After alerting to possible delays back in March, the ASX confirmed on Tuesday that the CHESS replacement will be pushed back beyond April next year after the project was hit by another delay.
"This decision reflects the delay to the remaining delivery of application software, which no longer gives ASX and CHESS users the time allocated to complete their testing and other readiness activities before April 2023," Daniel Moran, group general counsel and company secretary, is quoted as saying in the statement.
A new go-live date is set to be determined after further planning with ASX’s technology partner and input from stakeholders on the timing of project milestones, including industry testing, operational readiness, market dress rehearsals and implementation.
"ASX’s priority remains to deliver CHESS replacement in a manner that balances safety and efficiency. Ongoing engagement with the industry is a vital ingredient. The existing CHESS system remains robust and continues to perform well in the meantime," Mr Moran said.
On 28 March, ASX advised the market about changes to the CHESS application software release schedule and indicated there was a strong likelihood that the April 2023 go-live date would change.
“At this time, ASX advises that there is a strong likelihood of delay to the go-live date. We will engage with our technology providers and stakeholders to assess the impact,” ASX COO Tim Hogben said at the time.
The project was initially expected to be complete as early as Q4 2020, before being hit by multiple setbacks including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its half-yearly results in February, ASX reported that the CHESS replacement was still on track to go live in April next year as previously announced.
Mr Hogben said that ASX was confident in the project’s delivery, testing and industry participation, but also acknowledged its complexity and risk management requirements alongside the need for comprehensive industry testing, integration and operational readiness.
“CHESS replacement is an ongoing process with the industry, and industry engagement will be even more important as we move into the CHESS user testing environment and operational readiness activities, and as we agree an approach that ensures utmost confidence in a safe, secure and performant system at go-live.”
Last year, ASIC imposed additional licence conditions on ASX following the market outage that occurred in November 2020.
“The ASX outage was a very serious event, exacerbated by subsequent operational issues,” ASIC chair Joe Longo said at the time.
“The imposition of these licence conditions will confirm that remedial actions are implemented appropriately and efficiently to address these operational issues – including for the critical rollout of the CHESS Replacement Program.”
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
