The story
The Insurance and Superannuation Commission (ISC) was formally established on 23 November 1987, following the proclamation of the Insurance and Superannuation Commissioner Act 1987. It was constructed from the Superannuation Division of Treasury, The Office of the General Insurance Commissioner, The Office of Life Insurance Commissioner, and The Office of the Australian Government Actuary. The commission was based at the Australian Automobile Association Building, Canberra and also had offices in Melbourne and Sydney. The Insurance and Superannuation Commission was absorbed into the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority on 1 July 1998.
In June 1996, the Financial System Inquiry (known as the Wallis Inquiry) was established to examine the results of the deregulation of the Australian financial system, to examine the forces driving further change, particularly technological, and recommend changes to the regulatory system to ensure an "efficient, responsive, competitive and flexible financial system to underpin stronger economic performance, consistent with financial stability, prudence, integrity and fairness."
At the time, the regulators of the Australian financial services industry were based on the institutions and not the regulatory function. APRA's predecessor regulators were the Insurance and Superannuation Commission, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Financial Institutions Commission (AFIC). The Wallis Inquiry recommended a new structure.
The role of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was amended to deal with monetary policy and systemic stability with the Payments System Board considering payments systems regulation. The role of the Australian Prudential Regulation Commission (later to become APRA) was amended to deal with prudential regulation of authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), life and general insurance, and superannuation including Industry superannuation. The Corporations and Financial Services Commission was renamed and its role expanded as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to deal with market integrity, consumer protection and corporations.
APRA was established on 1 July 1998 under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998.
APRA became prominent in the collapse of HIH Insurance in 2001 and for its investigation into the National Australia Bank foreign currency deal scandal in 2004.
APRA took over the previous role of the Private Health Insurance Administration Council in July 2015.
In 2018, Peter Harris, the chair of the Productivity Commission, was critical of the role of APRA in limiting price competition in banking. Representatives of APRA appeared before the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry during 2018.
Read the full text
In 2018, APRA created the restricted authorised deposit-taking institution (RADI) licensing framework to encourage new entrants and competition to the existing banking system.
In 2025, APRA has again increased the cash reserve requirement for ANZ Group, raising it to A$1 billion from A$750 million, citing continued failures in managing non-financial risks. APRA said these issues may extend beyond the trading desk and that ANZ’s current risk management improvements are insufficient. ANZ said in a separate statement that it had accepted all recommendations of the review, and was taking immediate actions in response to the review and the undertaking with APRA. Mark Evans, currently head of Singapore, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, will take up the new role of group head of non-financial risk program.
From Wikipedia’s article on Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3