The forthcoming publication of an innovation agenda by the Australian government has galvanised the national fintech community to push for reforms that will help establish the country as a leading Asian hub for startups in the sector.
In a letter to senior government officials, a fintech coalition representing the views of 32 national startups, incubators and investors has called on the government to put financial technology issues at the heart of its innovation agenda.
Pointing to the joined-up thinking that has helped propel the fintech community in the UK, US and Singapore, the letter urges the government to set up a taskforce to address key policy reforms around tax credits and concessions to startups and to deliver regulatory clarity around new innovations in banking.
The group, which includes Westpac's Reinventures fund alongside established fintech hubs such as Sydney's Stone & Chalk, says it will establish a professional fintech association in the coming months to lobby on behalf of the industry.
A separate initiative aiming to shape government policy comes in the form of a national fintech census, which will aim to take the pulse of the startup industry and provide a feedback mechanism to regional and national authorities and corporate investors. It follows the publication of a similar census in Melbourne in September, which has helped inform strategic priorities to drag the city into the national fintech conversation.