered in 2023 in areas of highest skills.Visa processing$42.2 million over two years for the Department of Home Affairs to increase visa processing capacity and raise awareness of opportunities for high-skilled migrants.Small business support$15.1 million to support the financial and mental wellbeing of small business owners.Supporting talent and leadership in science and technology$47.2 million to support the development of talent and leadership in Australian science and technology; $13.5 million to strengthen coordinated policy capability to identify, assess and support Australian development of critical and emerging technologies; $5.8 million over 5 years to support women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) through the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program.Fighting Online Scams$12.6 million to combat scams and online fraud to protect Australians from financial harm, including initial work on the establishment of a National Anti-Scam Centre and expanding arrangements with IDCARE.Funding for modernising business registers program$166.2 million to continue delivery of the Modernising Business Registers program that will consolidate over 30 business registers onto a modernised registry platform.Treasury portfolio fundingAdditional funding to support the delivery of Government priorities in the Treasury portfolio, including to support reviews of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the regulatory framework for managed investment schemes.
Restructure of FinTech Australia Policy Working Groups
We are transitioning to a new, streamlined Policy Working Group structure. The restructure will consolidate our existing working groups to increase member engagement on policy. With fewer but more active working groups, we can bring together more members for regular meetings and drive a more proactive, forward-looking approach.The new approach is designed to encourage bigger communities and better engagement, regular meetings and less duplication and overlap.The new structure will involve seven core Policy Working Groups and three new Thematic Committees:Policy Working Groups:
- Payments
- Open Data
- Lending
- Crypto, Blockchain and Web3
- Compliance and Privacy
- Wealthtech and Neobanking
- Insurtech
Thematic Committees:
- Cybersecurity
- Capital, Investment and Growth
- Talent and Diversity
If you would like to join a working group or committee, join as a member or corporate partner.
Current consultations
We are currently developing submissions to consultations on:- ASIC Industry Funding Model Discussion Paper;- Senator Bragg's private bill digital assets regulation.We recently made submissions on:- Treasury's draft legislation to enable CDR action initiation;- Treasury's draft enhancements to the CDR Rules;- APRA's draft prudential standard CPS 230 (Operational Risk Management);- The Board of Tax's consultation paper on the tax treatment of crypto assets and transactions.See our recent submissions on our website.
FinTech Australia regularly makes submissions to consultations across a wide range of policy and regulatory issues. Communications about how to get involved in these processes are distributed to our Policy Working Group membership.
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🔍 AusIndustry is hosting a a free information session to learn more about the Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&DTI). This hour long session will introduce you to the R&DTI and guide you through key eligibility requirements. Oct-Nov 2022. For more info, click here🇸🇬Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2022 Join #SFF2022 in the Global Plenary, where speakers will take you on a journey of discovery, challenge your beliefs and help you learn new things. 2-4, Nov, Singapore EXPO. FinTech Australia members enjoy 20% off conference passes (applicable to existing pass rates). Register now: https://bit.ly/3KfqNEr🔍EY FinTech Australia Census 2022 Save The Date is hosting a special webcast to hear the outcomes of the EY FinTech Australia Census 2022, Nov 2, 10:00 am - 11:00 pm. More details to follow.💰Helping Consumers Navigate the Financial Crisis by Boosting Financial Literacy and Responsible Lending Join the webinar and learn more about interest rates and inflation rising and the share market decreasing in Australia and New Zealand, consumers are understandably stressed. Nov 9, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm. Register here.💻Action Initiation and the Future of CDR With the recent release of the draft legislation for the Action Initiation framework, #CDR just got a whole lot more exciting. This webinar is a perfect introduction to the what, the why, and the how of Action Initiation on November 3. Register here.
Don’t miss all the news and insights from our members and corporate partners from our newsroom.
- mSmart announces upgrade of its first product incorporating reverse mortgage income’ in its retirement projections.
- Running off the back of these macro tailwinds bit.leave has launched in Australia after successfully being funded by Antler during their January accelerator program.
- Tanggram has publicly launched its crowd-sourced funding campaign on Australia’s leading crowdfunding platform Birchal.
- DECTA has introduced payment tokenization which empowers the popularity of digital wallets, as recurring and unscheduled payments are becoming part of the on-demand economy in e-commerce.
- Three times as many customers of M.J. Bale’s online store associated the menswear brand with sustainability after it launched Offset to Earn, BetaCarbon’s new sustainability customer engagement and acquisition tool in October.
- Frollo found that Australians’ monthly spending on items classified as ‘essential’, like rent or mortgage, groceries, insurance, fuel and medical, has increased by 19% in the last 12 months.
- Consumer data right brand Biza.io has appointed Rob Hale as its chief technology officer.
- Shift, a provider of credit and payments platforms that help businesses trade, pay and access funds, has expanded its leadership team with two senior appointments.
- Moneyme is on the front foot as Aussie finance companies scramble for tech lead over peers
