Conformance Test Suite process
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) manages the Conformance Test Suite, which is a key part of the Consumer Data Right on-boarding process.
The Consumer Data Right Conformance Test Suite confirms the technical conformance of your production-ready software using a range of test scenarios targeting specific areas.
The Conformance Test Suite has two modes allowing for either provider (also known as participant) type, data holder and data recipient, to perform relevant tests. If you are a data recipient, the tests provide a simulated data holder and a simulated Register to support the test scenarios. You test in isolation against the simulated providers and the simulated Consumer Data Right Register, so you don’t interact with live consumer data.
The diagram below shows how data recipients each interact with the Conformance Test Suite.
The Conformance Test Suite is not a testing tool to assist you during the development of your software. Rather, it is available to you during on-boarding, once you are accredited as a data recipient before you become activated on the Register.
The Conformance Test Suite tests your conformance with the Consumer Data Standards before entering into the Consumer Data Right system. You should have a production-ready software product before undertaking the Conformance Test Suite.
Completing the Conformance Test Suite
The Conformance Test Suite is an automated testing suite and can be completed within a short period (for example, within an hour) providing all provider configuration is completed correctly and no errors are encountered. So, it is important for you to ensure your solution has been adequately tested before executing the Conformance Test Suite to minimise the test completion period.
The completion period can be lengthy (for example, days or weeks) if issues are encountered, as errors need to be diagnosed and resolved, and your solution made ready for retesting.
Conformance Test Suite tests for data recipients
There are 4 key tests included in the Conformance Test Suite for accredited data recipients.
- Dynamic client registration tests whether the data recipient can successfully obtain an access token, a list of data holder brands, and a Software Statement Assertion (SSA) from the Register for dynamic client registration, and could register its software product with the Conformance Test Suite data holder.
- Consent test tests for request authorisation for once-off data sharing request and data sharing request with duration.
- Consent withdrawal test tests for initiating withdrawal of consent to data sharing, notifying a data holder and receiving withdrawal of consent (or authorisation for data holders) notifications from a data holder. It also tests for initiating withdrawal of consent arrangement and receiving withdrawal of consent arrangement from a data holder.
- API tests for initiating calls to key application programming interface (APIs).
Except for the dynamic client registration test, all tests can be run multiple times during the test run. The result of the last testing attempt will be included in the test run report for the Conformance Test Suite outcome assessment.
More information about the test cases will be made available to providers who have begun on-boarding with the ACCC.
Using the Conformance Test Suite to test as a data recipient
The Conformance Test Suite accredited data recipient guidance material provides more information about how to prepare, execute and complete the Conformance Test Suite.
Data recipients need to follow these steps for testing using the Conformance Test Suite.
- pass accreditation
- complete and submit your Conformance Test Suite enrolment form through the portal
- sign and submit your Conformance Test Suite acknowledgement form, ACCC PKI Subscriber Agreement and Relying Party Agreement through the portal
- receive your test certificate and apply it to your software product
- review the technical instructions on how to start Conformance Test Suite tests.
- complete any IP whitelisting required to interact with the Conformance Test Suite
- add the Conformance Test Suite data holder to the data holder list your software product transacts with
- create a client of your software product to simulate a consumer
- any other configuration details the ACCC On-boarding Team communicated to you.
- access the Conformance Test Suite Register via the link provided in the guidance material, to begin discovery
- execute the test cases in the recommended order.
- pass all the tests specified on your Conformance Test Suite enrolment form
- request the ACCC On-boarding Team to send the Conformance Test Suite test run report
- send the results to the ACCC On-boarding Team for final assessment.
Conformance Test Suite release notes
The CTS version history and technical guidance lists details of current and previous versions of the Conformance Test Suite including the standards they align with, the release date, the test scenarios included, and the high level scenario changes between versions.
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