AMLCTF Update

From 1 November 2011, all reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AMLCTF Act), including those that have an exemption under the AMLCTF Act, will need to enrol with AUSTRAC.  This supersedes an earlier framework where reporting entities enrolled with AUSTRAC on a voluntary basis. Reporting entities who are already enrolled under this voluntary framework will need to enrol again. Existing reporting entities must enrol between 1 November 2011 and 28 November 2011.

New reporting entities must enrol within 28 days of commencing or providing a designated service under the AMLCTF Act. Reporting entities can appoint an agent to complete the enrolment process on their behalf.

Reporting entities will need to keep its enrolment details up-to-date and advise the AUSTRAC CEO of a change in their enrolment details within 14 days of the change.

Enrolments and updates to enrolment information can be completed through the “AUSTRAC Online” system from 1 November 2011 (see https://www.austrac.gov.au/online/index.html).

A civil penalty may apply to entities that fail to enrol.

As well as enrolling, reporting entities that provide designated remittance services also need to register with AUSTRAC under a new registration scheme and will be required to renew their registration every three years. Independent remittance dealers will have up to six months from 1 November 2011 to submit their registration application. Key personnel in the business will need to obtain a national police certificate before the registration application is submitted.

What you need to do

If you are an existing reporting entity, you need to:

• enrol with AUSTRAC between 1 November 2011 and 28 November 2011, even if you have previously already enrolled voluntarily and even if you have an exemption under the AMLCTF Act and
• have systems in place to ensure that you can update your enrolment details with AUSTRAC within 14 days of a change to those details.

If you are a remittance dealer under the AMLCTF Act, you will also need to register as part of AUSTRAC’s new remitter registration scheme although you have up to six months from 1 November 2011 to do so.

Further information

Further information about the new enrolment process can be found at https://www.austrac.gov.au/new_enrol_req.html.  Remittance dealers will find further information about the new AUSTRAC registration scheme for remitters at https://www.austrac.gov.au/new_registr_req.html.