A Treasury inquiry into whether a so-called “write” access might be added to the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime should only proceed if the benefits outweigh the negatives, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says.

If implemented, it means customers can direct trusted third parties to apply for and manage products and services on their behalf through application programming interfaces (APIs).

ICA says a sector-by-sector study should be undertaken to determine if the “write” access should be introduced, and if so, how.

“This would ensure that ‘write’ access is only enabled where there is proven benefit to consumers and it is outweighed by any potential negative consequences,” ICA says in a submission to Treasury.

“It may take some time before customers start feeling comfortable with third parties acting on their behalf and with an extension to ‘write’ access.”

The CDR regime is presently only applied in the banking sector, and is commonly known as Open Banking. Work is under way to roll out the CDR in the energy sector, and eventually other industries.

The Treasury paper says the CDR promotes competition and makes it more convenient for customers to compare and select products. It also encourages innovation, enabling businesses to offer new products and services, including products tailored to individual customers’ needs.

At present the CDR regime has only a “read” access, where a trusted third party can read a customer’s data but cannot make modifications.