ASIC’s Regtech Liaison Forum - Meeting 05

12 December 2018

Hosted in ASIC's Sydney and Melbourne offices with sites in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide are connected via video conference.

Read the presentation (PDF 1.5 MB)

ASIC’s Innovation Hub – Perth fintech meet-up

29 November 2018

ASIC will explore various topics, including:

• ASIC's approach to innovation
• The assistance available to fintechs, including resources, tips and pointers for start-ups
• ASIC's experience with fintechs applying for Australian Financial Services Licenses and Credit Licenses
• International engagement and networks
• ASIC's new regtech initiatives
• ICOs and crypto assets.

Helping Australian fintech and regtech startups navigate the regulatory framework

8 November 2018

ASIC hosted a webinar which covered:

• ASIC’s approach to innovation
• The provision informal assistance to innovative businesses
• ASIC’s licensing experience with fintechs
• ASIC fintech licensing exemption to enable concept testing (the ‘regulatory sandbox’)
• Initial Coin Offerings and crypto-assets
• International engagement and networks
• ASIC’s approach to regulatory technology, current trials and upcoming initiatives.

The latest from ASIC's Innovation Hub and APRA

17 October 2018 (Sydney) 11 October 2018 (Melbourne)

A range of speakers discussed ASIC's Innovation Hub and ASIC's experience working with fintech start-ups to date, and how to promote good outcomes and create efficiencies. The audience also heard from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on its experiences and tips for engaging with its Licensing Unit.

Read the presentation (PDF 2 MB)

ASIC's Regtech Liaison Forum - Meeting 04

13 September 2018

ASIC hosted the fourth Regtech Liaison Forum via video conference in ASIC’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. There were regulator updates from ASIC and AUSTRAC, followed by an industry presentation from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and a panel discussion moderated by The RegTech Association.

Regulator updates

ASIC – Natural Language Processing (NLP) trials

ASIC Commissioner, John Price provided an update on five NLP trials ASIC has undertaken to explore potential efficiencies in supervision and learn about related challenges.

Key points from the presentation were:

• ASIC has three trials underway and two trials in planning
• The main challenges ASIC has encountered during the challenges underway relate to data availability and data annotation
• Challenges in data availability relate to sourcing high-quality data at sufficient quantities
• Challenges in data annotation relate to annotating the data with sufficient examples to achieve effective machine learning
• ASIC will conduct a full review and evaluation upon the completion of each of the trials.

ASIC - Regtech funding

ASIC also presented top-level plans for the funding that it was granted in August 2018 for regtech initiatives.

Key points from the presentation were:

• ASIC has been provided $6 million in funding for regtech initiatives (over 2 years)
• Initiatives will include collaborative trials and ASIC-led trials of technology
• This financial year:
  • Collaborative trials – financial advice and promotions; phone distribution of insurance
  • ASIC development of a licensing Q&A wizard
• What’s different – ASIC will make available datasets and focus on conduct related trials.

AUSTRAC - Regtech showcase event

Tony Prior, Director, Regulatory Operations, AUSTRAC presented highlights from their regtech showcase event on 26 June 2018, where regtech providers showcased solutions using technologies including blockchain, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

UK-Australia Fintech Bridge

26 June 2018

The UK Department for International Trade, ASIC, Austrade and Fintech Australia answered questions about the Fintech Bridge, how it will benefit fintech startups trying to do business between the UK and Australia and position the UK and Australia as global leaders setting fintech standards and policy.

Initial Coin Offerings and Cryptocurrencies - regulator information sessions

6 June 2018

Perth Town Hall | Cnr Hay St and Barrack Street, Perth 6000

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Australian Tax Office (ATO) hosted information sessions on ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Questions to followed the presentation series.

Read the presentation (PDF 735 KB)

ASIC's Regtech Liaison Forum - Meeting 03

5 June 2018

ASIC hosted our third Regtech Liaison Forum via video conference from ASIC’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane via video conference.

There was an initial industry presentation followed by updates from ASIC and APRA.

View the full agenda (PDF 417 KB)

Industry Presentation

The Regtech Association’s Debra Young and Julian Fenwick presented on the growth of Australian regtech, key takeaways from Regtech Association’s #Accelerate Regtech 2018 Conference and updates on International Regtech Association.

Key themes were:

• Appreciation of attendees in-depth discussion and positive engagement, including at the #Accelerate Regtech 2018 Conference
• The importance of collaboration for the acceleration of Australian regtech
• The growth of Australian regtech being in Australia’s global interests
• The need to focus on solving real industry problems
• Engagement with ASIC on integrated reporting

Regulatory items

ASIC – Natural Language Processing trials

Mark Adams from ASIC presented an update on ASIC’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) Trials. ASIC issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) in March, and 35 entities provided a response to the six problem statements under the EOI. ASIC will conduct the related trials over the next 3-4 months and play back learnings to the industry through this Forum.

Key themes were:

• ASIC is looking to share experiences from NLP trials with other regulators
• The challenges that need to be addressed, including those related data input and storage
• Privacy and IT security related issues.

APRA – A new data collection solution

Daniel Hunt from APRA updated the Forum on latest developments on APRA’s replacement of its D2A electronic data reporting system, including feedback received from the industry.

Key themes were:

• No one-size fits all solution can be applied to all entities
• The importance of transparency of data collection
• Attention from international regulators on this topic
• APRA’s interest in discussing common data collection problems.

Initial Coin Offerings and Cryptocurrencies - regulator information sessions

16 April 2018 - Melbourne　

‎6‎:‎00‎pm Stone & Chalk Melbourne (Goods Shed North) | 710 Collins St Docklands

Read the presentation (PDF 233 KB)

26 April 2018 - Sydney ‎　

6:‎00‎‎pm Tyro FinTech Hub - Events Space | Level 5 |155 Clarence Street　

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will host information sessions on ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Questions to follow the presentation series.　

Read the speech, delivered at the event by ASIC Commissioner John Price.

Read the presentation (PDF 722 KB)

Read ASIC's Information Sheet on ICOs

ASIC's Regtech Liaison Forum

5 March 2018

ASIC hosted our second Regtech Liaison Forum from our Sydney office. Sites in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide were connected via video conference.

Download the agenda (PDF 144 KB)

Read the Forum summary for meeting 01

Read the Forum summary for meeting 02

Download ASIC's update (PPSX 673 KB)

Download Forum presentation (PDF 3 MB)

Industry item

There was an inital presentation on the role of The Regtech Association and the International Regtech Association led by Julian Fenwick.

Attendees discussed:

• How regtech entities can collaborate on ideas
• The reduction of barriers for regtech engagement by addressing the challenges of service integration
• The provision of guidance on current issues
• Regtech investment in Australia
• The maximisation of coordination between regulators and the regtech industry
• How regulations can be more standardised at an international level.

Regulator items

APRA – A New Data Collection

Daniel Hunt presented on the changes being proposed for the replacement of their electronic data reporting systems and APRA’s intention to work with industry in implementing these changes.

Attendees discussed:

• The collection of data and the quality of data to collect
• The electronic systems for collection of or access to data (including the present D2A system).

AUSTRAC – Collaboration

Meredith Ozeri presented on the ASEAN Hackathon hosted by AUSTRAC and AUSTRAC's engagement opportunities for regtechs.

Attendees discussed:

• Collaborating with the regtech sector to design a smarter regulation program to handle issues such as money laundering and to better understand the impact of emerging technologies including where opportunities exist for regtech to assist
• Promoting innovation of data collection solutions and analysis to flag or identify any suspicious activity
• Converting regulatory instruments (such as regulation guides, legislative instruments, information sheets, etc.) into computer readable formats to assist in providing guidance.

ASIC Natural Language Processing trials

Mark Adams presented on ASIC's plans to conduct some Natural Language Processing (NLP) trials with use cases to understand and encourage the applicability of NLP in resolving regulatory problems.

A tender was issued for the provision of pilots of NLP technologies including approaches to common supervisory scenarios encountered by ASIC with a view to providing NLP technologies solutions for these.

Attendees discussed:

• Possible engagement opportunities to deal with compliance issues through the use of regtech solutions
• Sandbox solutions to test regtech services
• The use of recurrent data and its applicability in understanding market sectors better.

Regtech in the Bag

Innovation Hub Coordinator Mark Adams (SYD) and Senior Advisor, Cuihua Cartwright (MEL) joined a range of experienced industry practitioners to provide perspectives on why regtech is so important, what problems it solves, who is in the eco-system and what the key opportunities are.

Sydney 13 February 2018

Melbourne 6 March 2018

• View the Sydney presentation (PDF 854 KB)

ASIC's Regtech Liaison Forum

The purpose of the Forum was to facilitate networking, discussion of regtech developments and opportunities to collaborate on initiatives that promote positive applications of regulatory technology.

6 December 2017, ASIC Melbourne

Sites in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide were connected via video conference.

4th Annual FinTech Summit 2017

ASIC Commissioner John Price made a keynote presentation on ASIC's perspective on the fintech sector opportunity.

2 November 2017, The Ashurst Ballroom, Sydney

Regtech and Compliance Automation for Financial Service Forum

Innovation Hub Coordinator Mark Adams presented on ASIC's approach to regtech and next steps in this area.

17 October 2017, Grace Hotel, Sydney

ASIC's Regtech Showcase

ASIC hosted a showcase event to stimulate engagement and explore the opportunities and barriers to regtech deployment.

18 September 2017, Tower 3 - International Towers Sydney

• Read the opening remarks

View the presentations

• Introduction (PPSX 703 KB)
• Data61 - Confidential Computing (PPSX 578 KB)
• IBM (PPSX 894 KB)
• Lucsan (PPSX 3 MB)
• Checkbox (PPSX 4.17 MB)
• Red Marker (PDF 3.28 MB)
• Regbot (PPSX 664 KB)

The latest from the Innovation Hub

ASIC Commissioner John Price discussed the work of the Innovation Hub, including an update on informal assistance, the regulatory sandbox framework, regtech, crowd-sourced funding and international cooperation.

30 August 2017, Spacecubed 45 St Georges Terrace, Perth

• View the presentation (PPSX 938 KB)

Meet the regulators - Sydney event

See also Melbourne event

Representatives from ASIC, Austrac, OAIC, APRA and RBA provided an update on initiatives relating to innovation and explain how fintechs can navigate the regulatory landscape.

Topics included:

• ASIC's informal assistance, sandbox, international network and regtech
• Why privacy is important for new fintech businesses, and some tips on good data handling practices and conducting privacy impact assessments.
• proposals for a phased approach to licensing banks　
• new payments platform update
• public-private partnerships to combat financial crime

17 August 2017, WeWork Pyrmont 100 Harris Street Sydney.

• View the presentation (PPSX 16MB)

Meet the regulators - Melbourne event

Representatives from ASIC, Austrac, APRA and RBA provided an update on initiatives relating to innovation and explain how fintechs can navigate the regulatory landscape.

Topics included:

• ASIC's informal assistance, sandbox, international network and regtech
• proposals for a phased approach to licensing banks
• new payments platform update
• public-private partnerships to combat financial crime

15 August 2017, KPMG Collins Square Tower Two Level 36 / 727 Collins St Melbourne

• View the presentation (PPSX 13 MB)

ASIC's Innovation Hub and regtech

ASIC Commissioner John Price spoke about the work of the Innovation Hub and what ASIC is doing in the regtech space.

26 July 2017, King & Wood Mallesons, Brisbane

• View the presentation (PPSX 1 MB)

ASIC on Crowd-sourced Funding

ASIC Commissioner John Price spoke about ASIC's approach to the new CSF legislation and current consultation papers proposing guidance for public companies and intermediaries to assist them in using the new regime.

17 July 2017, SproutX, Melbourne 18 July 2017, Stone & Chalk, Sydney

• View the presentation (PPSX 711 KB)

Discussing ASIC's regulatory sandbox

ASIC Commissioner John Price, and Senior Executive Leader Mark Adams explained how it works, who is eligible and addressed questions.

13 June 2017, SproutX, Melbourne

Regtech Australia 2017

Innovation Hub Coordinator Mark Adams presented on ASIC's interest in regtech, why it is important and proposed future steps.

7 June 2017, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Sydney

Thomson Reuters Australian Regulatory Summit 2017　

Senior Executive Leader Mark Adams participated in a panel on the future of regtech, providing a regulators perspective on why it is important and what ASIC is doing in this space.　

6 June 2017, Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney　

Fintech Australia ECF Roadshow　

Comissioner John Price spoke on recent developments relating to ECF and the role ASIC plays.　

5 June 2017, SproutX, Melbourne　

Regtech and regulatory sandbox Q&A session

ASIC Commissioner John Price spoke about what ASIC is doing in the regtech space and explained the regulatory sandbox framework.

19 April 2017, K&L Gates, Perth

• Read the speech by John Price
• View the presentation (PPSX 1.1MB)

Discussing ASIC's regulatory sandbox

ASIC Commissioner John Price, and Senior Executive Leader Mark Adams discussed ASIC's regulatory sandbox, explained how it works, who is eligible and addressed questions.

6 April 2017, Stone & Chalk, Sydney

• View presentation (PPSX 924 KB)

ASIC Regtech Roundtable February 2017

ASIC hosted a Regtech Roundtable with industry stakeholders in February 2017.

8 February 2017, ASIC offices in Melbourne and Sydney

• View Blackhall & Pearl presentation (PPSX 844 KB)
• View KPMG presentation (PPSX 1.91 MB)
• View Thomson Reuters presentation (PPSX 1.96 MB)

Adelaide Fintech Meetup

ASIC Commissioner John Price was keynote speaker and spoke about ASIC's regulatory approach to Fintech and emerging technologies.

Adelaide Fintech Meetup 11 November 2016 7.00am - 8.30am @ Kain Lawyers, Adelaide

• Read the speech by John Price
• View the slides of the presentation (PPSX 1.3MB)

Next Money Brisbane

ASIC's Maan Beydoun explains how FinTech interacts with the regulatory space and outlines some of the work of ASIC's Innovation Hub.

Next Money Brisbane 8 September 2016 6.00pm - 7.30pm @ QSuper, Level 1, 70 Eagle Street, Brisbane

FinTech Perth

ASIC Commissioner John Price outlined how FinTech interacts with the regulatory space, and then explained the ASIC consultation paper on a regulatory sandbox.

FinTech Perth 24 August 2016 5.45pm - 7.45pm @ FLUX, 191 St Georges Terrace, Perth CBD

Melbourne Money and Finance Conference

ASIC recently presented at the 21st Melbourne Money and Finance Conference 2016. The event theme was “Fintech and Financial Innovation”.

ASIC's presentation was largely focussed upon the work it has been doing to facilitate fintech and financial innovation, primarily through its Innovation Hub.

18 and 19 July 2016 Brighton Savoy Conference Centre 150 Esplanade, Brighton

• Read the paper ASIC submitted to the conference

ASIC regulatory sandbox

ASIC Commissioner John Price, and Senior Executive Leader Mark Adams ran through the ASIC consultation paper on a regulatory sandbox published on 8 June.

8 June 2016 KPMG Banking Chamber (Ground Floor) 147 Collins Street. Melbourne

21 June 2016 Stone and Chalk Level 2, 50 Bridge St, Sydney

• View the slides of the regulatory sandbox presentation in Melbourne

• Download the consultation paper

Sydney Fintech Startups Meetup

Representatives from ASIC, Austrac, APRA, RBA and OAIC shared insights on how to navigate the fintech regulatory landscape.

14 April 2016 Tyro Fintech Hub, Sydney

• View the video of the presentation
• View the slides of the presentation

Sydney and Melbourne Fintech Meetup

ASIC introduced the Innovation Hub and Digital Finance Advisory Committee (now the Digital Finance Advisory Panel) to a group of 300+ fintech startups, explained the regulatory framework and identified issues on regulation and compliance relevant to fintechs.

15 September 2015 Tyro Fintech Hub, Sydney 15 October 2015 KPMG, Melbourne

• Download the speakers' presentation