Our purpose
APRA is responsible for ensuring that Australians’ financial interests are protected. We promote the safety and stability of the financial system, while balancing competition and efficiency considerations.
Our people enable our purpose through their dedication and commitment to our work and our values.
Our regulatory tools include powers to set, supervise and enforce standards, and if necessary, resolve institutions in an orderly manner.
Our role
Prudential regulation is concerned with maintaining the safety and soundness of regulated financial entities, so that the community can have confidence that those entities will meet their financial commitments under all reasonable circumstances. Under the legislation that APRA administers, APRA is tasked with protecting the interests of depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.
APRA is also the national statistical agency of the Australian financial sector and Australia’s resolution authority, responsible for administration of the Financial Claims Scheme.
Learn more about what we do.
Our priorities
APRA’s Corporate Plan sets out the strategic objectives that drive APRA’s regulatory priorities over the next four years. It also includes our specific policy, supervision and data priorities for the coming 12 to 18 months.
These reflect APRA’s statutory responsibilities, the Australian Government’s expectations of APRA, and our assessment of key risks in the operating environment.
Our values
Our values underpin the critical role we play in protecting the financial wellbeing of the Australian community. In all our work, we seek to demonstrate integrity, collaboration, accountability, respect and excellence.
Our history
APRA was established on 1 July 1998 under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act). When APRA commenced operations, the value of assets entities held for depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members was $1.1 trillion. By June 2025 this had grown to $9.8 trillion.
Today, APRA regulates 1,147 entities, including:
- authorised deposit-taking institutions (such as banks, building societies and credit unions)
- general insurers
- life insurers
- friendly societies
- private health insurers
- reinsurance companies, and
- superannuation funds (other than self-managed funds).
A detailed overview of APRA is given in this section of our website and in this document, APRA’s objectives.