The CFTC determined that Australia's margin requirements for uncleared swaps are comparable in outcome to the CFTC's rules.
The CFTC determination is generally for circumstances where substituted compliance applies under CFTC rules, and does not contain material conditions that would require partial compliance with U.S. rules. The relief does not extend to products that are "swaps" for U.S. purposes but out-of-scope for Australian purposes and, in such cases, an entity could not elect to comply with Australian requirements over CFTC requirements.
Commentary / Nihal Patel
Similar to the Japan determination, market participants should note that the Australia determination applies even where there are differences in the scope of entities subject to relevant margin requirements, and Australia, like Japan and Europe, has a notional threshold before variation margin requirements apply.
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