The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released final harmonised prudential standards and guides on governance for authorised deposit-taking institutions and for life and general insurance
companies.

The three new governance standards are APS 510 Governance (for authorised deposit-taking institutions), LPS 510 Governance (for life companies) and GPS 510 Governance (for general insurers). The standards come into effect from 1 October
2006, at the same time as the Fit and Proper Person Standards.

The new standards harmonise APRA’s governance standards across financial service industries (except for superannuation). The new standards require boards to have a formal policy on board renewal and procedures for assessing their own performance.

The standards complement the Corporations Act 2001 and the Australian Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Council’s
Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice
Recommendations.