RBA Guidance for Australian Clearing and Settlement Facility Resolution Regime

RBA Media Releases

Published February 18th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has published final guidance on its Clearing and Settlement (CS) Facility Resolution Regime. This guidance, developed after a consultation period, outlines the RBA's approach to using its resolution powers over CS facilities to ensure financial system stability.

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What changed

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has released final Guidance for the Australian Clearing and Settlement (CS) Facility Resolution Regime, following a consultation process initiated in June 2025. This Guidance, published on February 18, 2026, details how the RBA intends to exercise its crisis resolution powers over CS facilities, which were granted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024. The RBA emphasizes that this Guidance is non-binding and does not supersede existing legislation.

While the Guidance does not impose new legal obligations, it aims to help CS facility participants and stakeholders understand the RBA's resolution framework and potential impacts. Regulated entities, particularly those involved in clearing and settlement services in Australia, should review the Guidance to understand the RBA's approach to managing threats to critical CS facility services or financial system stability. No specific compliance deadline is mentioned, as the Guidance is intended for informational purposes regarding the RBA's discretionary powers.

What to do next

Review the published Guidance on the Australian CS Facility Resolution Regime.
Understand the RBA's approach to resolution powers over CS facilities.
Familiarize with the Response to Consultation paper for insights into feedback and RBA's considerations.

Source document (simplified)

Media Release Release of Guidance for the Australian Clearing and Settlement Facility Resolution Regime

Number 2026-05 Date

18 February 2026

Following consultation with industry, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has published its Guidance on
the Australian Clearing and Settlement (CS) Facility Resolution Regime. The RBA has also published a Response to Consultation which summarises the feedback received from respondents and sets out how the RBA
has addressed it in the Guidance.

In June 2025, in response to stakeholders requests, the RBA released a consultation paper seeking
views on its draft Guidance on the Australian CS Facility Resolution Regime (the Guidance). The Guidance
is intended to provide further information about when and how the RBA would generally expect to use its
resolution powers over Australian CS facilities. It aims to assist CS facility participants and other
stakeholders to understand the RBAs general approach to resolution and the potential impacts on
them if the RBA decides to use a resolution power. The Guidance does not have the force of law, nor does
it pre-commit or otherwise bind the RBA to, or prevent the RBA from taking, a particular course of
action. If there is any inconsistency between the Guidance and the legislation, the legislation prevails.

Background

Clearing and settlement facilities provide post-trade clearing and settlement services for transactions
that occur in financial markets. In Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
(ASIC) has primary responsibility for licensing CS facilities and for granting exemptions from the
requirement to hold a CS facility licence. These facilities are co-regulated by ASIC and the RBA.

In September 2024, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market
Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024. This amended the Corporations Act
2001 to provide the RBA with crisis resolution powers 1 with respect to domestically incorporated CS
facilities 2.
These powers enable the RBA to manage or respond to a threat posed to the continuity of critical CS
facility services or the stability of the financial system in Australia arising in relation to a domestic
CS facility licensee.