Purpose
The AUSTRAC Regulatory Guide (the Guide) intends to provide non-binding advice to industry to help it understand and comply with the:
However, due to the concurrent operation of two pieces of AML/CTF legislation in Australia at the time of writing, this Guide also provides non-binding advice in relation to the:
The Guide does not represent or replace legal advice on obligations under the AML/CTF legislation nor should it be interpreted or used as a definitive checklist against which AML/CTF compliance levels can be measured.
Target audience
The Guide is primarily designed for reporting entities under the AML/CTF Act, many of which are also cash dealers under the FTR Act. Collectively this Guide refers to reporting entities and cash dealers as regulated entities.
Structure
A roadmap precedes this section to show the structure of this Guide and to help readers navigate their way through this resource and determine which chapters are most relevant to them.
For ease of use, the start of each chapter contains a table summarising its contents. Where appropriate a second table follows, specifying who the chapter applies to and what it means for them, as well as relevant legal and policy details.
Release
The Guide will be progressively expanded and updated as further provisions of the AML/CTF Act come into effect and to ensure the content remains current and relevant. This first release includes chapters on the Australian AML/CTF context, AML/CTF programs (including customer identification), AML/CTF compliance reporting, correspondent banking and the FTR Act.
AUSTRAC guidance notes
Guidance notes on specific subject matter are published by AUSTRAC where it determines that clarification of certain aspects of the AML/CTF Act or AML/CTF Rules is necessary. In contrast, the AUSTRAC Regulatory Guide intends to provide broad advice on regulated entities' obligations and directs readers to additional resources for further details. This Guide is intended to complement rather than replace guidance notes.
The full list of AUSTRAC guidance notes is provided in Appendix A.
Other legislation
Regulated entities should be mindful of all their legislative obligations when developing an AML/CTF framework, such as the:
Other considerations
In developing this document AUSTRAC has researched comparable international AML/CTF resources including the US Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council's Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual and the UK's Financial Services Authority FSA Handbook. Any material quoted from these and other sources is referenced for the interest of readers.
AUSTRAC is aware that some industry groups have already developed and published AML/CTF guidance to help their members, or are intending to do so. We welcome these initiatives and envisage that such guidance will complement the assistance we provide, both through this Guide and our other publications and applications.
10-DEC-2007
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