Bank lobbyists ramped up push against open banking change ahead of key decision
FOI documents reveal two major industry organisations made last-minute lobbying efforts just weeks before the government passed the contested reforms with bipartisan support.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) and Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) launched an eleventh hour push to halt a major reform to open banking laws, documents obtained through a freedom of information request show.
The two industry groups ramped up a campaign against open banking in the weeks before the government announced major developments with the scheme, and were largely unsuccessful.
The organisations specifically opposed “action initiation”, a feature that would allow third parties not only to access consumer data but also to take actions on their behalf — such as shifting customers to a better-priced or more appropriate product.
Despite the campaign, and after nearly three years before Parliament, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Act 2024 — designed to bring long-awaited action initiation to the CDR (which includes open banking) — was passed unamended and with bipartisan support on 15 August. It received assent on 26 August.
