Michele Bullock: Policymaking at the Reserve Bank of Australia

Speech by Ms Michele Bullock, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, at the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) Annual Conference, Sydney, 18 October 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
19 October 2022
by Michele Bullock
PDF full text
(476kb)
  |  8 pages

Thank you for the opportunity to address AFIA's conference. AFIA's membership is very broad – bringing together people from traditional ADIs to newer technology-driven entrants and fintechs. One thing you all have in common, however, is that you are influenced by the economy and interest rates. And these days, developments in the payments system are critical to your businesses. The Reserve Bank is a key player in both these areas.

I am going to cover off two topics today. First, I will discuss how the Bank and the Board come to decisions on monetary policy. This part will act as an update to a speech made by Glenn Stevens in 2009 where he set out the internal Bank processes for making monetary policy decisions.[1] It will also highlight some of the innovations made since then, particularly in terms of data, that we now use for monitoring the economy – these innovations have come about because of advances in technology and its impact on our digital lives.

The second part of my remarks will address developments in the payments space.

The monetary policy process

The Reserve Bank's obligations with respect to monetary policy are set out in the Reserve Bank Act 1959.