Australians are finally getting Consumer Data Rights

Chris Pash
iStock

Australians are going to be given the right to control their own personal financial data.

The federal budget announced the Consumer Data Right, giving Australians the ability to take control of their personal data and share it safely with accredited service providers.

“When consumers choose to share their data, businesses will be better able to offer financial products and services tailored to individual circumstances, such as personalised budgeting tools,” according to the budget papers.

“The Right will also enable consumers to save money through improved price comparison and switching services.”

The government will spend $45 million over four years to develop the Consumer Data Right as a safer way to share and use personal data.

The Right will start with the banking, energy and telecommunications sectors but eventually apply economy-wide.

Open banking data has been a key platform of FinTech Australia, representing more than 220 financial services technology companies.

Startups wanting to compete with big players in the financial services sector need access to customer data, such as feeds from bank accounts, to be able to create simpler and cheaper services.

Improvements are also being made to how the government handles and uses the data it collects.

A National Data Commissioner will be appointed to oversee a simpler, safer and more efficient government data use framework.

The Commissioner will be the trusted overseer of the government data system, responsible for proactively monitoring the integrity of the system and engaging with the community.

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