Australia’s prudential regulatory and supervisory framework is better and more strongly regulated than before, according to the APRA annual report for 2001/02.

The regulator’s yearly glossy look at itself highlights progress made with major prudential reforms, including those of the general insurance industry. It also shows a marked increase in APRA’s supervisory and enforcement actions.

Enforcement actions doubled during 2001/02, with 199 actions against regulated institutions compared with 96 in the previous year. The report said APRA’s total operating expenditure in 2001/02 was $55.8 million, up from $52.5 million the previous year.

“While the year has been demanding, APRA has made substantial progress with significant reforms and has instituted a number of changes that continue to increase our effectiveness as the prudential regulator,” CEO Graeme Thompson said.

He said a milestone was the new supervision regime for general insurers introduced in July. “It involved a fresh assessment of the strength of all insurers against new, higher prudential standards.”