A step-by-step guide to registering with AUSTRAC

If you are starting a firm in Australia, dealing with money, including currency exchange, transfers, cryptos, or anything that has to do with financial transactions, then you are bound to register with AUSTRAC. Otherwise, you won’t meet the country’s anti-money laundering as well as counter-terrorism financing rules.

AUSTRAC stands for the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. The watchdog keeps an eye open on financial transactions to timely spot any criminal activity, including money laundering, tax evasion, not to mention financing of terrorism.

The registration procedure is fairly straightforward, but it’s important not to miss anything. This article will navigate you through the entire process —from realizing your obligations to submitting your application and maintaining long-term compliance.

Make sure you are a reporting entity

Before getting down to registration, it would be better to find out whether your firm happens to be a reporting entity under AUSTRAC’s regulations or not.

Eventually, a reporting entity is any business providing services mentioned in the AML/CTF Act. These might be:

• Currency exchange (including Forex trading)
• Money transfers
• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Providing bank accounts plus loans
• Gambling
• Dealing in precious metals or high-value goods

If you are not sure, take advantage of the Business Profile Questionnaire, or BPQ for short. It can help you to determine whether your firm needs to register or not. It would be especially useful for startups or tech platforms working in less traditional sectors, where there’s a thin line between financial and non-financial services.

Understand the difference between licensing and registration

That’s where many entrepreneurs get confused: registration and licensing are not equal.

• Registration: This is necessary to start any business activity.
• Licensing: You require licensing your firm if you provide specific services, including transfers, and crypto exchange. That’s an extra layer of compliance, and it suggests submitting a detailed application to AUSTRAC.

If you’re merely providing educational services, registration of a private limited company would be enough. When providing crypto exchange or transfer services, you should do two things – to register and license. Keep in mind that the inability to incorporate when required will be classified as a criminal offence. Therefore, never neglect this crucial thing.

Prepare your business details

Before logging into AUSTRAC’s web portal, you require gathering the required business information. You’d better do it beforehand, not to waste time once you’re in the application.

You need to collect the following stuff:

• ABN or ACN (Australian Business or Company Number)
• Your firm name and contact details
• Your firm’s structure (for instance, an individual entrepreneur, a company, a trust, etc.)
• Details of directors and beneficial owners
• Types of the services provided
• Names of key compliance officers or staff responsible for AML duties
• Any related or associated entities involved in operations

If you’re a new firm, ensure that your ABN or ACN is active before you apply. As a matter of fact, AUSTRAC does not process applications for entities that haven’t been officially set up yet.

Create an AUSTRAC web account

You can get your firm registered or licensed via the AUSTRAC web portal. First, you require creating an organization profile.

That’s what you ought to do:

• Visit the AUSTRAC web portal and find the AUSTRAC Online login section.
• Click on “Create account” for new organizations.
• Enter your ABN/ACN and follow the prompts to set up your profile.
• Specify your primary contact person – this might be your AML/CTF compliance officer.
• Create a secure password and keep your login details safe.

Once you cope with it, you can begin the licensing procedure. Don’t forget to bookmark this portal and store your login details in a secure password manager. You can use the system on a regular basis once operational.

Have your firm licensed

Once your account is live, it’s high time to license your firm officially. Here’s what you should do:

• Log in to AUSTRAC Online.
• Choose “Start licensing” in the main dashboard.
• Specify your firm details in the online licensing form.
• It’s recommended to be clear about the types of services offered. If you provide multiple services, such as transfers and crypto exchange, then tick them all.
• Confirm your AML/CTF compliance arrangements. For instance, it could be the name of your AML compliance officer.
• Review everything carefully before submitting.

The licensing procedure is free of charge. Once you complete it, AUSTRAC will review it and then confirm via email. As a rule, you need to wait within 2–5 business days or longer.

Register for specific services (if necessary)

If you provide transfer services or run a crypto exchange, you are bound to have your firm registered with AUSTRAC in addition to licensing. If you skip it, you will stumble on heavy penalties, to say nothing of criminal charges in the worst case.

To have your firm registered, do the following:

• Log in to your AUSTRAC Online account.
• Choose “Start registration” under the transfer or crypto exchange registration options.
• Fill out the detailed form that includes:
• Business structure and operational setup
• Details of directors, owners, as well as responsible officers
• Risk management alongside the AML/CTF program information
• Attach the required supporting docs
• Submit the application and wait for AUSTRAC’s response

The registration procedure can take several weeks based on the complexity of your firm. Get ready that AUSTRAC might request extra information or even conduct interviews as part of their due diligence. Make sure your AML/CTF docs are clear, up-to-date, and quite defensible.

Develop and implement your AML/CTF program

Once enrolled and registered, you require creating and maintaining an AML/CTF program. This living doc will reflect your firm’s risk profile, operations, and also procedures.

The given doc should include:

• Part A – Internal controls: That’s how you detect and avert money laundering.
• Part B – Customer due diligence (CDD): That’s how you have customer identity verified and assess risks.
• Constant monitoring, training for employees, as well as reporting obligations.

Needless to say, the program should be customized to your specific firm’s needs and not merely copied from a template. Eventually, AUSTRAC provides guidance on how to create one, although many entrepreneurs prefer to hire legal advisors to help draft it to survive regulatory scrutiny. You require updating it on a regular basis, especially if your services provided or business model have become different.

Start reporting to AUSTRAC

Once enrolled, you start facing your reporting obligations. It includes submitting certain reports via AUSTRAC Online.

To be exact, you need to upload:

• Threshold Transaction Reports (TTRs) – For cash transactions of up to AUD 10,000 or even more.
• Suspicious Matter Reports (SMRs) – If you think a transaction might have to do with some criminal activity.
• International Funds Transfer Instructions (IFTIs) – International transfers.

If you, for some reason, are unable to report correctly or timely, you’ll inevitably face fines or enforcement action. Therefore, ensure your internal systems are set up to flag and log these transactions correctly. By the way, a lot of firms employ AML software tools to automate part of the process and also reduce the likelihood of error.

Keep your firm details up to date

Don’t approach licensing and registration as something like “set-and-forget”. If anything about your firm changes, including directors, business name, services provided, to say nothing of your contact details, then you are bound to update AUSTRAC within 14 days.

It can be easily carried out via the AUSTRAC Online portal. Your duty is to keep your profile current, and if you fail, you’ll face compliance issues. You’d better review your account details on a regular basis. It’s a very useful habit that can help you to be on the safe side.

Get ready for compliance audits

Once you’re up and running, it’s not the end of your problems. AUSTRAC conducts compliance assessments on a regular basis to make sure businesses don’t break the law. At any time, they can request corresponding records, visit your office, and ask extra questions about your AML/CTF procedures.

To avoid unwanted consequences:

• Keep your AML/CTF program updated
• Train your employees on AML compliance&reporting
• Maintain records of customer ID checks, risk assessments, as well as transaction reports.
• Conduct internal audits every year or even more often
• Fix any issues if there are any, without delay

Being proactive will help you to avert penalties. Moreover, this approach will help to build trust with banks, customers, not to mention business partners.

Conclusion

For newbies, it might be a hassle to deal with AUSTRAC. That’s what you need to get used to because it’s a crucial part of running a regulated business in this country. Registration of your company and getting licensed demonstrate that you are 100% serious about compliance.

Since financial crimes are a big problem, systems like AUSTRAC are specially designed to protect the integrity of the domestic economy. If you lack experience in collaborating with systems like that, then it makes sense to hire legal or compliance advisors. Thus, you will avoid bigger problems in the future.

Just follow this guide to complete your vital procedures successfully, and then stay compliant in the Australian regulatory landscape as your business grows.