Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Transnational, serious and organised crime actors continue to adapt and develop new ways to exploit Australian community members and target our economic systems to generate illicit profits and launder the proceeds of crime.

Money laundering is not a victimless crime. Each year, billions of dollars of illicit funds are generated from criminal activity such as drug trafficking, cybercrime, child exploitation, tax evasion, and other illegal and corrupt practices. It's also used by authoritarian regimes to fuel corruption and undermine the rule of law across the world.

AUSTRAC has observed that crypto ATMs are one of these new mechanisms, linked to everything from money laundering to scams and fraud to illicit substances to child exploitation. When AUSTRAC looked at the top 90 most prolific users of these ATMs in 2024 it found that 85 per cent of these users were either scam victims or money mules who had been tricked or coerced into moving money.

While not everyone who uses these ATMs is linked to illicit activity, the observations of our law enforcement agencies is that, unfortunately, a substantive amount of their use contributes to criminal gain.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2026 responds to crypto ATMs and the broader modern financial crime environment which facilitates serious crimes and harms both Australia's financial systems and the community.

Schedule 1 of this bill will introduce a new framework in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to empower the AUSTRAC CEO to restrict or prohibit businesses regulated under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing regime from using a high-risk product, service, delivery channel or thing, to protect the Australian community.

This implements a commitment made by the Minister for Home Affairs at the National Press Club on 16 October 2025 to combat the significant harms being caused by organised crime and scams across the country. The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that serious and organised crime cost Australia up to $82.3 billion in 2023-24, causing misery and financial hardship for victims. The illicit profits are reinvested in further serious crimes that cause untold harm to the Australian community and our region.

The emergence of new technologies in recent years has presented great opportunities for the economy and the community. However, these same opportunities can be exploited by criminal actors. We've seen criminal groups, exploiting high-risk mechanisms, coerce everyday people to move and launder money from scams and illicit drug sales. For example, cryptocurrency ATMs are often exploited by criminals coercing individuals to exchange money for virtual assets. These high-risk mechanisms are used because they make it harder for our law enforcement and intelligence agencies, like AUSTRAC, to trace the movement of that money.

To ensure that the new power is appropriately targeted, the AUSTRAC CEO must be satisfied of the significant harm of the high-risk mechanism before exercising the power and that a restriction or prohibition is necessary in the public interest. The new power is intended to support AUSTRAC's flexible, risk based response to emerging and evolving money laundering and terrorism financing risks, while still allowing reporting entities to use innovative technologies and business models.

Schedule 2 of the bill will make technical amendments to the meaning of financing of terrorism in section 5 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to reference new offences introduced in the Criminal Code Act 1995 for financing a state sponsor of terrorism. This definition will also be updated to reflect developments in Australian sanctions laws on terrorism financing, including by allowing new sanctions offences to be prescribed in the future. These amendments will also ensure Australia unequivocally meets its commitments as a member of the Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money-laundering and terrorism financing watchdog.

Schedule 3 of the bill contains technical amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006that were identified through the implementation of the significant reforms enacted by this government through the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024. The 2024 reforms were a critical and long-overdue step in Australia's compliance with international standards and ensuring that we do not become an international 'back door' for illicit funds. The technical amendments will make compliance easier for Australian businesses who have obligations under these laws, while still delivering strong anti-money-laundering outcomes.

The Australian government will always act to prevent the criminal abuse of our economy and the harm and suffering this causes to our entire community. For those who think crypto ATMs provide a new loophole to turn cash into crypto and evade law enforcement—know this—we will close the loopholes, we will track you down, you are in our sights.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.