18 September 2006 
 
The government plans to introduce its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Bill into Parliament before the end of the year, Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Honourable Chris Ellison, announced at the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Forensic Accounting Conference on Friday.  
 
The first tranche of the two tranche legislative package, which reforms Australia’s current anti-money laundering (AML) regime in line with revised global standards to counter money laundering and terrorism financing, is expected to be implemented over a six month to two year rolling implementation.  
 
The urgency for reform stems from the need for Australia to remain competitive in international monetary markets according to Senator Ellison, who warned delegates at the Institute’s conference that Australia will become a pariah if it doesn’t maintain global financial security standards:  
 
“If we’re not on that [global finance] train leaving the station, we’ll be on the platform waving it goodbye”, Senator Ellison said.  
 
The first tranche of the AML reforms will address the services provided by the financial sector, the gambling sector and bullion dealers, and will adopt a risk based approach. The challenge for the government, according to Senator Ellison, lies in striking a balance between achieving security, without weighing down business with an excess of red tape.  
 
“The government is not in the business of over-burdening the private sector with red tape… and will not be looking for a one-size fits all approach to making the Act work for corporates and SMEs [small to medium enterprises] alike,” the Minister ascertained.  
 
Senator Ellison expressed the government’s intention for sustained discussions with financial sector industry groups throughout the planned implementation of the Bill and to continue this consultation with the Institute and industry groups in the development of the second tranche of legislation which will impact accountants, lawyers, real estate agents and jewellers- a sentiment that is welcomed by the Institute’s Forensic Accounting Special Interest Group (FASIG).  
 
The Institute applauds the consultative approach adopted by the government in drafting the Bill, in particular in adopting a risk-based approach for customer identification, AML and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) programs, as recommended in a joint submission by the Institute and CPA earlier this year.