Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2026

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced into the House of Representatives on 12 March 2026 by the Minister for Home Affairs. According to the Parliamentary Library's Bills Digest, the Bill establishes a new framework allowing the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre to restrict or prohibit, by legislative instrument, a reporting entity from using high-risk mechanisms to provide designated services, a measure aimed at addressing concerns about cryptocurrency products such as crypto ATMs being exploited for money laundering, scams and money mule activity.

The Bill also amends the meaning of financing of terrorism in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to capture new offences for financing a state sponsor of terrorism, and makes technical amendments addressing issues that emerged after the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024, including provisions on customer due diligence, the definitions of domestic and foreign politically exposed persons, and legal professional privilege claims. Public consultation on the proposed reforms closed on 21 January 2026, before introduction.

As at the time of the Bills Digest, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committee, though the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security have since engaged with it. Schedule 1 is intended to commence on 1 January 2027. The Bill remains before Parliament and has not been enacted.