The federal government wants to “reset” the Consumer Data Right regime and is consulting on proposed changes to its consent and operational rules.

Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones says the planned measures will streamline the process by enabling consumers to provide multiple consents in a single action.

“The CDR has potential to deliver real economic transformation,” he said. “The Albanese government will reset the Consumer Data Right to deliver better consumer outcomes.”

The consultation follows the release this month of a compliance cost review of the data-sharing system, which launched in July 2020 with the big four banks ahead of a roll-out to other sectors.

The review says several years into implementation in the banking sector, and a shorter period for the energy sector, the CDR’s costs appear to have far exceeded original regulatory estimates.

“Industry participants have expressed significant concerns about the continued pace of change and the resulting costs,” the review said. “There have been a number of factors contributing to these costs. For the most part, data holders did not have systems and data structures in place to meet technical requirements, so very significant systems development work has been required.”

Last year, the government put on hold the planned rollout of the CDR to the insurance, superannuation and telecommunications sectors.

The decision followed an independent statutory review of the system that in 2022 concluded: “The CDR must be appropriately configured to facilitate the inclusion of different types of consumers like business, to grow the ecosystem, while ensuring the broader consumer voice isn’t lost.”

The closing date for submissions to Treasury CDR review is September 9. Find the consultation paper here.