Tranche 2 Reforms

What will Tranche 2 look like in Australia?

Businesses that are affected by the Act must register with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Records and Analysis Centre), the government agency responsible for deterring financial crime.

Once your business is registered, you are a ‘reporting entity’ and need to keep up with your obligations under the Act. This means:

• Developing a written AML/CTF program to manage compliance
• Carrying out risk assessments
• Appointing a compliance officer
• Collecting and verifying key client details before providing services – often referred to as ‘know your customer’ (KYC) information. This can mean taking verified copies of documents or using a credit-reporting body (CRB) to find and verify details.
• Reporting certain types of transaction – those over a certain monetary threshold, international transfers, information about carrying or shipping physical currency and any suspicious transactions or interactions
• Keeping and securely storing records showing your AML/CTF activity
• Submitting compliance reports if requested
• Paying an industry levy if your business earns over a certain threshold.

11 September: AML/CTF Bill released

This bill introduces expanded regulatory frameworks and stricter compliance requirements for a broader range of industries. This Bill has three key objectives:

• extend the AML/CTF regime to additional services provided by lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, real estate professionals, and dealers in precious metals and stones (tranche two entities)
• modernise the regulation of virtual assets and payments technology
• simplify and clarify the regime, to increase flexibility, reduce regulatory impacts and support businesses to prevent and detect financial crime.

Read the media release Download full pdf