Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report 2019
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Also available at the Australian Government's Transparency Portal.
Contents
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Part 1: About the Reserve Bank
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In its role as Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia determines and implements monetary policy, fosters financial stability, undertakes a range of activities in financial markets, acts as banker to the Australian Government, issues Australia's banknotes and has policy, supervisory and operational roles in the payments system.
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The Reserve Bank is an independent central bank, accountable to the Parliament of Australia. The Bank has two boards: the Reserve Bank Board, which has responsibility for monetary and banking policy and the Bank's policy on other matters excluding payments system policy; and the Payments System Board, which has responsibility for payments system policy.
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The Reserve Bank Board comprises nine members: the Governor (Chair), Deputy Governor (Deputy Chair), Secretary to the Treasury (ex officio member) and six other non-executive members appointed by the Treasurer. Further to the legislative requirements, and in recognition of their responsibility to uphold the integrity of the Board and the Reserve Bank, members have adopted a Code of Conduct.
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The Reserve Bank is managed by the Governor, Philip Lowe, and the Deputy Governor, Guy Debelle. It has five operational groups – Business Services Group, Corporate Services Group, Economic Group, Financial Markets Group and Financial System Group – and six supporting departments.
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The Bank seeks to enhance the community's understanding of its responsibilities and policy decisions through a broad communication program. Staff in the Bank's Head Office and State Offices work to help the community understand the Bank's role and, in turn, to understand the community's perspectives, priorities and concerns. The Bank also supports academic research, continues to build its public education program and operates a museum.
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Part 2: Operations
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The Reserve Bank operates in domestic and international financial markets in order to achieve its policy objectives. These operations include implementing the monetary policy decisions of the Reserve Bank Board, facilitating the smooth functioning of the payments system, managing the nation's foreign exchange reserve assets and providing banking services to clients (mainly the Australian Government and foreign central banks).
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The Reserve Bank provides banking and payment services to meet the needs of the Australian Government and to support the efficient and stable functioning of the Australian financial system. During 2018/19, the Bank completed a number of multi-year projects to renovate and strengthen its banking and settlement capabilities. In addition to operating Australia's real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, the Bank operates new national infrastructure to support the settlement of real-time payments by households and businesses on a 24/7 basis. The Bank also developed services that enable the Australian Government to access 24/7 payment capabilities. These services are consistent with the Bank's strategic goal of providing innovative, high-quality, banking and payment services to the Australian Government and its agencies and, in turn, the Australian public.
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The Reserve Bank is responsible for producing and issuing Australia's banknotes. The Bank seeks to ensure that banknotes in circulation are of high quality and in sufficient volume to meet public demand. Australia has one of the safest and most secure currencies in the world, as reflected in the low level of counterfeiting it experiences. To ensure that this continues to be the case, the Bank researches anti-counterfeiting technologies and developments in banknote design. Based on this work, the Bank has been undertaking a major upgrade of Australia's banknotes, incorporating innovative new security features. Arrangements for storage and distribution of Australia's banknotes have also been upgraded in recent years to allow the Bank readily and cost-effectively to accommodate changing patterns in the demand for banknotes in the community.
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The Reserve Bank participates in initiatives that seek to address the challenges facing the international economy and improve the global financial architecture. It does so through its membership of global and regional forums and its close bilateral relationships with other central banks.
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Part 3: Management
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This chapter outlines the management structure of the Reserve Bank and describes the Bank's approach to managing its finances, technology, data and facilities. The subsequent chapters provide further detail on the Bank's people, risk management and earnings. The Bank is managed by the Governor, with assistance from the Executive Committee and the Risk Management Committee. The Bank is committed to the prudent management of its finances and the efficient functioning of its systems and facilities. It maintains a strong focus on cost control in discharging its key policy and operational responsibilities, and continues to invest in the information technology, data and facilities that are essential for the Bank to achieve its objectives. During 2018/19, some of the new capabilities delivered through strategic projects transitioned into business-as-usual information technology operations.
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The Reserve Bank seeks to attract, develop and retain high-quality people, and to foster an environment where there is a strong focus on behaviours consistent with the Bank's values and risk appetite. The emphasis of this work in 2018/19 focused on: developing employee capabilities in leadership and management; providing greater clarity over position requirements and career opportunities; and ensuring that employees work in a safe and productive environment. Consistent with its values, the Bank also emphasises supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce that is both reflective of, and relevant to, all Australians. This is achieved by raising awareness of issues experienced, ensuring employment opportunities are based on merit and providing flexible work arrangements.
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As the Reserve Bank is exposed to significant risks when carrying out its policy responsibilities, a framework for managing these risks is embedded in the culture of the Bank. The Bank's risk management framework supports effective decisionmaking, while allowing enterprise-wide and emerging risks to be identified and managed in a way that is consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. This framework is overseen by the Risk Management Committee.
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The Reserve Bank recorded a net profit of $4.5 billion in 2018/19. In accordance with the Reserve Bank Act 1959, unrealised gains are not available for distribution and are transferred to the unrealised profits reserve. Earnings available for distribution amounted to $1.7 billion, with the full sum to be distributed to the Commonwealth. The Reserve Bank remains well capitalised.
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The following sets of accounts for the Reserve Bank's contestable businesses have been prepared in accordance with competitive neutrality guidelines. These accounts do not form part of the audited financial statements.
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The Reserve Bank has a number of statutory reporting requirements that extend beyond its policy objectives and cover areas such as equal employment opportunity, work health and safety, environmental performance, freedom of information and procurement.
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Part 4: Financial Statements
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Part 5: Indexes
ISSN 1448–5303 (Print)
ISSN 1448–5192 (Online)