Australia’s two financial services regulators, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), received a funding boost in last week’s Federal Budget.

ASIC received $116.7 million over four years to support its information technology infrastructure and APRA is to receive $24.1 million over four years to attract and retain qualified staff.

The increases in allocation come as speculation mounts that Labor would merge the two organisations if it wins office in the next election.

ASIC’s core systems are under pressure from increasing public demand for information. The funding will be used to redevelop its online presence, and implement IT security and risk mitigation enhancements.

This measure will also enable ASIC to invest in essential business support tools, including electronic document and records management systems and data warehousing.

Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton says APRA is doing a great job. “This additional funding will help enable APRA to effectively compete for staff with appropriate specialised skills that are in high demand in the financial services sector.”

Mr Dutton says the upward pressure on workload stems from substantial increases in the complexity of financial services APRA is required to assess and monitor.

“On the other hand, financial institutions stress the importance of being able to deal with appropriately skilled and experienced staff from APRA who truly understand the business.”