Report backs anti-money laundering reforms

The latest report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has endorsed the need for the Albanese Government’s proposed reforms to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime.

Australia’s Fourth Enhanced Follow-up Report finds there has been improvements in Australia’s framework for combatting financial crime with upgraded ratings for compliance with five of the FATF’s global standards.

However, Australia is still falling short of meeting all standards set to help combat criminal abuse of our financial system which can be used to fund terrorism, child abuse and the illegal drug trade.

As a founding member of the FATF Australia is committed to upholding the standards of the global financial crime watchdog.

It’s a matter of concern that since 2015, Australia has failed to comply with a number of key FATF standards, including extending the AML/CTF regime to tranche-two entities which include lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and dealers in precious metals and stones.

As a result of the former government’s failure to act, Australia is now one of only five jurisdictions out of more than 200 that do not regulate tranche-two entities, placing Australia at risk of being ‘grey-listed’ by the FATF, which could result in significant harm to our economy.

The Albanese Government is serious about preventing criminal abuse of our financial system and is now consulting on further reforms that will prevent criminal groups from exploiting our financial system to fund their activities and simplify the regime to make it easier for businesses to implement.

The FATF will next assess the effectiveness of Australia’s AML/CTF system through a comprehensive Mutual Evaluation over 2026-27. This process will consider how well Australia performs in achieving tangible results against money laundering and terrorism financing.