Policy Update - April #1
Senate passes Digital ID legislation
The the Digital ID Bill currently before Parliament has now passed the Senate, following 27 Government amendments and 16 amendments by the Greens.
A key amendment made to the Bill was the introduced phased timeframe of opening up the digital ID scheme to the private sector entities, which has been reduced from four to two years. The amended Bill will now return to the House of Representatives in the next sitting period.
New Senate Committee inquiry on AI
The Senate has established a new Select Committee for Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to inquire into the opportunities and impacts arising out of the uptake of AI technologies in Australia.
The committee has called for written submissions by 10 May 2024 and plans to table a final report in September.
New Merger laws mooted
The Government has announced it will strengthen the ACCC's powers to vet merger and acquisition transactions.
A new mandatory regime for seeking approval and ACCC clearance will be introduced, replacing the existing voluntary informal regime. Paired with this major change will be clearer timelines for the ACCC's reviews and new fees for merger clearance applications.
We expect the changes are unlikely to impact most fintech transactions and thresholds will be set (likely to be based on turnover, profitability, or transaction value) to exclude smaller and non high risk transactions from the new requirements.
FinTech Australia makes submission to NSW Innovation Blueprint consultation
Investment NSW recently consulted on the development of a new Innovation Blueprint to guide the NSW Government's future approach to promoting innovation.
Our submission recommended a focus on:
Prioritising fintech as a priority area for NSW led initiatives, including grant programs and direct support.
Expanding initiatives to increase the amount and diversity of funding available to startups and scaleups.
Supporting innovation industry events.
Continuing support for innovation networks and spaces (e.g. Startup Hubs, Innovation Precincts and Accelerator Programs).
Expanding trade, investment and internationalisation support.
Broadening NSW Government procurement processes to engage more SMEs, including fintech and regtech businesses.
We recently made submissions on:
Payments System Modernisation (Regulation of Payment Service Providers) consultation paper
Reforms to the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 – Exposure draft legislation consultation
CDR Consent Review and operational enhancements design papers
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.
