Introduction to AUSTRAC
AUSTRAC's official first webinar — covering who the regulator is, the AML/CTF reforms, the three financial crime categories, and the key obligations that apply to every Australian reporting entity.
Topics covered
- 1Who AUSTRAC is and its role as a regulator and financial intelligence unit
- 2Overview of the AML/CTF reforms and Tranche 2 extension
- 3Money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing — the three financial crime categories
- 4Designated services: which businesses are captured by the AML/CTF Act
- 5Key AML/CTF obligations for reporting entities
Written companion
Plain-language notes covering each topic in the webinar — for easy reference and staff training.
Who is AUSTRAC?
AUSTRAC — the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre — is Australia's financial intelligence unit and AML/CTF regulator. Established under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, AUSTRAC has a dual mandate: it collects and analyses financial intelligence to support law enforcement, national security, and integrity agencies, and it regulates the businesses that provide financial and related services. AUSTRAC sits within the broader Australian regulatory ecosystem alongside ASIC, APRA, and the AFP, sharing intelligence that feeds into criminal prosecutions, asset confiscations, and terrorism investigations.
The AML/CTF reforms
The AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 significantly extended the scope of Australia's AML/CTF regime. From 1 July 2026 (Tranche 2), the obligations that previously applied only to banks, financial services firms, and digital currency exchanges now apply to lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, conveyancers, trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious metals and stones. This is the largest expansion of Australia's AML/CTF framework since the original Act. At the same time, the reforms updated the core framework for all existing reporting entities — introducing the new ML/TF Risk Assessment and AML/CTF Policies structure, the Travel Rule for virtual assets, reformed customer due diligence requirements, and enhanced governance obligations.
Money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing
These are the three financial crime categories AUSTRAC's regime is designed to prevent. Money laundering is the process of disguising the proceeds of crime to make them appear legitimate — through placement, layering, and integration into the financial system. Terrorism financing involves raising, moving, or making funds available to support terrorist acts or organisations. Proliferation financing is the financing of the development or acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons — a risk category added explicitly to Australia's AML/CTF framework under the 2024 reforms. Reporting entities are required to assess and manage all three risk categories in their ML/TF Risk Assessment.
Services regulated by AUSTRAC
The AML/CTF Act captures businesses that provide 'designated services' — a defined list in Schedule 1 of the Act. Before the 2024 reforms, this principally meant banks and financial institutions, foreign exchange dealers, remittance providers, bullion dealers, gambling operators, and digital currency exchanges. From 1 July 2026, the list expanded to include legal practitioners providing certain legal services, accountants providing certain accounting services, real estate agents involved in property transactions, conveyancers, trust and company service providers, and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) — including crypto-to-crypto exchanges, custody providers, and virtual asset transferors. Whether your business is captured depends on which designated services you actually provide.
Key AML/CTF obligations
All reporting entities share a common set of core obligations. You must enrol with AUSTRAC (and, for certain services, apply to register). You must appoint an AML/CTF Compliance Officer with the authority and resources to run the program. You must produce a written ML/TF Risk Assessment — identifying and assessing your money-laundering, terrorism-financing and proliferation-financing risks — and AML/CTF Policies that set out the controls flowing from that assessment; both require senior-manager approval. You must apply customer due diligence before providing services. You must monitor transactions and, when you form a suspicion on reasonable grounds, lodge a Suspicious Matter Report (24 hours for terrorism financing, 3 business days for money laundering). You must retain records for seven years. And you must lodge an annual compliance report with AUSTRAC.
AML/CTF obligations at a glance
The core obligations every Australian reporting entity must meet.
| Obligation | What it requires | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Enrolment | Register with AUSTRAC via AUSTRAC Online | Before providing designated services |
| Compliance Officer | Appoint a fit-and-proper person with authority to run the program | Before providing designated services |
| ML/TF Risk Assessment | Written assessment of ML, TF and PF risks; senior-manager approved | Before providing designated services; reviewed regularly |
| AML/CTF Policies | Controls that flow from the risk assessment; senior-manager approved | Before providing designated services; kept current |
| Customer Due Diligence | Identify and verify customers and beneficial owners; ongoing monitoring | Before or at commencement of each transaction |
| Suspicious Matter Reports | Lodge with AUSTRAC: 24 hrs (TF), 3 business days (ML/other) | When suspicion is formed on reasonable grounds |
| Threshold Transaction Reports | Report physical-currency transactions of $10,000+ | Within 10 business days of the transaction |
| Record-keeping | Retain all compliance records for 7 years | Ongoing |
| Annual Compliance Report | Lodge with AUSTRAC covering the prior calendar year | Each calendar year |
| Independent Evaluation | Evaluate the entire program; genuinely independent evaluator | At least every 3 years |
Ready to implement what you've learned?
Veriqua turns these obligations into live workflows — ML/TF Risk Assessment, AML/CTF Policies, CDD, SMR timers, board reporting and annual compliance — in one Australian-built platform.
The webinar embedded on this page is an official AUSTRAC publication. The written companion content on this page is general information only, current as at July 2026, and is not legal, financial or compliance advice. Obligations depend on the services you provide, your risk assessment and transitional timing. Please confirm your position against current AUSTRAC guidance and seek advice for your specific circumstances.