The starting date of the Financial Accountability Regime has been put back because a series of ministerial rules required for the operation of the scheme have not been finalised. FAR replaces the Bank Executives Accountability Regime, introduced in 2018, and extends its obligations to the superannuation and insurance industries. The Financial Accountability Regime Bill was passed last September and compliance for ADIs was to have started at the end of March, with its obligations extended to the superannuation and insurance industries next year. But yesterday the joint FAR regulators (APRA and ASIC) wrote to ADIs saying that because the ministerial rules are still being finalised, ADIs may need more time to do their compliance. The regulators said current guidance should be enough to allow regulated entities to submit their registration applications by no later than June 30.  Like BEAR, FAR imposes obligations on directors and senior executives to conduct their business honestly and with care, skill and diligence. The aim is to improve the risk and governance cultures of financial institutions and to promote improved performance and stability of the financial system. Companies are to nominate executives to be responsible for areas of business operations. While FAR is based on BEAR, there are some differences. The definition of accountable persons will change. Under BEAR, an accountable person is defined by reference to a list of roles and responsibilities prescribed in the legislation.  Under FAR, a longer list of roles and responsibilities may be set out in the ministerial rules. Another change is that FAR introduces the concept of “enhanced notification obligations”, with the threshold for notification determined by a ministerial rule. Ministerial rules can also be used to vary the remuneration threshold for someone to be considered a responsible person (it is currently A$50,000). Once the ministerial rules have been finalised, the regulators will release the “regulator rules”, transitional rules and reporting instructions.