6 September 2021
Australia’s banks have strong relationships with law enforcement authorities and regulators like AUSTRAC, and work together to detect, deter and prevent money laundering and other serious crime.
In recent years, Australian Banks have invested millions to improve their monitoring and reporting capabilities as well as hiring thousands of expert additional staff.
AUSTRAC’s banking sector risk assessments report released today is based on inherent risk. It does not consider any bank’s control environment.
- The level of risk is based on a banks size, other factors include operating across multiple countries and jurisdictions and facilitating large volumes of international fund transfers for a large number of customers
- The report indicates that the primary criminal threats facing banks are posed by global criminals who seek to use Australia to launder money, fund drug trafficking, tax evasion, frauds and scams.
The banks are continuously reviewing and uplifting their control environments in order to help mitigate the inherent risks noted in the report.
Latest news
Australia’s banks welcome the passing through the Senate of new legislation to ensure payments laws are up-to-date and reflect today’s digital economy. The new laws will bring digital wallets, cash distribution services, buy now, pay later schemes and other emerging payment methods within regulatory oversight, significantly enhancing protections for customers. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said… Read more »
The ABA welcomes the passage through the House of critical legislation to ensure Australia’s payments regulatory framework is brought up-to-date and urges the Senate to quickly pass this overdue legislation too. The proposed legislation will bring digital wallets, cash distribution services, buy now, pay later schemes and other emerging payment methods within regulatory oversight, significantly… Read more »
With the AFL and NRL finals about to kick off and demand for tickets set to surge, the Australian Banking Association is warning footy fans to be on the lookout for scammers. The ABA is issuing this warning during Scams Awareness Week and as tickets for the AFL finals go on sale from today. … Read more »