Australia’s prudential regulator has put a new bank-licensing framework into immediate effect, replacing two application routes with a single pathway for locally incorporated authorised deposit-taking institutions.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said on 10 November that outcomes-based licensing criteria now have legal effect, while separate guidelines explain how applicants may demonstrate compliance. The evidentiary burden will remain proportionate to an applicant’s size, complexity, strategy and risk profile.
Applicants will have up to 12 months after lodging a formal application and paying the fee to satisfy the minimum criteria. Once APRA considers an application substantially complete, the regulator aims to decide it within 90 days.
The change also discontinues the Restricted ADI pathway introduced in 2018. APRA concluded that the route had limited uptake and did not operate as simply or effectively as intended. The regulator says the new process is designed to improve predictability and competition without lowering the prudential threshold for authorisation.
Read APRA’s final framework announcement
