Infrastructure Developments in the Market for Commonwealth Government Securities

The market for Commonwealth Government securities (CGS) is a key financial market in Australia because, among other things, it provides a risk-free benchmark for the pricing of a wide range of fixed income securities. This article discusses aspects of the infrastructure that underpins the market, including: the issuance and ownership of securities; the registry and settlement of these securities; and efforts to promote improved access to the market for retail investors. Several infrastructure changes that have been implemented recently, or are soon to apply, are also discussed. These changes will result in some amendments to statistics published by the Reserve Bank on the CGS market.