Consumer Data Right Implementation for Financial Regulator

Program, Portfolio, & Project Management

Key Capabilities Demonstrated

PMO and program delivery services

Resourcing solutions

Robust planning and resource management

Monitoring, control and governance

Risk, issue and stakeholder management

SofM helped a national regulator successfully launch and deliver Consumer Data Right program, improving how Australians control and share their financial data

Situation

A national financial regulator was tasked with implementing the Consumer Data Right (CDR) program, a major government policy reform aimed at giving consumers greater control over their data. This initiative was designed to allow consumers to safely share their data with trusted service providers, fostering competition and innovation across industries.

The program was set to be rolled out in phases, starting with the banking sector and then expanding to energy and telecommunications.

This complex, inter-agency program required significant stakeholder engagement and coordination with private companies across multiple industries.

Challenge

The program faced a number of challenges:

Rapid scale-up: Needed to quickly form a capable team under a tight legislative timeline and required strong working relationships with other government bodies.
Technical complexity: Required developing complex technical standards and security protocols for safe data sharing. Also needed to create a regulatory framework that balanced consumer protection with innovation.
Stakeholder engagement: Needed to ensure that businesses across sectors were prepared to implement the CDR, involving significant outreach and support. It was also essential to build and maintain public trust in the CDR system, requiring careful communication and stakeholder management.

What we did

SofM provided a range of program and project management support services:

Flexible resourcing: We provided flexible resourcing solutions to rapidly build capacity and capability within the delivery teams, addressing critical skill gaps. Our team members worked as part of integrated teams with internal and 3rd party resources, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Program governance: We established robust planning, resource management, risk and stakeholder management, change management and governance processes to ensure effective program delivery.
Agile methodologies: We introduced and refined agile delivery methods suitable for the complex, multi-stakeholder environment of the CDR program.
Capability development: We provided mentoring and knowledge transfer to build internal capabilities across key domains.
Technical expertise: We brought in technical experts to assist with the development of data standards and security protocols.

Outcome

By successfully delivering this complex, multi-phase program, the regulator laid the groundwork for a more competitive, innovative, and consumer-centric financial services sector. Key outcomes included:

Successful delivery: Phases 1 and 2 of the program were delivered successfully, with Phase 3 on track for on-schedule delivery.
Inter-agency collaboration: Effective working relationships were established with Treasury and other relevant government bodies, facilitating smooth program delivery.
Innovation catalyst: The CDR implementation has begun to foster innovation in financial services, with new products and services leveraging consumer data emerging in the market.