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Lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and other tranche two entities will come under greater scrutiny as part of the Australian Government’s focus on strengthening Australia’s anti-money laundering regime.

The latest research conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) shows the close link between organised crime and money laundering and the implications it has on Australian society.

“Money laundering is the life blood of organised crime – exploiting Australia’s financial system and property market and costing the economy billions of dollars every year,” says Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.

The research has found that when organised crime groups have “professional facilitators,” such as lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents, there is an increased likelihood for them to be involved in money laundering and there are usually greater sums of money at play.

The federal government has now announced the introduction of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024.

Dreyfus says the reforms are long overdue and will close a significant regulatory gap.

He says Australia was at risk of being ‘grey-listed’ by the Financial Action Task Force, which sets international standards, as one of only five countries out of more than 200, that do not regulate ‘tranche-two’ or ‘gatekeeper’ professions.

Considerable amounts of money are laundered through real estate and gambling, with regards to other areas.

The report used data on organised crime groups obtained from bodies such as the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and irregular transactions reported to AUSTRAC.

“[R]educing the amount of money laundered by organised crime groups would significantly limit their ability to reinvest illicit funds in future criminal enterprises.

“Australia needs to remain vigilant and harden our businesses against exploitation. …,” says Dreyfus.

According to the report, criminal groups or organisations involved in money laundering are responsible for more crime-related harm than groups that are not involved in money laundering.

The Australian Government has set aside $166.4 million in the budget to implement the changes.

# The Law Society of NSW has created a AML/CTF hub with information for practitioners on how to navigate the proposed changes. Click here for more information.