CA ANZ shows support for amended anti-money laundering bill
The professional body welcomes changes made to the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism bill following previous submissions and advocacy.
Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) announced support for the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing bill (AML/CTF) to implement tranche two reforms.
The bill introduced to Parliament this week by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus included proposed amendments made by the joint accounting bodies in June 2023 and June 2024.
CPA Australia, CA ANZ, and the Institute of Public Accountants made joint submissions that called for a sensible and cost-efficient approach that considered professional accountants’ existing regulatory and professional obligations.
CA ANZ said it is pleased entire professions, such as accountancy, are not captured in the bill and that it designates specific services provided by professionals that are considered at risk of criminal exploitation.
CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen said the professional body also welcomed the removal of ‘correspondence address’ and ‘administrative address’ from designated service 9.
“I would like to thank Attorney General Mark Dreyfus for meeting with myself and the CEOs of CPAA and IPA early in the consultation process,” she said.
“It is common for clients to utilise their accountant’s practice address as a central point for correspondence and administrative notices from government bodies.”
According to the professional body, designated service 9 now captures the widely accepted practice of criminals hiding their genuine location by misusing a professional’s address as their registered office address or business address.
CA ANZ said its New Zealand members have been already operating under similar legislation for six years and believes an extended implementation period is needed to phase in reporting new entities by sectors following enactment.
A fixed date does not take the time frame for the passage of the bill through Parliament into account, according to CA ANZ.
Van Onselen said despite the time frame of the passage of the bill, CA ANZ is “pleased” with the deferral.
“We are pleased to see a deferred start date of 31 March 2026 for tranche two entities offering designated professional services, such as accountants and lawyers,” she said.
“We will advocate for the commencement date to have flexibility to allow for delays in passage of the Bill.”
The professional body said it will continue considering the bill in greater detail, providing feedback, and advocating complementary legislation that will help its members comply with the legislation.
“We call on Treasury to prioritise developing a beneficial ownership register and uplifting the business register link to companies to the relevant director IDs and making searches of the business register, free of charge,” van Onselen said.
“Our members need the right tools to be able to complete timely and affordable customer due diligence.
“We will also continue to engage closely with AUSTRAC to develop an accounting sector specific guide for new reporting entities outlining compliance activities in a practical form using case studies to demonstrate when and how they apply.”
