Australia’s Data-Sharing Regime: Six Lessons for the World

Abstract

Open Banking is increasingly popular globally and is generally understood as the right of consumers to share their banking data with third parties of their choice so these can offer a better value for money service. While the EU and UK pioneered the development of Open Banking, Australia has adopted it and applied the concept of consumer data portability far more broadly. Its Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime, introduced in 2019, is unique in its intention to implement economy-wide data sharing across banking, energy, telecommunications, pensions, insurance, groceries, health, education, and other sectors. Although the legal frameworks in all three jurisdictions are in a state of flux, we analyse five lessons Europe can learn from Australia’s experience with its CDR regime to date and suggest a sixth lesson. We argue for nuanced regulation which promotes the benefits, while minimising the risks, of data sharing.

Keywords: Data sharing, consumer data right, open banking, GDPR, PSD2, open finance, consumer education.