Australia boasts a diverse range of unique animals and plants that are not found anywhere else in the world. Organised criminals target our native animals for profit, removing them from their habitat and mistreating them. This cruel crime puts some of Australia’s most vulnerable species at further risk and has the potential to cause significant environmental damage.
To protect Australia’s native wildlife against this crime, AUSTRAC’s Fintel Alliance, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has developed a financial crime guide on illegal wildlife trafficking. The guide explains how illegal wildlife trafficking takes place, and specific indicators that can help you identify and report this type of activity.
Download and read the Financial crime guide - Stopping the illegal trafficking of Australian wildlife (PDF, 1.29MB).
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.