Case Study

Bank Australia

Bank Australia is Australia’s first 100% customer owned bank. Its focus is on responsible banking, for its customers, the communities they live in, and the planet we all live on. Not being bound by the demands of investors means Bank Australia acts in the best long term interests of its customers. Profits are reinvested in the bank to provide fairer fees, better interest rates, and the responsible products and services that its customers expect.

How we helped them

The brief

Bank Australia has to meet the same strict standards as all Australian banks, with oversight by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). APRA’s rules on safety and capital apply to all banks, building societies and credit unions, ensuring the same high standards apply to all. These rules include compliance with APRA’s prudential standard CPS 232, which requires regulated institutions to implement and maintain a comprehensive whole-of-business approach to business continuity management.

As a 100% customer owned bank, Bank Australia puts its customers’ interests first and has always been committed to the provision of highly secure and resilient customer services. Bank Australia maintains a comprehensive Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) to ensure the continued provision of services following major disruptive events, such as natural disasters. Regular reviews and extensive tests of the BCMS are conducted to ensure its continued effectiveness and identify any improvement opportunities.

The solution

As part of the regular review cycle, Blueprint Information Security was engaged to perform a comprehensive review of the BCMS, and conduct a staff awareness and testing exercise. In-depth Business Impact Analysis workshops were held with key stakeholders to verify business continuity requirements and the most efficient recovery options. The Business Continuity Plan was then updated to include additional resilience capabilities and improve its clarity. Blueprint then developed an awareness and testing exercise to enhance staff familiarity with the BCP and verify its effectiveness.