The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority confirmed on 15 October 2025 that Westpac Banking Corporation had fulfilled all obligations under its Court Enforceable Undertaking, releasing the bank from the remaining $500 million capital add-on that had been applied to it since 2019. The supervisory process began with APRA's 2019 capital add-ons and included Westpac's A$1.3 billion AUSTRAC penalty.
APRA's confirmation followed its assessment that Westpac had successfully completed the CORE Program — the Customer Outcomes and Risk Excellence programme — a multi-year programme to remediate weaknesses in the bank's culture, governance and accountability. The regulator said it was satisfied that the programme was complete and that the specific prudential issues it had identified had been addressed.
THE CAPITAL ADD-ON
APRA's operational risk capital add-ons on Westpac reached A$1 billion in December 2019, when it doubled the add-on after AUSTRAC launched legal action against the bank. In July 2024, the regulator reduced the requirement from A$1 billion to A$500 million, with the complete removal contingent on the bank finishing the CORE Program to the required standard.
APRA Member Therese McCarthy Hockey said completion of the programme was "a vital step" in ensuring APRA's expectations of prudent risk management and governance are consistently met, adding that effective risk transformation programmes "may continue to identify legacy issues" and that APRA expects Westpac to maintain its "unquestionably strong capital position".