The Reporting Entity System Transformation (REST) program will bring substantial changes to AUSTRAC Online (AO), transforming the way you interact and report to AUSTRAC.

Between 2022 and 2025, the REST program will update AO to a modern, secure and more responsive reporting platform that will modernise AUSTRAC’s reporting system to provide you with a system that is easier and faster to use to support you to meet your AUSTRAC obligations

It will also position AUSTRAC to achieve stronger regulatory and intelligence outcomes by:

• supporting the increasing flow of financial intelligence between the government and its partner agencies, strengthening the security of Australia’s financial system

• enhancing industry compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations

• enhancing AUSTRAC’s ability to detect and deter non-compliance.

On this page:

• REST program collective ambition

• Get involved: industry consultation

• REST program delivery

• 2023 key dates and consultations

• ITFI-E reporting in ISO20022 format

• REST Guidance

REST Program Collective Ambition

REST Vision

A modern, secure and intuitive experience that enables reporting entities to easily comply, report and interact with AUSTRAC. By facilitating collaboration, self-service and timely feedback, the new system ultimately contributes to enhanced industry compliance and protects our financial system from criminal exploitation.

REST Principles

Intuitive

Convenient

Relevant

Centred around self-service

REST Benefits

Modern platform – a modern online portal that is user-friendly and accessible across different devices.

Enhanced security and capacity – a faster platform with updated security protocols and functionalities for secure communications and document exchange.

Greater relevancy to stakeholder activities – revised transaction report designs for more relevant information collection. Relevant information easily available to AO users. Leads to improved data quality and uplifts capacity of AUSTRAC stakeholders to meeting regulatory requirements.

Increased self-service capabilities – Users can view, correct and suspend transaction reports, and submit missed transactions. The revised business profile enables simpler business information updates and increased user management and workflow options.

Improved visibility of reporting entity information – Access to previously submitted transaction reports. Introduction of transaction reporting statistics and quality feedback at reporting entity and industry levels.

Improved communication channels – secure platform for information and document sharing and exchange. One stop shop for access to AUSTRAC information.

Get involved: industry consultation

Industry consultation is a core principle of the REST program as we aim to provide a reporting platform that delivers on the needs of all users.

AUSTRAC will listen to your feedback during all phases of the REST program, including through our rolling schedule of industry consultation workshops.

To get involved with the Customer Advisory Group and join any of our upcoming consultations, and for more information and dates email haveyoursay@austrac.gov.au.

REST Customer Advisory Group

The Customer Advisory Group (CAG) is made up of reporting entities from across a number of industries, sizes and complexities, and includes industry associations. AUSTRAC engages with CAG members to discuss potential solutions for obstacles in the current AO. CAG members are responsible for:

• providing feedback on pain-points and useful features of the current AO platform through workshops, one-on-one interactions and surveys

• participating in user testing of AO functionality

• providing feedback on the effectiveness of new AO functionality.

Join the CAG or provide general feedback

If you’re a reporting entity or industry association and would like to get involved in the CAG or provide general feedback, send an email to haveyoursay@austrac.gov.au with your name, position and business name.

You can be removed from the CAG at any time by sending an email to the same email address.

REST program delivery

Over the course of the REST program, we will be consulting industry participants to deliver the following work:

ISO 20022 for financial institutions

Standardisation of AUSTRAC international electronic funds transfer instructions (IFTI-E) reporting schemas to align with the introduction of the ISO 20022 cross-border messaging industry standard. For further information, read ITFI-E reporting in ISO20022 format .

Transaction reporting

Revise transaction report designs for: threshold transaction reports (TTRs), suspicious matter reports (SMRs), international funds transfer instructions for designated remittance arrangements (IFTI-DRA) and IFTI-Es.

This work will modernise transaction reporting methodologies, align reporting requirements across different report types and review reporting to ensure reports contain the most relevant and useful information for intelligence purposes, and streamline your report submission.

Manual data entry, workflows of in-progress transaction reports and XML format transaction reporting

Review and improve mechanisms for the submission of transaction reports to reduce duplication, provide easier and faster reporting and deliver intuitive and effective workflow process options.

Self-service correction of transaction reports

New functionality will give you the ability to view, retrieve, amend and re-submit your previously submitted transaction reports.

Reporting entity feedback dashboards

Introduce dashboards to provide you with feedback on your transaction reporting submissions, enabling early identification of issues and improvements to data quality.

Enrolment and registration

Streamline the reporting entity enrolment and registration processes.

Communications (two-way messaging and secure document exchange)

Incorporate a platform for the secure exchange of information and documentation between your business and AUSTRAC.

Notifications

Introduce automated notifications to alert you when an action has been undertaken or is awaiting completion, such as transaction report submissions, transaction report validation errors, transaction or compliance reports pending approval, newly received correspondence or notices. 

Business profile management

Uplift and modernise the AO user interface will simplify processes for you to update your business and contact details and manage your AO users. 

Designated business group management

Increase self-service options for the management of designated business group including participants and group details. 

Knowledge base

Introduce a central secure method to view information, guidance and industry communications.

Industry levy

Incorporate an overview of inputs into the industry levy to be available in AO for impacted reporting entities.

2023 key dates and consultations

Your input will help us to deliver a system that meets the needs of all users.

In 2023, we are planning workshops and consultation on the following report types and to help us design the AO portal. We will continue to update this page as dates are scheduled for industry workshops.

To join the Customer Advisory Group and be part of the creation of the new AO portal through workshops and surveys and to contribute to the transaction reporting consultations in 2023 please reach out to haveyoursay@austrac.gov.au.

ITFI-E reporting in ISO20022 format

As the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) are changing the format of cross-border and correspondent banking payment messages from the current Swift MT format to the ISO 20022 format from March 2023, there are impacts to some reporting entities that submit IFTI-E transaction reports to AUSTRAC in bulk.

To support this transition to ISO 20022, AUSTRAC has:

• developed a new IFTI-E v2.0 schema that will support the upload of ISO 20022 structured IFTI-E transaction reports .xml and .zip formats

• a new user interface within AUSTRAC Online for IFTI-E v2.0 file upload

• introduced API system connectivity for increased transaction report submission capacity via bulk file upload and machine-to-machine IFTI-E transaction report submissions. 

Supporting documentation including the IFTI-E v2.0 schema, schema specifications and API specifications, together with quick reference guides to use the new user interface have been provided to impacted reporting entities and can be found under REST Guidance.

If you are an impacted reporting entity and have questions in relation to this part of the REST program, please email ISO20022@austrac.gov.au 

REST Guidance

Below are the latest REST program guidance and supporting documentation:

Further guidance will be provided in the future to ensure transition is made as easy as possible, enabling you to continue to meet your reporting obligations.

• IFTI-E v2.0 schema and IFTI-E v2.0 schema specifications (zip, 849) 

• API specifications (can be made available on request to contact@austrac.gov.au)

• Access quick reference guides to use the new user interface:

  • User login and access (PDF, 413KB)

  • Uploading IFTI-E (PDF, 373KB)

  • Submissions table (PDF, 939KB)

  • Viewing and downloading a Transaction reporting receipt (PDF, 683KB)

  • File resubmission or no further action (PDF, 552KB)

  • IFTI-E single data entry guide for reporting ISO20022 messages (DRAFT) (PDF, 1.82MB)

Further guidance will be provided in the future to ensure transition is made as easy as possible, enabling you to continue to meet your reporting obligations.

The content on this website is general in nature and is not legal advice. Before you make a decision or take a particular action based on the content on this website, you should check its accuracy, completeness, currency and relevance for your purposes. You may wish to seek independent professional advice.

Recent updates

• REST webinar update: your questions answered