RegTech Innovation and Cooperation – Australia and China Compared

Abstract

Regulators in Australia and China are increasingly embracing RegTech. ‘RegTech’ is a contraction of the terms ‘regulatory’ and ‘technology’. The term describes the use of technology to help companies comply with regulation and help regulators perform their regulatory and supervisory functions. This article identifies various ways that regulators in Australia and China are facilitating RegTech initiatives and categorises and compares those initiatives. The analysis suggests a significant degree of overlap between the two countries in relation to initiatives to facilitate reporting requirements and to improve supervision and supervisory processes. There is a greater focus in China on initiatives to support and strengthen the use of data than in Australia at this stage. However, Australia’s regulators are more active in facilitating initiatives to consult and engage with other stakeholders, including other regulators, government and industry.