Financial Accountability Regime 2022

# Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2022 **What it does** This bill creates stricter rules for banks, insurance companies, and superannuation funds to hold their leaders accountable for what goes wrong. It requires senior executives and board members to take personal responsibility for major failures and sets new requirements around how much of their pay gets held back and for how long. **Why it matters** After major scandals in the financial sector (like the Westpac breaches and superannuation failures), this tightens the screws on executives who've previously faced few personal consequences when their organisations break the law. It means bosses can't just blame "the system"—they're now personally on the hook. **Key details** - **Who's affected:** Senior managers and board members at banks, insurers, and super funds (called "accountable persons") plus the organisations themselves - **Key requirement:** Companies must defer (hold back) a chunk of executive bonuses and variable pay for set periods, so executives share the pain if problems emerge later - **Accountability obligation:** Senior leaders must take "reasonable steps" to ensure their organisation complies with financial laws—failure to do so can result in personal penalties, not just corporate fines