Australia

The Commission’s governing authority, referred to as the Commission, is an independent panel of seven expert regulatory officials who have been appointed by the Governor-General. The executive team is headed by the Chairperson, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, in tandem with Deputy Chairpersons Mick Keogh, dealing with agriculture, and Catriona Lowe, who deals with consumer protection. This team works in collaboration with four expert Commissioners: Anna Brakey, who specializes in infrastructure regulation; Ian Oppermann, an expert in technology and data management; Philip Williams AM, an expert in competition economics; and Luke Woodward, who is an expert in competition law. All these key individuals lead and oversee a large staff of about 1,500 public servants.

The ACSC is a division of the Australian Signals Directorate, the country’s foreign signals intelligence and cyber security agency under the Defence portfolio. Its main function is to collaborate with government, critical infrastructure providers, industry, cyber security practitioners, and the general public to enhance Australia’s cyber resilience.

The APRA is an independent statutory authority set up in 1998 as a result of the restructuring of Australia's regulatory structure. In contrast to the conduct regulator, its mandate is focused on prudential regulation.

The ASIC is an independent statutory commission that administers a wide range of Australian corporations, securities, financial services and credit laws. It is a key component of the regulatory structure in Australia and has a number of functions ranging from investigation and surveillance to licensing, administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement activities.

ASX Limited is a listed Australian market infrastructure company that runs securities markets along with the relevant market infrastructure. ASX Limited imposes various obligations on the listed entities through the rules of its operation, the listing regime and the supervision function.

ATO is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity headed by the Commissioner of Taxation. It operates legislation related to income tax, GST, fringe benefits tax, excise and superannuation taxation.

AUSTRAC is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and also the designated financial intelligence unit for the country. It sits at the crossroads of financial sector regulation, intelligence, and law enforcement by gathering transaction reports from regulated entities and turning that data into financial intelligence for use by domestic and international partner agencies.

ASO is not a separate statutory authority but a specialized regulatory body under DFAT. ASO’s role is sanctions administration, and it cooperates with other Australian agencies from Australia as well as foreign partners to ensure proper application of sanctions regulations and foreign policy.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is an independent body in Australia, and its main job is to regulate compliance with workplace laws under the Commonwealth Government. The watchdog was formed on 1 July 2009 under the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide harmonious industrial relations in Australia. The watchdog performs two main functions in the industrial relations structure of Australia. First, it works as an educator, providing free information to employers and employees about minimum wages, entitlements and modern awards. Second, it acts as a watchdog, punishing employers for non-compliance with the law.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is a statutory office of the Commonwealth Government, which operates independently and is run by the Australian Information Commissioner. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is made up of privacy regulation, complaints and reviews, regulatory guidance, investigations, and information policy functions.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank and was created under the Reserve Bank Act 1959. It differs institutionally from APRA and ASIC and performs monetary and central bank functions while contributing to financial stability and payment and settlement systems.