About Consumer Data Right guidance

Why guidance matters

Guidance supports a consistent and workable CDR system by:

• Support understanding: of obligations in the legislation, regulations, and standards
• Promote consistency: in how participants implement the CDR
• Reduce uncertainty: and help prevent issues before regulatory intervention is needed.

Guidance helps turn complex legal requirements into practical information. It explains what is required, what is expected, and how obligations may apply in real-world situations.

Guidance supports the legislation, but does not replace or override it. The legislation remains the authoritative source of legal obligations.

The law sets the legal framework, while standards and guidance help explain how that framework works in practice. Together, they help participants understand what they must do, support consistent implementation, and help customers and participants understand the CDR and their role in it.

Guidance and the Consumer Data Right framework

Guidance supports the wider CDR framework, alongside:

• legislation, including the Customer and Product Data Act and regulations
• standards, including technical and non-technical requirements
• regulatory policies and operational frameworks.

Together, these components help support a clear, consistent, and enforceable CDR system.

Our approach to guidance

We develop and publish guidance so it is:

• clear and accurate: reflects current legislation, regulations, and standards
• easy to use: written in plain language and designed to be practical and accessible
• consistent: aligned across CDR materials so participants receive a coherent message
• transparent: clearly distinguishes legal obligations from recommended best practice
• practical: focused on what participants need to do in real-world situations
• kept up to date: updated over time as the CDR develops and new issues emerge

We publish guidance progressively as it is developed, so participants have timely access to relevant information.

Publishing guidance

We publish guidance on our website so it is accessible to everyone. Where appropriate, we also let participants know when significant guidance has been published.

Guidance is developed in the priority order shown on the roadmaps, but it may not always be published in that sequence. Some topics need broader input or consultation and may take longer to finalise. Guidance will be published as it is ready, so lower-priority topics may sometimes be released first.

This approach helps ensure participants have timely access to practical guidance, while maintaining a clear overall direction for guidance development.

Consultation on guidance prior to publication

Guidance can have a direct impact on how participants act and make decisions.

Where guidance is new or significantly changed, we will usually engage participants directly before publishing it. This gives participants an opportunity to provide feedback and helps ensure the guidance is clear, workable, and understood before it is finalised.

Minor updates will usually be published without consultation.

Capturing guidance updates and changes

Guidance helps explain how the CDR applies in practice and what participants may need to do. When guidance is updated, we will provide a summary of the changes so participants can quickly see what has changed and consider whether they need to update their current practices.

Guidance roadmaps

The CDR is a new regulatory system, and the operating model, sector settings, and implementation experience are still developing. Guidance will be developed progressively as the CDR takes shape.

This means:

• not all guidance will be available from the start
• guidance will be published in stages - based on where clarity is most needed
• guidance topics and timing may change as sectors are designated and implementation progresses
• participant feedback, operational experience, and emerging risks will help shape future guidance.

This approach helps keep guidance practical, relevant, and aligned with how the system works in practice.

Because guidance is being developed, we publish and maintain guidance roadmaps to give participants visibility of the guidance we plan to develop. There is a roadmap for each CDR sector, as well as for MBIE’s operational delivery of the CDR. Together, these roadmaps help participants understand what guidance is available now, what is planned, and where further guidance may be developed over time.

• See what guidance is available: including what is planned, in development, and already published
• Understand relative priority: across topics and sectors
• See what each topic will cover: so they have a clearer sense of what to expect
• Plan ahead: by understanding what guidance is likely to be published and when
• Identify gaps: by telling us about guidance they need that is not currently planned

Roadmaps are updated over time as the CDR develops and new guidance is published.

Guidance for sectors

We publish sector-specific guidance for each designated CDR sector to address the operational and implementation issues most relevant to that sector.

Banking

Guidance for regulated open banking supports participants to implement and operate within the CDR, particularly during early stages when implementation questions and operational uncertainty are highest.

Regulated open banking guidance

Electricity

Guidance for regulated open electricity will be developed as the sector is designated and implementation progresses. Early material is focused on helping potential participants understand how the framework is expected to apply to electricity, what participation may involve, and where early feedback on likely impact and timeframes is most useful.

Initial material will focus on helping participants understand how the framework will apply to the electricity sector and what will be required to participate.

Regulated open electricity guidance

Guidance about the Consumer Data Right

MBIE’s regulatory delivery of the Consumer Data Right

We also provide guidance on how MBIE will carry out its regulatory role under the Consumer Data Right, including how we will operate key regulatory processes, how we work with participants and other regulators, and how we support the CDR in practice.

Operations guidance for Consumer Data Right

For customers and users of the Consumer Data Right

We provide guidance for customers and other users of the CDR to help them understand what the CDR means in practice. This includes guidance on how CDR services work, how to identify legitimate participants, how to keep data safe, and what to do if help is needed. It also includes information for customers requesting their own data and organisations requesting product data.

Consumer Data Right legislation and core framework

We provide guidance on the CDR legislation, regulations, and standards to help people understand how the core framework works. This includes guidance on how the key documents fit together, what they require, and where to find the most relevant information.

Staying up to date

We will update guidance over time as the CDR develops. To stay up to date, we encourage participants and customers to:

• use published guidance: as the main source of current guidance
• get in contact early: if you need clarification
• share feedback: on guidance priorities or content.

This helps support a shared understanding of obligations and a well-functioning CDR system.

Feedback or suggestions

We want guidance to be clear, practical, and easy to use. If anything is unclear, difficult to apply, or missing, let us know.

We welcome feedback on current guidance and on topics you think we should cover in future. This includes feedback on published guidance, roadmap priorities, and areas where further clarification would be useful.

If you have questions or feedback about CDR guidance, email our CDR team.