User guide: Other features of transaction reporting
Learn what other features are available when you submit transaction reports to us.
On this page
- Default values
- Flexible date formats
- Linked reporting obligations
- Lookups
- Online help
- Report form navigation
- Suggestion boxes
- Receipts
Default values
If you find you’re repeatedly entering the same information for a report type, you may set up default values. These will pre-populate fields in each new data entry report you create.
To set up default values:
- Select Default for the applicable report type.
- Enter your default value settings.
- Save your default value settings.
- Close the report defaults page.
You can also modify or delete your default value settings.
Default value settings are used for each new single data entry report or each new AUSTRAC Online spreadsheet you create.
Flexible date formats
The default date format is based on your system’s regional settings. For example, if your regional setting is set to use English (Australia), the default date format will be DD/MM/YYYY.
Alternatively, English (United States) uses the default date format MM/DD/YYYY.
Flexible date formats are available for single data entry and spreadsheet reports.
Linked reporting obligations
One transaction can trigger more than one reporting obligation.
For example, your business may observe a customer who:
- is acting suspiciously (regarding money laundering or terrorism financing risks)
- arranges for an international funds transfer of A$15,000
- uses physical currency to pay for the value of the transfer and any relevant fees or charges for the service.
While this is one transaction, it meets the criteria of all 3 reporting obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (the Act):
- The international funds transfer triggers a report for an international funds transfer instruction (IFTI) report.
- The use of cash greater than or equal to A$10,000 (or foreign equivalent) triggers a report for a threshold transaction.
- The person acting suspiciously triggers a report for a suspicious matter.
When you submit a single data entry report, the report receipt will notify you of any other possible reporting obligations in relation to the transaction. If you need to submit another type of report the receipt will provide a link that pre-fills information from the submitted report.
These notices are displayed whenever a trigger for another reporting obligation has been detected. However, the link to create another reporting obligation report is only displayed when the user, who submitted the original report, has the relevant access to create the other report.
Lookups
If your business maintains a list of branches, offices, retail outlets or locations in AUSTRAC Online, you can use this information for reporting purposes through the ‘Lookups’ function.
Lookups appear as hyperlinks starting with the word Search.
This feature is only available in the single report data entry reporting method.
Online help
There are different ways to access help online.
Data entry
To access help for a particular field when using the single report data entry method, select the question mark icon (?) to the right of the field.
Spreadsheet
To access help for a particular field when using the AUSTRAC Online spreadsheet, place the cursor over the field label.
This feature is only available for fields where the label is underlined. For example, Full name.
Help is also available for exported spreadsheet templates. To access help, you can either:
- place the cursor over the comment icon associated with a field
- use the display commands of your spreadsheet application to show or hide comments.
Report form navigation
There are several ways to navigate through a report form, such as:
- moving through the pages by selecting Next Page and Previous Page
- using the menu on the side to skip directly to different sections.
- selecting the Validation Error Message links to go directly to the field you need to check.
These navigational features are only available with the single report data entry and spreadsheet reporting methods.
Suggestion boxes
Suggestion boxes are available for fields such as:
- City/town/suburb
- Country
- Currency code
- Electronic data source
- ID issuer
- Occupation, business or principal activity
- Type of authorisation.
For example, if you don’t know the currency code for a country, you can enter the name of the country or you can choose the type of currency from a list.
This feature is only available with the single report data entry reporting method.
Receipts
The Receipts page allows users to search for receipts of previously submitted reports. You can search by:
- user ID
- reporting method
- creation date
- reference number
- submission status.
The status links will change (for example, from ‘Created’ to ‘Transferred’ to ‘Complete’) as reports progress through the system.
A status of ‘Failed’ doesn’t change and any failed submissions will need to be monitored and managed by your business.
This guidance sets out how we interpret the Act, 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.