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
The ABA today acknowledges and thanks outgoing ASIC Chair Joe Longo for his strong leadership as Chair of ASIC for the past five years. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said Mr Longo had made a significant contribution to ensuring Australia has a fair financial system focused on the interests of both investors and consumers. “The ABA… Read more »
E&OETV InterviewSky News Business with Ross GreenwoodWednesday, 17 September 2025 Topics: Banning of card surcharging; Interchange fees Ross Greenwood (Host): Simon Birmingham recently was appointed Chief Executive of the Australian Banking Association and he joins me now. Simon, good to chat. You’ve been in this studio many, many times before of course, so just good… Read more »
Australian banks strongly support the RBA’s proposed ban on debit and credit card surcharges, while overwhelmingly calling for an alternative pathway forward on interchange fees. The ABA has made the following calls in a submission to the RBA’s current consultation on the Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging: ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said… Read more »