By Wendy Yang -
Last week was a big week for law reform with the passage of a myriad of Bills. Among them, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Amendment Bill 2024 was passed.
The Bill contains three main objectives including to expand the AML/CTF regime to “Tranche 2 entities” and service providers including lawyers, accountants and real estate agents. The Bill aims to improve the AML/CTF regime by making it easier for businesses to comply with their obligations and it seeks to “modernise” the regime, to reflect changing business structures, technologies and illegal financing methodologies.
The Law Council of Australia acknowledges the passage of the Bill and notes that “[w]hile it would have preferred more time to ensure the new regime addresses risk without detrimental impact on access to justice.” The Law Council says it will now “turn its focus to implementation and support for the profession.”
The Law Council was supportive of attempts to obstruct money laundering and the horrendous crimes associated with it.
“Therefore, we were never opposed to the objectives of this Bill,” says Law Council of Australia President, Greg McIntyre.
“Our concerns, which have been well ventilated, centre on aspects of the Bill that will damage the trusted relationship lawyers must be able to have with their clients and the substantial regulatory costs these changes will cause.
“The Law Council will now work with the Government to ensure the changes wrought by this Bill are implemented as effectively as possible and the cost burden for legal practitioners and clients is minimised,” he says.
He reassured the profession that the Law Council will “…continue to seek to limit the extent to which the new regime interferes with a lawyer’s obligation to the court and their client” and will support the profession to prepare for and familiarise themselves with the new requirements and update their compliance processes.”
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) welcomes the passage of the Bill, saying it “sends a clear message” that Australia is serious about making sure its AML/CTF regime can “more effectively deter, detect and disrupt money laundering and terrorism financing.”
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas says “the bill will close these gaps and minimise the regulatory burden for currently-regulated businesses.
“It focuses more directly on achieving the goal of detecting, deterring and disrupting financial crime, and will make it easier for businesses to meet obligations that are better aligned with the increasingly digital, instant nature of our global financial system.”
Thomas says the measures will help industry and AUSTRAC to more effectively identify and reduce the significant risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. “The money being laundered is generated from illegal activities that cause up to $60.1 billion in harm to the Australian community, though crimes such as drug trafficking, cybercrime, scams, child exploitation and human trafficking,” he says.
He also noted that “[t]he historic passing of this bill will strengthen the integrity of the regime, enhance our compliance internationally and protect Australians by disrupting financial crime.”
AUSTRAC is working closely with the industry bodies affected by the new legislation and it has been working on education and guidance to help reporting entities understand their obligations.
“We are also committed to working with industry bodies to keep costs to a minimum and to ensure their members are well prepared for the legislation’s commencement,” says Thomas.
