The Government has introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2019 into the House of Representatives. Background and timetable.
UPDATE: The Senate has referred the Bill to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 18 March 2019.
UPDATE: The Senate Economics Legislation Committee has recommended the Consumer Data Right bill be passed.
UPDATE July 2019: As the Bill was not passed before the May 2019 election was called it lapsed. The Government has announced the Bill’s re-introduction and passage before the end of 2019.
The Bill amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to create the Consumer Data Right (CDR) which will apply to sectors of the economy that have been designated by the Minister.
Under the CDR, individuals and businesses can directly access or direct that their data be shared with certain participants.
Within a designated sector the types of data the CDR will apply to will be outlined via the designation instrument as well as the consumer data rules.
The Bill establishes a framework to enable the CDR to be applied to various sectors of the economy over time. The framework relies on four key participants – consumers, data holders, accredited persons and accredited data recipients, and designated gateways.
The current Rules Framework has a banking focus, as the banking sector is the first designated sector. Telecommunications and utilities will be brought within the CDR regime over time.
