Consumer Data Right
Open Banking in Australia 2026: What's Changed and What's Coming Next
Open banking in Australia in 2026: CDR expansion to non-bank lenders, action initiation, screen scraping ban, energy data, and what businesses should prepare for.
Australia's open banking framework, underpinned by the Consumer Data Right (CDR), has matured significantly since its launch in July 2020. What started as a banking-only initiative now spans energy, is expanding into non-bank lending, and has a legislative foundation for action initiation. Here's where things stand in 2026 and what's ahead.
The CDR Reset: From Compliance to Utility
In August 2024, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones announced a reset of the CDR, acknowledging it had been "a good idea, badly executed." The reset shifted focus from broad sector expansion to targeted, high-value use cases.
Key changes from the reset include:
- Pause on new sector designations — Telecommunications, insurance, and superannuation expansion has been paused to focus resources on making existing sectors work better.
- Cost reduction for data holders — Fixed annual data standards release schedules, streamlined performance obligations, and expanded permanent exemption pathways.
- Consent simplification — Bundled and pre-filled consents where "reasonably needed," plus streamlined 90-day notifications for unused consents.
- Data retention reduced — From seven years to two years, lowering compliance costs for smaller participants.
CDR by the Numbers
Despite the reset, adoption has been growing steadily:
- 530,000+ Australians actively using open banking products and services (H2 2024)
- 4 billion+ cumulative consumer data requests processed
- 582 million data requests in H2 2024 alone
- 190 registered software products across banking and energy
- 100+ accredited data recipients active in the ecosystem
The Productivity Commission estimates the CDR could deliver $10 billion in annual productivity gains for the Australian economy, with a target of 5.4 million consumers and businesses using CDR-enabled services by 2030.
Non-Bank Lender Expansion: The Big Change in 2026
The most significant development in 2026 is the expansion of CDR to non-bank lenders (NBLs). Published in March 2025, the amended CDR Rules bring mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies, BNPL providers, marketplace lenders, and other non-bank lending entities into the framework.
Implementation Timeline
The rollout follows five tranches:
| Tranche | Date | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 July 2026 | Product data requests — all initial and large providers |
| 2 | 9 November 2026 | Consumer data requests (non-complex) — initial providers |
| 3 | 15 March 2027 | Complex consumer data requests — initial providers |
| 4 | 10 May 2027 | Consumer data requests — large providers |
| 5 | 13 September 2027 | Complex consumer data requests — large providers |
Provider Classifications
Initial providers are NBLs with over $10 billion in resident loans and finance leases (averaged over the preceding 12 months). Large providers have $1 billion or more with at least 1,000 customers. Smaller NBLs can participate voluntarily.
What's Covered
Covered products include car loans, BNPL accounts, mortgages, personal loans, and most consumer lending products. Excluded from mandatory sharing: consumer leases, foreign currency accounts, margin loans, reverse mortgages, and non-standard vehicle finance.
Action Initiation: Write-Access to CDR
The legislative framework for action initiation — which allows accredited parties to initiate actions (like payments or account switches) on behalf of consumers — passed Parliament in August 2024 with bipartisan support.
However, the specific rules, standards, and sector applications are still being developed. Treasury has identified priority use cases including:
- Borrowing decisions and loan applications
- Energy provider switching
- Small business accounting integrations
- Personal budget management tools
Action initiation represents a shift from CDR being a read-only framework to one that enables transactions. When implemented, this could significantly accelerate adoption by making open banking directly useful for consumers rather than just a data-sharing mechanism.
Screen Scraping: The Clock Is Ticking
The Australian Government has signalled its intent to formally ban screen scraping where CDR is a viable alternative. Treasury was tasked with advising on an implementation timeline, following the 2022 CDR Statutory Review recommendation.
Major banks are already taking action independently. Commonwealth Bank's rollout of mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) effectively broke screen scraping integrations, pushing fintechs toward CDR APIs. Other major banks are expected to follow.
For businesses still relying on screen scraping, the message is clear: migrate to CDR APIs now, before regulatory or technical changes force an abrupt transition.
Energy Sector CDR
Energy has been part of CDR since November 2022, with energy retailers and distributors sharing product reference data and consumer energy usage data. The energy sector is important because it enables:
- Automated energy plan comparison based on actual usage patterns
- Real-time usage monitoring and bill forecasting
- Demand response programs using consented smart meter data
- Bundled financial and energy product recommendations
The CDR reset acknowledged some challenges in the energy rollout and introduced trial product exclusions to reduce compliance costs for energy retailers with smaller customer bases.
What Businesses Should Prepare For
Whether you're a fintech, lender, energy provider, or data recipient, here's what to focus on in 2026:
If You're a Non-Bank Lender
- Assess whether you meet the initial or large provider threshold
- Begin preparing product reference data for the July 2026 deadline
- Evaluate build vs. buy for CDR data holder infrastructure
- Establish consent management frameworks
If You're a Data Recipient (Fintech)
- Prepare to access non-bank lending data from November 2026
- Plan product features around BNPL and non-bank lending data
- Migrate any screen scraping integrations to CDR APIs
- Monitor action initiation developments for transaction-enabled use cases
If You're Already a Data Holder (Bank or Energy)
- Review cost reduction opportunities from the CDR reset changes
- Optimise existing CDR infrastructure for performance
- Consider how non-bank lending data availability changes your competitive landscape
Looking Ahead
Australia's open banking framework is entering its most consequential phase. The CDR reset has sharpened focus, non-bank lending expansion brings millions of new data points into the ecosystem, and action initiation legislation sets the stage for CDR to move from data sharing to direct consumer utility.
The question for businesses is no longer whether to participate in open banking, but how quickly they can build on it.
Fiskil provides CDR-compliant open banking and open energy infrastructure for businesses in Australia. Learn more about our APIs.
