Digging into the RIG: Treasury’s latest Regulatory Initiatives Grid
The Regulatory Initiatives Grid, or RIG, is Treasury’s consolidated forward calendar of financial sector regulatory initiatives. It is designed to improve transparency and give businesses a practical way to see where reforms are clustering, deadlines are approaching and implementation risk may be building.
That is ironic: the RIG is itself a regulatory initiative, but it remains little known outside regulatory and policy circles.
Edition 3 of the RIG was published on 5 May 2026, covering announced and publicised initiatives expected to materially affect the financial sector over the next two years. It does not capture every piece of day-to-day regulatory work. It records 89 initiatives:
11 in policy development
34 in development of legislation, regulations and instruments
23 in ongoing program implementation
21 in review and evaluation.
Treasury has also released the RIG as an Excel workbook and interactive dashboard, which makes clear that it is intended to be used as a working tool for horizon scanning, not just read as a static report.
For risk and compliance teams, the RIG is most useful as a starting point for board reporting, horizon scanning and change planning: it helps identify which reforms need monitoring, which require early business engagement, and where several initiatives may place pressure on the same systems, controls or customer processes.
In this article we give an overview of what’s in the latest RIG for different segments of the finance sector, and also the industry-wide developments to note.
Whole-of-sector reforms
AML/CTF reforms. Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms apply across the economy and the financial sector. The RIG records new requirements for programs, customer due diligence, travel rule and value transfer provisions commencing 31 March 2026, the Tranche 2 obligations commencing on 1 July 2026, and further amendments expected by 1 January 2027.
Climate-related financial disclosures. Climate-related financial disclosures are phasing in. The first group commenced from 1 January 2025, Group 2 obligations commence for financial years starting on or after 1 July 2026, and Group 3 obligations commence on 1 July 2027. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has also published Regulatory Guide 280 Sustainability Reporting.
Other cross-sector reforms. Other cross-sector items include merger reform, unfair contract terms review, foreign investment reform, consolidated financial reporting and audit instruments, and the Financial Regulatory Assessment Authority reviews of ASIC and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
Banking, credit and lending: scams, data, cash and prudential change
Scams. The headline reform is the Scams Prevention Framework. The Scams Prevention Framework Act 2025 (Cth) was enacted on 21 February 2025. The banking sector is intended to be a designated sector, alongside telecommunications and digital platforms. Expected milestones are public consultation on exposure draft rules and codes in Q2 2026 (now completed), obligations applying in Q3 2026 (the SPF Rules), the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) accepting external dispute resolution complaints in Q1 2027, and intelligence sharing applying in H2 2027.
CDR. There is also a cluster of Consumer Data Right (CDR) work. Non-bank lending participation is being staged from July 2026 to May 2027, while redirect-to-app authentication standards apply from 10 May 2027. These are more than technology changes, and will affect consent flows, customer communications, operational readiness and incident response.
Prudential. Banks also need to watch APRA’s prudential program. Current work covers liquidity, internal ratings-based accreditation, modernising licensing, proportionate regulation, targeted credit risk capital amendments and implementation of a simplified Fundamental Review of the Trading Book standard.
Cash acceptance. For retailers in fuel and grocery, the cash acceptance mandate commenced on 1 January 2026 and requires certain fuel and grocery retailers to accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7 am and 9 pm, with exemptions for most small businesses. Penalties for non-compliance apply from 1 July 2026.
Superannuation and retirement income: the busiest reform lane for member outcomes
Division 296 tax. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Act 2026 (Cth) received Royal Assent on 13 March 2026, with effect from 1 July 2026. The measure applies an additional 15 per cent tax on earnings attributable to superannuation balances exceeding $3 million and an additional 25 per cent on earnings attributable to balances exceeding $10 million.
Payday superannuation. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (Cth) was enacted on 6 November 2025. From 1 July 2026, employers become liable for the updated superannuation guarantee charge if contributions are not received by the employee’s superannuation fund within seven days of payday.
Conduct and member protection. There is also a strong conduct and member-protection theme. The RIG includes work on mandatory service standards for superannuation, safer superannuation switching, curbing lead generation, superannuation advertising during onboarding, retirement income solutions, the Retirement Reporting Framework and review work on Regulatory Guide 97 fees and costs disclosure.
Payment services and digital assets: licensing, surcharging, cheques and crypto reporting
Digital assets. The Digital Asset Framework reforms passed Parliament on 1 April 2026. The RIG records ASIC implementation steps: an ASIC roadmap in Q2 2026, consultation on draft standards and guidance in Q4 2026, final standards and guidance in Q1 2027, and commencement of the licensing regime in Q2 2027 with a six-month transition period.
Payment service provider reform. Payment service provider reform is also moving. Exposure draft legislation consultation for tranche 1 occurred in Q2 2026, with ASIC and APRA expected to issue joint regulatory guidance to support implementation.
Surcharging and interchange. Merchants and payment providers should watch the retail payments work of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The RBA released its conclusions paper on merchant card payment costs and surcharging on 31 March 2026. The RIG records regulation to remove surcharging, lower interchange for domestic cards and introduce certain transparency measures from 1 October 2026. International card interchange and remaining transparency measures are expected from 1 April 2027.
Cheque transition. The Government’s plan is for cheque issuance to cease by 30 June 2028 and cheque acceptance to cease on 30 September 2029.
Financial advice and investment management: conduct, disclosure and product governance
Delivering Better Financial Outcomes tranche two. The reforms respond to the Quality of Advice review and are intended to make financial advice more affordable and accessible. ASIC will issue regulatory guidance once legislation is settled.
Adviser education pathways. The RIG includes reforms to adviser education pathways.
Lead generation and switching. The RIG also includes consultation on curbing harmful lead generation, and initiatives linked to superannuation switching after the collapses of Shield and First Guardian.
Investment management governance and disclosure. For collective management and investment management, the themes are governance, disclosure and financial resources. Key initiatives include sustainable investment product labels, enhanced oversight and governance of managed investment schemes, ASIC’s review of funds management regulatory guidance, review of the net tangible assets requirement for responsible entities, and review of the contracts for difference product intervention order.
Insurance and reinsurance: underwriting, add-on insurance and prudential settings
Genetic testing. The ban on using adverse predictive genetic test results in life insurance underwriting passed both Houses of Parliament on 1 April 2026. The RIG states the new law will commence six months after Royal Assent.
Standard cover and standard terms. Treasury is considering standard cover and standard term reforms, following consultation on changes designed to improve understanding and reduce unintentional underinsurance.
Add-on insurance. Treasury consulted on class exemptions from the deferred sales model in December 2025 and January 2026, with current exemptions due to expire in October 2026 unless continued or replaced.
Prudential settings. APRA has work underway on capital for annuities, reinsurance requirements for general insurers, governance standards and the phase-out of Additional Tier 1 capital for banks, which is also relevant to insurance groups where governance settings overlap.
Dwyer Harris assists financial services and credit businesses with regulatory change, licensing, disclosure, governance and implementation projects, including assessing the impact of reforms and working out a practical implementation path. To stay informed about financial services and credit developments, you can also subscribe to our free Financial Services and Credit Monthly Update.