News and media releases

As announced by the Attorney-General and Minister Dutton, I am pleased to confirm that AUSTRAC and Westpac have reached an agreement in which Westpac has admitted to over 23 million breaches of the AML/CTF Act and has agreed to pay a civil penalty of 1.3 billion dollars.

Westpac and AUSTRAC have today agreed to a 1.3 billion dollar proposed penalty over Westpac’s breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). Westpac and AUSTRAC have agreed that the proposed penalty reflects the seriousness and magnitude of compliance failings by Westpac.

AUSTRAC has extended the Rule for streamlined customer verification under the COVID-19 early release of superannuation initiative until 31 December 2020.

This extension supports the Government’s decision to allow the COVID-19 early release of superannuation initiative to continue until 31 December 2020.

AUSTRAC has issued an infringement notice to State Street Bank and Trust Company (State Street) for over $1.24 million for failing to report international funds transfers.

Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units has released a new report, Combatting child sexual abuse and exploitation through financial intelligence.

To help you identify, mitigate and manage risks to your business, AUSTRAC has released the next suite of resources in the Insights series.

This month, AUSTRAC launched the 2020 Analyst Exchange Program (AEP) with our Indonesian partner, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).

Today, AUSTRAC announced a change to the AML/CTF customer ID and verification Rule to help people experiencing family and domestic violence. Under the rule, if a customer cannot produce their driver’s license or birth certificate, or show a different address, banks and other regulated businesses can use alternative ways to verify their customer’s identity.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restrictions on the movement of people and goods is changing the demand for products and services across sectors. AUSTRAC and our law enforcement and national intelligence partners are monitoring and preparing for a shift in the risks that criminals may pose to the financial system and the community.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is impacting all Australians and Australian businesses. AUSTRAC acknowledges that this is an unprecedented time for the superannuation sector.