By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
AUSTRAC has opened AML enrolment to lawyers, accountants and real estate professionals as part of the country’s biggest compliance overhaul in more than 20 years.
Some 80,000 so-called ‘tranche 2 entities’ will now fall under AML rules. AUSTRAC, Australia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), currently directly regulates 19,000 firms. That number is set to surge to almost 100,000.
The financial crime watchdog said businesses in newly covered sectors can enrol from March 31 through its online platform. “This reform milestone brings AUSTRAC another step closer to 1 July when the new sectors come under its AML/CTF regime,” AUSTRAC said.
AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said: “These reforms are about closing long-standing gaps, lifting protections across the economy and making it harder for criminals to hide, move or enjoy the proceeds of crime.”
He added: “By expanding the regime and modernising how we regulate, we are strengthening Australia’s financial system and better protecting legitimate businesses from criminal exploitation.”
AUSTRAC and AML reforms
From July 1, newly covered firms must comply with AML obligations. These include customer due diligence, suspicious matter reporting and record-keeping.
Most businesses only need to enrol. However, firms offering remittance or virtual asset services must also apply for registration.
AUSTRAC said it has updated enrolment requirements for existing reporting entities. Firms may now need to provide extra details. These include beneficial ownership information and compliance officer data. The agency has released new forms on its reporting platform.
More detail about enrolment and registration obligations is available [HERE].
Thomas said the reforms aim to build “a system that is fit for today’s risks and tomorrow’s threats”. He added that the framework should improve intelligence and align Australia with global standards.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: “These reforms strengthen bring Australia into line with international standards”.
He added that the measures “close long-standing gaps that criminals have exploited” and make Australia “a harder place for criminals to operate”.
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