Consumer Data Right coming soon
The ACCC plans to implement Australia’s new Consumer Data Right soon, which will allow consumers to safely share their data with trusted service providers, according to the commission’s Chair Rod Sims.
During a speech at the Consumer Policy Research Centre’s Consumer Data Conference in Melbourne, Sims said the ACCC will take the lead in turning the concept of a Consumer Data Right into a reality.
“The CDR will give consumers the right to safely access data about them, held by businesses, and direct this information be transferred to trusted third parties of their choice. It is essentially a data portability right,” he said.
“We believe it will enable consumers to actually benefit greatly from the data that businesses already hold about them.”
The government announced plans to introduce the CDR in May, in response to the recent Open Banking Review.
At the time, the ACCC revealed plans to establish a dedicated Access to Data Unit to undertake the functions of enforcing the Consumer Data Right, which will first be introduced to the banking sector in the concept known as open banking.
Using open banking as an example, Sims explained during his presentation how the customer data held by banks can potentially benefit home owners.
“It is often difficult and costly for borrowers to compare the offers of mortgage providers,” Sims said. “The Consumer Data Right will cut through the hassle factor of making comparisons, and will reduce the cost to borrowers of discovering and comparing offers.”
Sims noted that while the CDR is not intended to be a “one-stop shop for regulation and control of consumer data”, robust privacy protection and information security will be a core feature. The ACCC plans to work closely with the Office of the Australian Information Commission (OAIC) to ensure privacy obligations are met.
He also noted that the CDR is not an obligation to share data. In the banking sector, for example, consumers will be able to continue to go on banking as they have without ever engaging in open banking.
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