We're the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and we act as both a regulator and financial intelligence unit to keep Australia safe.
We’re Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regulator and financial intelligence unit. This dual role helps us to use financial intelligence and regulation to detect, deter and disrupt:
- money laundering
- terrorism financing
- proliferation financing
- serious and organised crime.
Who we regulate
We regulate more than 19,000 reporting entities to make sure they’re complying with their obligations to have systems and controls in place to:
- manage their risks
- protect them and the community from financial crime.
Learn more about regulation.
Financial intelligence
We’re Australia’s financial intelligence unit. We collect and analyse financial reports and information from reporting entities and other data sources. This creates targeted, actionable intelligence that helps law enforcement and national security investigations.
Learn more about financial intelligence.
Protecting Australia from serious and organised crime
Watch our video to learn how we help protect Australians from serious and organised crime.
Our vision
A community protected from financially enabled crime.
Our purpose
To build resilience in the financial system and use financial intelligence and regulation to detect, deter and disrupt:
- money laundering
- terrorism financing
- other serious crime.
Serious crime and money
Serious crime is motivated by profit. No matter the size, most criminals leave a financial trail. Criminals look to exploit vulnerabilities in the financial sector to hide illicit funds and enable other serious crimes, such as:
- terrorism
- slavery
- drug trafficking
- child exploitation
- fraud
- tax evasion
- corruption.
They interact with the businesses we regulate to move money and hide the proceeds of their crimes.
Our financial intelligence specialists work with law enforcement and security partners to:
- identify national security threats
- detect and disrupt criminal networks and the proceeds of their crimes.
Working with industry and partners
Our reporting entities are at the front line in combating financial crime. We provide guidance to help protect them being exploited by criminals.
We make sure that our regulated businesses comply with their obligations to have systems and controls in place to manage risks. This includes detecting and submitting suspicious matters and reporting financial transactions. We then analyse this information to identify potential criminal activities or risks to national security.
All transactions and suspicious matters reported are also available to designated users in federal, state and territory partner agencies.
Working with government and law enforcement
We’re part of the Home Affairs portfolio and National Intelligence Community. We work together with government partners and law enforcement to support whole-of-government priorities.
We’re a member of national and state task forces. Contributing to priority criminal task forces. To help combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing worldwide we share intelligence with overseas financial intelligence units and regulators.
We also have the Fintel Alliance that brings together government and private organisations to increase the resilience of the financial sector and help with law enforcement investigations.
This guidance sets out how we interpret certain Australian legislation, along with associated Rules and regulations. Australian courts are ultimately responsible for interpreting these laws and determining if any provisions of these laws are contravened.
The examples and scenarios in this guidance are meant to help explain our interpretation of these laws. They’re not exhaustive or meant to cover every possible scenario.
This guidance provides general information and isn't a substitute for legal advice. This guidance avoids legal language wherever possible and it might include generalisations about the application of the law. Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.