Member Working Groups
ARCA Members are invited to take part in a number of member-only work groups and forums, focussed on key industry issues.
Our work groups provide valuable input to ARCA projects and policies, enable Members to receive detailed updates on relevant issues as they progress, and provide a forum for Members to raise any issues they are currently facing.
It is recommended, but not essential, that Member representatives have a solid knowledge of the credit reporting process within their organisation and an appropriate level of decision-making authority.
ARCA Members wanting to discuss their organisation's involvement in our workgroups should Contact Us.
Member Forum
Authorised Representatives from ARCA Members and Associate Members are invited to join the ARCA Executive team at this forum, held in-person in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane (and virtually, for those who are not able to attend in person). This forum provides an opportunity for Members to network and engage in detailed consultation and discussion on current critical issues. It is an opportunity for Members to shape ARCA’s policy agenda and participate in in-depth discussions on our key areas of focus and updates on industry developments.
Data Standards Work Group
The Data Standards Work Group includes technical representatives from Members, PRDE Signatories and ARCA staff, and has a key role in providing technical input to the Australian Credit Reporting Data Standard. This work group provides ongoing feedback on technical issues in data supply and validation. It also meets quarterly to discuss the system issues raised as a result of how credit reporting information is intended to be supplied and is responsible for the creation and adherence to the Australian Credit Reporting Data Standard.
Policy Work Group
The Policy Work Group deals with a variety of policy and industry issues, for example, guidance on ‘reasonable timeframe for disclosure of default information,’ disclosure of guarantor information, issues arising from AFCA disputes as well as practical solutions to policy or compliance issues, and issues requiring clarification, guidance or reform. This group includes compliance, regulatory affairs or risk representatives who discuss policy-type issues arising from the Privacy Act, and CR Code as well as the National Credit Code and the PRDE.
Responsible Lending Work Group
The Responsible Lending Work Group has informed and directed our work on responsible lending, both for the redrafting of RG209 and our ongoing engagement with ASIC, APRA and AFCA. The work of this group involves identifying issues and developing industry led approaches that can then be shared with the relevant regulators – in doing so, the work group aims to take control of the responsible lending issues that lenders face.
Consumer Data Right Work Group
The Consumer Data Right Work Group is for credit providers who will access data through Consumer Data Right and CRBs who will act as intermediaries. This work group provides input into ARCA’s submissions to the Consumer Data Right/Open Banking reforms and helps to develop standardised consents and responsible lending use cases for the Consumer Data Right data.
CR Code Review Work Group
The CR Code Work Group is a Member work group which was initially formed to provide feedback on the independent review of the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code in 2017. Since that time, it has provided feedback on two lots of variations to the CR Code and operational matters and guidance arising from the operation of the CR Code, including corrections issues. This group includes legal, compliance and risk representatives who have a good knowledge of the Privacy Act and CR Code operation, but are also well-across practical and operational issues and able to provide critical insights.
Hardship Work Group
The Hardship Work Group was formed to help develop an industry approach to the reporting of hardship and to support the legislative change process to support that approach. Representatives come from diverse areas of Member organisations, including collections, customer care and credit risk teams. The group provided invaluable input to the Attorney-General Department’s review into hardship reporting which has led to the introduction of the new hardship reporting regime. The group is now working to implement the new regime is a consistent way across industry. Over the past two years, the group has worked across all industry segments to understand and document lenders’ approaches to hardship during the COVID-19 crisis.
Consumer Communications Work Group
The Consumer Communications Work Group provides input to ARCA’s consumer education initiative, CreditSmart. This group guides the CreditSmart strategy to create consumer awareness and drive industry visibility on how credit reporting operates in Australia. The work group’s role is to lead the CreditSmart strategy in their own organisations, across all departments, by disseminating and gathering support and insights from internal stakeholders.