This page provides AWS financial institution customers with information about the legal and regulatory requirements in Australia that may apply to their use of AWS services.
Regulations
-
Can financial institutions use AWS?
Yes. Financial institutions in Australia are permitted to use cloud services, provided that they comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, such as those described below.
-
Who is the financial regulator?
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulates banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, private health insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), among other things, regulates holders of an Australian financial services licence such as financial advisers, as well as businesses that deal in a financial product, make a market for a financial product, operate a registered scheme, provide custodial or depository services, or provide trustee company services.
-
What regulations apply to financial institutions using AWS?
Financial institutions in Australia may be subject to a number of different legal and regulatory requirements when they use cloud services.
Regulations issued by APRA, together with the relevant guidelines, provide a framework for financial institutions in Australia when they are planning to use cloud services. Key regulations and relevant guidelines include the following:
The above framework covers a variety of contractual and operational areas, including due diligence, risk management, business continuity, and monitoring and oversight. The AWS whitepaper AWS User Guide to Financial Services Regulations and Guidelines in Australia summarizes APRA requirements and recommendations related to outsourcing, IT risk, and the cloud. This whitepaper is particularly useful for APRA-regulated institutions looking to run material workloads using AWS services.
Customers that have questions about the applicable regulations, and how these may apply to their use of AWS services, can reach out to their account representative or contact us.
Regulations are changing rapidly in this space, and AWS is working to help customers proactively respond to new rules and guidelines. AWS encourages its financial institutions customers to obtain appropriate advice on their compliance with all regulatory and legal requirements that are relevant to their business, including other local regulations, guidelines and laws.
-
Key considerations for financial institutions using AWS
AWS is committed to offering customers a strong compliance framework and advanced tools and security measures that customers can use to evaluate meet, and demonstrate compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Financial institutions who are using or planning to use AWS services can take the following steps to better understand their compliance needs:
1. Consider the purpose of the workload(s) under consideration and the relevant categories of data in order to anticipate which legal and regulatory requirements may apply.
2. Assess the materiality or criticality of the relevant workload(s) in light of local requirements. For example, customers regulated under APRA Prudential Standard CPS 231 are required to notify APRA if they enter into an agreement to outsource a material business activity and should also consult with APRA prior to offshoring a material business activity.
3. Review the AWS Shared Responsibility Model and map AWS responsibilities and customer responsibilities according to each AWS service that will be used. Customers can also use AWS Artifact to access AWS’ audit reports and conduct their assessment of the control responsibilities.
4. Customers who have further questions about how AWS services can enable their security and compliance needs, or who would like more information, can contact their account representative or contact us.
-
Key data privacy and protection considerations for financial institutions using AWS
Financial institutions in Australia using AWS services should also consider applicable privacy requirements, including the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). More information on these requirements are included in the AWS whitepaper, Using AWS in the Context of Australian Privacy Considerations.
If customers process or are planning to process the personal data of data subjects in the European Union (EU), they should visit AWS’ General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Center. More information on these requirements are included in the AWS whitepaper, Navigating GDPR Compliance on AWS.
Resources
-
Country-specific
-
General
-
Compliance Programs
-
Country-specific
-
Using AWS in the Context of Australian Privacy Considerations
The following resources are available for download through AWS Artifact. Please note that an AWS account will be required to access AWS Artifact.
The following resources are publicly available:
Understanding the ASD’s Cloud Computing Security for Tenants in the Context of AWSThis document provides information to assist customers who want to use AWS to store or process content containing personal information, in the context of key privacy considerations and the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). It will help customers understand: The way AWS services operate, including how customers can address security and encrypt their content. The geographic locations where customers can choose to store content and other relevant considerations. The respective roles the customer and AWS each play in managing and securing content stored on AWS services.
AWS User Guide to Financial Services Regulations and Guidelines in AustraliaThe Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) publishes the Cloud Computing Security for Tenants paper to provide guidance on how an organisations’ cyber security team, cloud architects and business representatives can work together to perform a risk assessment and use cloud services securely. The paper highlights the shared responsibility that organisations (referred to as Tenants) share with the cloud service providers (CSP) to design a solution that uses security best practices.
This document addresses each risk identified in the Cloud Computing Security for Tenants paper, and describes the AWS services and features that you can use to mitigate those risks.
This document provides information to assist financial services institutions in Australia that are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as they accelerate their use of Amazon Web Services’ cloud services.
-
General
-
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 3.2.1 on AWSUsing AWS in the Context of Common Privacy and Data Protection Considerations
This guide provides customers with sufficient information to be able to plan for and document the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance of their AWS workloads. This includes the selection of controls that meet specific PCI DSS 3.2.1 requirements, planning of evidence gathering to meet assessment testing procedures, and explaining their control implementation to their PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA).
AWS Compliance Quick Reference GuideThis document provides information to assist customers who want to use AWS to store or process content containing personal data, in the context of common privacy and data protection considerations. It will help customers understand the way AWS services operate, including how customers can address security and encrypt their content. The geographic locations where customers can choose to store content and other relevant considerations. The respective roles the customer and AWS each play in managing and securing content stored on AWS services.
AWS Operational ResilienceAWS has many compliance-enabling features that you can use for your regulated workloads in the AWS cloud. These features allow you to achieve a higher level of security at scale. Cloud-based compliance offers a lower cost of entry, easier operations, and improved agility by providing more oversight, security control, and central automation.
Data Classification and Secure Cloud AdoptionThe purpose of this paper is to describe how AWS and our customers in the financial services industry achieve operational resilience using AWS services.
AWS Policy Perspectives: Data ResidencyThis paper provides insight into classification schemes for public and private organizations to leverage when moving data to the cloud. It identifies practices and models currently implemented by global first movers and early adopters, examines how implementation of these schemes can simplify cloud adoption, and recommends practices to harmonize national requirements to internationally recognized standards and frameworks.
AWS Risk and ComplianceThis paper addresses: The real and perceived security risks expressed by governments when they demand in-country data residency. Commercial, public sector, and economic impact of in-country data residency policies with a focus on government data. Considerations for governments to evaluate before enforcing requirements that can unintentionally limit public sector digital transformation goals leading to increased cybersecurity risk.
AWS Security Audit GuidelinesThis document is intended to provide information to assist AWS customers with integrating AWS into their existing control framework supporting their IT environment. This document includes a basic approach to evaluating AWS controls and provides information to assist customers with integrating control environments. This document also addresses AWS-specific information around general cloud computing compliance questions.
Guidelines for systematically reviewing and monitoring your AWS resources for security best practices.
-
Compliance Programs
-
IRAP
ISO 27017
SOC
CSA
ISO 27018
ISO 9001
GDPR
ISO 27001
PCI DSS Level 1
We are continually adapting to evolving regulations. Check often for updates.
