Review of Payments System Regulation

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is conducting a Review of Payments System Regulation (Review). This Review is being undertaken at a time of significant innovation and change in the payments landscape, which is reshaping how Australian consumers and businesses make and receive payments. Reflecting these changes in the payments landscape, the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 was amended in December 2025 to expand the coverage of the legislation to additional payment systems and their participants. The RBA is seeking stakeholders’ views on the issues that should be prioritised to promote competition, efficiency and safety in payments.

The indicative timeline for the Review is:

Milestone Timeline
Issues paper released 25 June 2026
Evidence in writing due to the RBA 7 August 2026
RBA publishes non-confidential submissions By the end of August 2026
RBA may reach out to stakeholders that made a submission August and September 2026
RBA publishes regulatory priorities By the end of 2026
RBA commences consultation on prioritised issues By mid-2027
RBA announces conclusions on prioritised issues 2028

Current Review Phase