EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Access Regime for the ATM System Variation 2025

This Explanatory Statement relates to the Access Regime for the ATM System Variation 2025 (the Variation Instrument).

Background

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) introduced the Access Regime for the ATM System (the Access Regime) in 2009 as part of a broader set of industry-led reforms aimed at promoting efficiency and competition in the ATM system. The Access Regime regulates interchange fees paid between participants in the ATM system and caps the amounts that existing participants can charge new entrants for establishing direct connections for the exchange of transaction messages and direct clearing and settlement arrangements for ATM transactions. The Access Regime operates in conjunction with the ATM Access Code (the Access Code), a self-regulatory instrument adopted by ATM Access Australia Limited (AAAL) and administered by Australian Payments Network Limited (AusPayNet). The Access Code specifies certain rules, rights and obligations of parties in relation to the non-price elements of establishing connections and operating ATMs. Together, the Access Regime and the industry-administered Access Code facilitate access to the ATM system, thereby promoting efficiency and competition in the provision of ATM services.

In December 2024, the Board of AAAL approved a proposal to convert the Access Code into an ATM Access Standard (the Access Standard), a new subscription-based industry standard to be administered by AusPayNet. The Access Standard was developed by AusPayNet in consultation with industry participants. AusPayNet also engaged with the RBA, as amendments to the Access Regime would be required to enable the implementation of the Access Standard. In June 2025, the Access Standard was approved by AAAL’s members and the AusPayNet Board.

AusPayNet has informed the RBA that all existing AAAL members have subscribed to the Access Standard, and that the Access Standard will formally commence on 1 October 2025. The Access Standard is available at: https://auspaynet.com.au/standards/ATMaccess

The Access Standard is intended to supersede the Access Code. After the Access Standard has formally commenced, AAAL will be deregistered and AusPayNet will assume its role as sole administrator of the Access Standard.

The RBA considers that, for the purposes of the Access Regime, the Access Standard does not materially change the rights and obligations of relevant industry participants compared to those that arose under the Access Code.

The main differences between the Access Standard and the Access Code relate to:

• the different governance arrangements (the Access Code obligations applied to members of AAAL, whereas the Access Standard applies to subscribers);
• AusPayNet’s role in administering the Access Standard;
• the processes for industry participants to become subscribers to the Access Standard; and
• the fee arrangements for administering the Access Standard.

Authority

The Access Regime was made under subsection 12(1) of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 (the Act). The Variation Instrument is made pursuant to subsection 14(1) of the Act, which enables the RBA to vary an access regime by legislative instrument if it considers it appropriate to do so having regard to:

1.     whether the variation would be in the public interest (within the meaning given under section 8 of the Act);
2.     the interests of the current participants in the system;
3.      the interests of people who, in the future, may want to access the system; and
4.     any other matters the RBA considers relevant.

The RBA considers that the variations to the Access Regime under the Variation Instrument are appropriate having had regard to these factors, as further explained below.

Purpose and operation

The purpose of the Variation Instrument is to accommodate the replacement of the Access Code with the Access Standard. The amendments to the Access Regime under the Variation Instrument are minor and do not change its substantive requirements.

In particular:

• the definition of ‘ATM Access Code’ has been replaced with a new definition of ‘ATM Access Standard’ and each reference to the ATM Access Code has been replaced with a reference to the ATM Access Standard;
• references to Australian Payments Clearing Association Limited have been replaced with Australian Payments Network Limited, reflecting the change in the name of that entity; and
• minor consequential changes have been made to paragraph 7 of the Access Regime to reflect the continuing effect of the Access Regime (as varied from time to time).

The RBA is satisfied that the amendments under the Variation Instrument are in the public interest, and in the interests of current and future participants in the ATM system, as they have the effect of ensuring that the requirements of the Access Regime continue to apply alongside the new Access Standard in promoting efficiency and competition in the ATM system.

Consultation

The RBA consulted AusPayNet on the amendments to the Access Regime under the Variation Instrument. The RBA did not otherwise consult the public on the Variation Instrument. The RBA was satisfied that the consultation undertaken was appropriate considering that:

• the amendments under the Variation Instrument are minor and technical in nature, and do not change the substantive requirements of the Access Regime;
• AusPayNet consulted the directors and members of AAAL and other relevant industry participants on the proposed conversion of the Access Code to the Access Standard and on the draft Access Standard and informed the RBA that no objections relating to the conversion of the Access Code to the Access Standard were raised; and
• for the purposes of the Access Regime, the RBA considers that the Access Standard is not materially different from the Access Code in terms of the rights and obligations it imposes on relevant industry participants, and continues to support the same policy objectives.

Documents incorporated by reference into the Access Regime

The Access Regime refers to the Access Standard with a commencement date of 1 October 2025 as in force on that date. A copy of the Access Standard Version 1.0 and effective on 1 October 2025 is available on the AusPayNet website at: https://auspaynet.com.au/standards/ATMaccess

The Access Standard is subject to copyright. It is necessary for the Access Regime to provide for certain matters by reference to the Access Standard as the Access Regime is intended to work alongside and in conjunction with the Access Standard. The Access Standard may be accessed free of charge from AusPayNet’s website, and the copyright notice included in the Access Standard (Version 1.0 and effective on 1 October 2025) provides that the Access Standard may be reproduced within Australia in unaltered form for personal and non-commercial use subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source.

Exemption from sunsetting

Each of the Variation Instrument and the Access Regime is exempt from sunsetting pursuant to item 50(b) of the table in regulation 12 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015.

Access regimes imposed under the Act are designed to be enduring and commercial certainty would be undermined by sunsetting. The ATM Access Regime regulates certain pricing arrangements between participants in the ATM system. It would likely be commercially disruptive if those arrangements changed due to sunsetting, and it could undermine access and competition in the ATM system.

Notwithstanding the fact that access regimes (and any variations to access regimes) are exempt from sunsetting, the RBA periodically reviews the access regimes it has imposed under the Act to ensure that they remain necessary and fit for purpose. The RBA has reviewed the ATM Access Regime several times since it was introduced in 2009. These reviews have involved consultation with AusPayNet and industry stakeholders on whether the Access Regime is meeting its policy objectives and whether any changes should be made. The last such review took place in 2023 and was discussed by the Payments System Board in November 2023, where it was decided to retain the Access Regime in its current form.

Exemption from disallowance

Each of the Variation Instrument and the Access Regime is currently exempt from disallowance pursuant to item 26(a) of the table in regulation 10 of the Legislation (Exemption and Other Matters) Regulation 2015.

The justification for the exemption of access regimes (and any variations to access regimes) from disallowance under the current law includes the following:

• consistent with the requirements under the Act, when considering the case for any access regime, the RBA first undertakes extensive public consultations on the broad policy issue and then also consults on the specific text of any draft access regime;
• given the wide range of stakeholders and commercial decisions potentially affected by any access regime, commercial certainty is imperative and would be adversely affected if the instruments are subject to disallowance;
• access regimes are generally intended to operate from the time they are made, and commercial certainty may be undermined if the relevant instrument could be disallowed at a later date; and
   
• under section 11 of the Reserve Bank Act 1959, in the event of a difference of opinion between the Payments System Board and the Government about whether a policy determined by the Payments System Board is directed to the greatest advantage of the people of Australia, the Government can (subject to compliance with the processes set out in that section) determine the policy to be adopted by the RBA (including policy for the purposes of the RBA’s powers under the Act).

Michele Bullock
Governor
 

Approved by the Reserve Bank of Australia
17 September 2025