List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

2.85The committee recommends that the Minister proceed as quickly as practical to implement the ministerial determinations to empower the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to make rules to facilitate competition or fair provision of monopoly clearing and settlement services in line with the Council of Financial Regulators' recommendations.

Recommendation 2

2.86The committee recommends that Australia Securities and Investments Commission proceed as quickly as practical to make rules to facilitate competition or fair provision of monopoly clearing and settlement services in line with the Council of Financial Regulators' recommendations.

Recommendation 3

2.87The committee recommends that the government progress the Financial Market Infrastructure reforms as soon as practical.

Recommendation 4

3.91The committee recommends that Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia make interoperability a focus of their monitoring of the Australian Securities Exchange Clearing House Electronic Subregister System Replacement Project.

Recommendation 5

3.96The committee recommends that in order to promote competition in clearing and settlement before the new Clearing House Electronic Subregister System will be available, the Council of Financial Regulators should explore options for addressing the interoperability barrier.

Recommendation 6

3.99The committee recommends that the new competition in clearing and settlement legislation and subsequent actions by the Minister, Treasury and regulators be independently reviewed in the second half of 2026.

Recommendation 7

4.41The committee recommends that if there is no significant movement by most major brokers by mid-2024 on making electronic Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) holding statements available to any investors that want them, Treasury should investigate the matter to identify and resolve any remaining impediments.

Recommendation 8

6.49The committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia update their self-assessment against the regulator’s responsibilities under the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures.

Recommendation 9

6.51The committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia adopt a three-year interval to update their self-assessment against the regulator’s responsibilities under the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures.

Recommendation 10

6.54The committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia regularly conduct joint assessments of clearing and settlement facilities against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Recommendation 11

6.90The committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Treasury:

enhance their skills, experience, and processes at the most senior levels for monitoring and supervising strategic technology benefits and risks in financial services and market infrastructure; and

through the Council of Financial Regulators:

-conduct an audit of critical financial services technology platforms and infrastructure that the government relies on or has regulatory responsibility for; and

-create an ongoing regular status report on critical financial services technology platforms and infrastructure to ensure early alerts and responses to strategic technology risks and other problems.

Recommendation 12

7.66The committee recommends that the Council of Financial Regulators amends the 2017 regulatory expectations for Conduct in Operating Cash Equity Clearing and Settlement Services in Australia so that technology, governance, and delivery issues such as those that occurred for the CHESS Replacement Project are within the scope for the annual external audit of the ASX’s compliance with the ASX Cash Equities Clearing and Settlement Code of Practice.