Australia has revealed plans to introduce new gambling reforms in response to late Labor MP Peta Murphy’s parliamentary measure to limit gambling advertising and reduce the...
AUSTRAC to reform its AML and terrorism financing framework
AUSTRAC has announced that it plans to reform its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks in order to fully eliminate weaknesses.
The Chief Executive Officer of AUSTRAC, Brendan Thomas, spoke during the “Regulating the Game” event, which took place between March 9, 2026, and March 11, 2026, where he shared that the new framework will become an important part of the gambling sector and will be the main body fighting against money laundering.
Thomas stated:
“We expect you to continue operating your existing controls, to develop and document clear implementation plans where gaps exist, and to manage ML/TF risk actively throughout the transition. If your controls are effective, maintain them. If they are not, fix them now. Implementation plans must be credible. They must identify gaps, explain why they exist, set realistic timelines, and assign accountability. They must be endorsed by senior management and the board. That endorsement matters. It signals ownership. AUSTRAC will take a proportionate approach where businesses demonstrate genuine effort. But where risks remain unmanaged, regulatory action will follow.”
The reforms will see a website improvement in an effort to increase information access, as well as a more guided onboarding experience, which will help determine whether a business is regulated, identify the industry category, and follow enrolment steps.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s (AUSTRAC) reforms introduced in 2024 have now come into force, imposing stricter compliance demands for businesses...
