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MEDIA RELEASE

No: 01
Date: 1 January 2000 6:15 am
Embargo: For Immediate Release

Reserve Bank of Australia

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

THE YEAR 2000

At 2.00 am Australian Eastern Summer Time, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia reported that, at that early stage, all indications were that the Australian financial system had made a smooth transition to the Year 2000.

The first two rounds of status reports from financial institutions and payments service providers have now been processed and no Year 2000 problems have been reported. In particular:

cash is readily available for those who need it - ATMs are working;
financial records are being accurately maintained;
EFTPOS and credit card systems are operating as normal; and
overnight processing is proceeding uninterrupted.

The RBA/APRA Communications Centre will continue to monitor developments on a 24-hour basis over the next five days. The next round of regular status reports is due at 10:00 am this morning and further reports will be received over the course of today and following days. The RBA/APRA Communications Centre is also in close contact with the Commonwealth Government's National Co-ordination Centre and with overseas regulators.

Ahead of resuming their full range of business activities on Tuesday, financial institutions have begun to test their systems in the "live" Year 2000 environment. This testing will be monitored by the RBA/APRA Communications Centre.

Further Media Releases will be issued as additional information becomes available. These Releases will be found on the Reserve Bank and APRA websites.

Enquiries:

RBA/APRA Communications Centre
SYDNEY
Telephone: (02) 9551 9720