The Consumer Data Right (CDR) was introduced to give consumers greater control over their consumer data. It enables a consumer to direct a data holder to provide their CDR data to an accredited data recipient, in a CDR compliant format.

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).

The Competition and Consumer (Consumer Data Right) Rules 2020 (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.

There are also ‘data standards’ that are made by the Data Standards Body, including standards about the format and process for transferring data. The data standards are available on the Consumer Data Standards website.

A sector needs to be designated by the Minister to be part of the CDR system. The Consumer Data Right (Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions) Designation 2019 is the instrument that designates the banking sector and the Consumer Data Right (Energy Sector) Designation 2020 is the instrument that designates the energy sector as part of the CDR system. These instruments set out the classes of information that are subject to the CDR as well as who holds this information and is required to transfer it at the consumer’s request.