Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024

A person commits an offence if:

the person is or has been:

a reporting entity; or

an officer, employee or agent of a reporting entity; or

required by a notice under subsection 49(1) to give information or produce documents; or

required by notice under subsection 49B(2) to give information or produce documents; and

the person discloses information to another person (other than an AUSTRAC entrusted person); and

the information is covered by subsection (2); and

the disclosure of the information would or could reasonably be expected to prejudice an investigation:

of an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or

for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or regulations under that Act; or

for the purposes of a law of a State or Territory that corresponds to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or regulations under that Act.

Information is covered by this subsection if it is any of the following:

that a reporting entity has given, or is required to give, a report under subsection 41(2);

a report given under, or prepared for the purposes of, subsection 41(2);

a copy of such a report;

a document purporting to set out information (including the formation or existence of a suspicion) contained in such a report;

a person is or has been required by a notice under subsection 49(1) to give information or produce a document;

a person has given information or produced a document in response to a notice under subsection 49(1);

a person is or has been required by a notice under subsection 49B(2) to give information or produce a document;

a person has given information or produced a document in response to a notice under subsection 49B(2);

information referred to in paragraph 16(5A)(a), (b) or (c) or (5AA)(a) or (b) of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988, as in force immediately before its repeal.

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), it is immaterial whether an investigation has commenced.

Subsection (1) does not apply to the disclosure of information covered by paragraphs (2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) by a person if:

the person is a reporting entity, or an officer, employee or agent of a reporting entity, that is:

a legal practitioner (however described); or

a partnership or company that carries on a business of using legal practitioners (however described) to supply professional legal services; or

a qualified accountant; or

a partnership or company that carries on a business of using qualified accountants to supply professional accountancy services; or

a person specified in the AML/CTF Rules; and

the information relates to the affairs of a customer of the reporting entity; and

the person makes the disclosure, in good faith, for the purposes of dissuading the customer from engaging in conduct that constitutes, or could constitute, an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (4) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

Subsection (1) does not apply if:

the disclosure is made to another reporting entity; and

the disclosure is made for the purpose of detecting, deterring, or disrupting money laundering, the financing of terrorism, proliferation financing, or other serious crimes; and

the conditions prescribed by the regulations are met.

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (5) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

Except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of giving effect to this Act, a person is not to be required to disclose to a court or tribunal information mentioned in subsection (2).

both of the following apply:

the making of the record, disclosure or use is for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance or exercise of the person’s functions, duties or powers as an official of a Commonwealth, State or Territory agency;

the disclosure is not to the government of a foreign country or to a foreign agency; or

is either of the following:

a designated service covered by item 46A, 50A, 50B or 50C of table 1 in section 6;

a designated service covered by item 29 or 30 of that table, if the transfer of value involves the transfer of a virtual asset (whether or not it also involves the transfer of money or property); and

is not provided by a financial institution or a casino; and

is not of a kind specified in the AML/CTF Rules.

that stores monetary value other than physical currency; or

that gives access to monetary value stored in a form other than physical currency; or

that is prescribed by the AML/CTF Rules;

a debit card or a credit card; or

an account for the purposes of items 1 to 3 of table 1 in section 6 or items 11 to 13 of table 3 in section 6; or

unless prescribed by the AML/CTF Rules for the purposes of paragraph (c):

a thing that is intended to give access to monetary value in a debit card or credit card account; or

a gaming chip or token, or a betting instrument; or

a virtual asset (whether or not pegged to any currency); or

a thing that stores, or gives access to, virtual assets (whether or not pegged to any currency); or

a card or other thing that is only used to store or access monetary value for the purposes of purchasing an entry into a lottery or redeeming winnings in respect of a lottery, where the monetary value is denominated in a currency, or is pegged by its issuer to a currency, stored in a form other than physical currency; or

a thing that, under the AML/CTF Rules, is taken not to be a stored value card.

means a service in which virtual assets or private keys are controlled or managed for or on behalf of a person (the customer) or another person nominated by the customer under an arrangement between the provider of the service and the customer, or between the provider of the service and another person with whom the customer has an arrangement (whether or not there are also other parties to any such arrangement); but

does not include a service of a kind prescribed by the AML/CTF Rules.