Statement of Intent by the Governance Board August 2025

This Statement of Intent has been made by the Governance Board (GB) in response to the Government’s Statement of Expectations for the GB issued on 2 June 2025.

The GB is one of three boards of the RBA, along with the Monetary Policy Board and the Payments System Board. The GB is the accountable authority of the RBA. It oversees the RBA’s banking services, note issuance and payments operations, the delivery of enabling functions in support of both policymaking and the RBA’s operational activities, and other matters that are not within the remit of the two policy boards. It is currently chaired by the Governor and includes two other representatives of the RBA and six external members appointed by the Treasurer, one of whom is Deputy Chair.

The Statement of Expectations is closely aligned to the transformation of the RBA that is currently underway and which is overseen by the GB. The GB is committed to achieving significant transformation over the next few years across the areas of monetary policy, culture and leadership, governance, risk management and service resilience. This transformation is intended to help the RBA to achieve more effectively its legislative mission to promote the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people, both now and into the future. Focusing on the specific expectations set out in the Treasurer’s Statement, the GB:

• is overseeing a clearly articulated program of work to embed the RBA’s ‘open and dynamic’ culture ambition. This includes work to strengthen the RBA’s leadership capability, create an environment that promotes the development and fulfilment of our people, and build a workforce that is both diverse and open to different perspectives
• has established structures that are foundational for its operation, such as an Audit and Risk Committee, a charter and a memorandum of understanding among the RBA’s three boards
• is committed to keeping the Government informed of the activities of the RBA, through regular engagement between the Chair and both the Treasurer and the Australian Treasury, the RBA’s annual report, and appearances by the Governor and senior officials before parliamentary committees.

The GB recognises that transforming the RBA in the way envisaged by our plans and the Statement of Expectations will require additional resources compared with prior years, both during the transition and beyond. This is necessary to deliver to the higher standards expected of the RBA and thereby build public trust. We have provisioned for this, while also seeking ways to operate as efficiently as possible.

The GB will report publicly by the end of 2025 on the RBA’s progress in implementing the RBA Review’s recommendations and achieving its objectives.