AGL recently responded to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) consultation on the exposure draft for Consumer Data Right (CDR) banking rules.

Under the draft CDR Bill prepared by Treasury, the ACCC has the power to develop CDR Rules that will provide context and detail to each designated sector on how the CDR framework applies in their specific industry.

Our submission highlights several areas where the ACCC should complete further analysis and engagement with all relevant stakeholders before progressing with the draft Rules. This will help ensure that unintended consequences have been properly identified and mitigated against so the CDR Framework can meet its stated objectives in an efficient and effective manner.

The submission focuses on four key areas:

1. Consultation and governance – The ACCC suggests a single purpose of the current consultation of the draft Rules – to inform the roll out of CDR in banking. However, our reading of the draft Rules and their structure suggests the ACCC intend this document to serve two purposes:

• General rules – intended to be industry agnostic and applied to each designated sector; and
• Schedules (banking rules - schedule 2) – intended to represent the elements that the ACCC will consult on sector by sector, starting with the banking sector.

It also encourages greater governance structures, such as suggesting CDR Rules for how the data standards body must develop relevant data standards.

2. Privacy approach – focusing on differences between the draft Rules and existing privacy law obligations, as well as the need for a Privacy Impact Assessment to accompany the draft Rules.

3. Consumer protection measures (such as allowing CDR data to be directed out of the CDR regime).

4. Other matters (draft Rule specific concerns including definitions, structure and development).

Based on these observations, we make 18 high-level recommendations for improvements or focus areas for the ACCC and encourage comprehensive consultation with the energy sector going forward.

Our full submission can be read here.

Previous AGL submissions on CDR are also available:

• CDR draft Bill
• CDR draft Bill additional amendments
• ACCC CDR Rules Framework
• Data61 API technical consultation part 2
• Treasury Privacy Impact Assessment
• Data61 consumer experience research
• Senate Committee for Consumer Data Right
• ACCC energy data models consultation