Media Release Assessment of the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System

The Bank today released the 2024 Assessment of the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI). The Assessment concludes that RITS observed all relevant PFMI as at 31 March 2024, except for the Principle on governance, which it broadly observed, and the Principles on the framework for the comprehensive management of risk and operational risk, which were both partly observed. The Assessment concludes that, to fully observe all of the PFMI, the program of work established following the Bank’s 2022 technology outage should be progressed and intended outcomes delivered.

The Assessment was prepared by the Bank’s Payments Policy Department and approved by the Payments System Board (PSB). The PSB expects the Bank to make material progress against the recommendations, ensuring that key improvements are delivered and sufficiently embedded ahead of the March 2026 detailed Assessment. Progress against the recommendations will be reported to the PSB on a regular basis.

Background

The Bank owns and operates RITS, Australia’s real-time gross settlement system. RITS is critical national infrastructure for the Australian payments system and is required to function as a highly available and resilient system. The operation of RITS is overseen by the PSB, which assesses RITS against the PFMI - internationally recognised principles developed by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Consistent with CPMI-IOSCO guidance, a detailed assessment of RITS against the full set of applicable PFMI is undertaken every two years.