Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

APRA has published a speech delivered this morning by Member Therese McCarthy Hockey to the mutual bank sector. Therese’s speech focused on the importance of these customer-owned banks considering whether their business model and corporate strategy are the right ones to ensure long-term sustainability in a fast-evolving financial landscape. Her speech is available on the APRA website at: https://lnkd.in/g9ZYmjYB

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025! In support of #IWD2025, we asked some of APRA's inspirational women to share their thoughts on this year's theme of #MarchForward and what gender equality means to them.

APRA has released eight proposals to strengthen governance requirements for banks, insurers and superannuation trustees.   The proposals aim to remedy areas of weakness and substandard practice and will help ensure that all regulated entities are governed by leaders with the skills, experience and character needed for today’s complex risk environment. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gHzUX9KE

Recently, APRA’s Aspire Network was delighted to host a conversation with Julie Inman - Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner with APRA employees and peer agencies. More than 300 people joined the conversation. Julie shared invaluable insights and research on the critical work being done to keep Australians safe online. Julie kindly answered many questions including the impact and sharp increase of technology-facilitated abuse, fraud and exploitation. As the leader of the world’s first government regulatory agency dedicated to online safety, Julie has led the charge to establish safety centric design, preventing harms before they occur and the world-first regulatory regimes under the new Online Safety Act 2021.   Aspire is APRA's inclusion and diversity network focused on promoting gender diversity at APRA. Learn more about APRA’s commitment to inclusion and diversity: https://lnkd.in/dZjFZMFV

Applications are now open for the Brian Gray Scholarship Program! 🎓 Jointly offered by APRA and the Reserve Bank of Australia, this scholarship is designed to support four final-year full-time Honours and PhD students with research topics relevant to our agencies' focuses. Each recipient will receive $15,000. 📅 Applications close Sunday, 6th April 2025. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to advance your research and career! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dk-9ArGb

🌟 Announcing the Winners of APRA’s Annual Values Awards! 🌟 Congratulations to: Elise O'Connor Scott, Georgia Ambrose, and Todd Campbell. Their exceptional contributions truly exemplify APRA’s values of collaboration, excellence and accountability. At APRA, our values are the foundation of our mission to protect the financial wellbeing of the Australian community. Thank you to all our nominees for their remarkable achievements!

🎉 Say hello to APRA’s class of 2025! 🎓 We are thrilled to introduce our 2025 graduates. They will spend the next 15 months rotating around our teams to build an understanding of prudential regulation and gain broad experience. Our Sydney office recently hosted a celebration for our graduates to welcome them to APRA. APRA’s graduate program offers an unparalleled view of the financial services industry, visit our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gECjAKT7 📸 Pictured below: APRA’s 2025 graduates joined by APRA Chair John Lonsdale.

🌈 Today APRA’s Pride Network, in collaboration with Pride in Diversity, hosted an allyship training program for all APRA employees - ‘Empowering Allies: Bring your whole self to work’. This program provided a comprehensive understanding of the importance of visibility and inclusion, the role of an ally, and how individuals can take meaningful actions to support the LGBTQIA+ community in the workplace. Pride in Diversity is the national not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion specialising in HR, organisational change and workplace diversity. The Pride Network supports APRA's Inclusion and Diversity Council in fostering a safe and supportive culture where LGBTQIA+ people are respected, valued, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dZjFZMFV

APRA Member Suzanne Smith has urged private health insurers' boards to review their oversight, risk management, future preparedness, and board functionality. Speaking at the Members Health Directors’ Professional Development Program, Ms Smith emphasized the importance of self-critical benchmarking, challenging management, and clearly defining and applying purpose, values, and desired risk culture. Read the full remarks on the APRA website at: https://lnkd.in/gAShYdvw #PrivateHealth #Insurance

APRA Deputy Chair Margaret Cole has called for strong governance by superannuation trustee boards in areas including fund expenditure, investment and operational risk as the industry continues to grow in scale and complexity. Speaking today at the 2025 Chair Forum, Ms Cole also flagged APRA’s intention to engage with trustees, banks and insurers soon on a review to update core governance prudential standards. Ms Cole’s remarks followed the release by APRA of new superannuation fund-level data on expenditure and insurance in super. Read the full remarks on the APRA website at: https://lnkd.in/euUtx9_y #Superannuation