The three Australian Financial Regulators are:

 

ASIC (Australian Securities & Investment Commission.

 

APRA (Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority)

 

ATO (Australian Tax Office).

 

The duty of a financial regulator is the policing and enforcement of the laws legislated by the Parliament in its designated area of control.

 

Theoretically, in the case of APRA and ASIC, the respective markets run freely, and the regulator ensures all entities in the market place obey the legislated rules. Should an entity transgress those rules, then it is the duty of the regulator to initiate punitive action against the transgressor.

 

Although the ATO is not a fundamental marketplace, the same concepts apply.

 

Both APRA and ASIC were created in 1998, and became operational in 1999.

 

APRA is The Prudential Regulator. The following excerpt is taken directly form the APRA website.

 

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. It oversees banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry. APRA is funded largely by the industries that it supervises. It was established on 1 July 1998. APRA currently supervises institutions holding approximately $2.5 trillion in assets for 21 million Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.

 

ASIC is the Non-Prudential Regulator. The following is an extract from the the ASIC website. You will note the statement says nothing about the protection of fundamental consumers, but the ASIC website certainly did during early 2006. One the specific reasons stated for the creation of ASIC was the protection of financial consumers.

 

A financial market is a facility through which offers to buy and sell financial products are regularly made. Anyone who operates a financial market in Australia must obtain a licence to do so, or otherwise be exempted by the Minister.

 

ASIC is responsible for the supervision of operators of financial markets and clearing and settlement (C&S) facilities and of market participants. We advise the Government on changes to licensee operating rules and on applications for new market and C&S facility licences