The Australian financial watchdog AUSTRAC has published its annual report for 2019-20. The major takeaways from this report are discussed below.
AUSTRAC collaborated with agencies like the Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia to identify and prevent financial crimes related to Australia’s COVID-19 response programs. During the pandemic, AUSTRAC has also been providing support to industries so they can meet their legal obligations in these times.
AUSTRAC also collaborated with the Australian Banking Association and the Australian Israeli Chamber of Commerce of New South Wales to update AML/CFT regulations to help the victims of domestic violence and financial abuse. Moreover, in 2019-20, AUSTRAC added five new Fintel Alliance members. This addition fostered public-private partnership (PPP) under the aegis of AUSTRAC, helping in the initiation of 29 operations in this period.
In 2020-21, AUSTRAC aims to invest more resources in ensuring compliance with the country’s AML/CFT requirements. The foremost priorities in this regard will be to improve the identification of AML/CFT violations and to develop an enhanced reporting system.
Source name: AUSTRAC