CDS guide introduction

Introduction

The Consumer Data Right gives consumers the right to share data between service providers of their choosing. 

The CDR was enacted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Act 2019 (Cth), which inserted a new Part IVD into the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

To support this right, service providers implement systems that follow a number of rules, standards,  guidelines and conventions. These requirements are set out in the following primary source documents:

• Consumer Data Right Rules
• Consumer Data Standards
• Consumer Experience Guidelines
• Consumer Data Standards Conventions

CDR Rules

The Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data Right) Rules (the CDR Rules)  provide the framework for how the CDR operates. The CDR Rules define the elements for consent, outline the accreditation framework and elaborate on the privacy aspects of the scheme.

The Rules also set out a requirement for Data Standards. See CDR Rules, Part 8 - Rules relating to data standards.

The Rules mention development of CX Guidelines in CDR Riles, Part 4 - Consumer data requests made by accredited persons.

The CDR Rules are developed by the Australian Federal Treasury. 

Consumer Data Standards

The Consumer Data Standards (CDS) are developed by the Data Standards Body (DSB). The CDS include technical standards about the format and process for transferring data.

The Consumer Data Right (CDR) gives consumers the ability to share information with a third party: an Accredited Data Recipient (ADR). Consumers may want to use personal budgeting tools, to compare prices and benefits between different services, to manage repayment of a loan or to develop smoother accounting services. The CDS ensure that the consumer data held by organisations (Data Holders) is delivered to the Accredited Data Recipient in a consistent format, independent of the internal tools or data representations used by these organisations.

Consumer Experience Standards

The CDS also include Consumer Experience (CX) standards, which include requirements for the creation of implementations by both Data Recipients and Data Holders. 

CX standards are developed by the DSB. 

CX Guidelines

The CX Guidelines provide examples and recommendations for how to implement key rules and standards that relate to the consumer experience. They can be accessed from the CX Guidelines page.

CX guidelines are developed by the DSB. 

CDS Conventions

CDS conventions are a set of recommendations for ways to implement standards. Conventions are not binding. However a convention that becomes established in common use may at some point be elevated  to a binding standard.

Purpose of this Guide

This guide provides guidance for service providers in using the Consumer Data Standards, and in implementing CDR systems. Creating a compliant CDR implementation is the responsibility of the Data Holder and Accredited Data Recipient.

The DSB does not provide specific implementation advice to service providers.

See Using the CDS Guide. Participants should read the Consumer Data Standards in conjunction with the CDS Guide.

Service providers must comply with the rules and standards. They may be guided by the guidelines and conventions. Implementing the standards, and following the rules and guidelines, does not guarantee compliance. See Compliance for more information. 

The Consumer Data Right (CDR) has been introduced in banking and is in the process of being introduced in other industry sectors. Many of the examples in this guide are drawn from the banking sector. 

Service providers in the CDR model are of two types:

• a Data Holder (DH) holds consumer data
• an Accredited Data Recipient (ADR) requests data from the DH on behalf of the consumer

This guide is for  Data Holders (DHs) and Accredited Data Recipients (ADRs). ADRs require an understanding of the systems built by DHs, and DHs need to know how ADR systems work. 

This guide brings together information from the various primary sources under a range of topics. It also includes additional guidance provided by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in response to participant questions.

CDS Guide Table of Contents

To display the CDS Guide Table of Contents (TOC), use the TOC link in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of the page. 

Subsections