17th Sep 2018, 12:36 PM – Senate Treasury Laws Amendment (Black Economy Taskforce Measures No. 1) Bill 2018 - Second Reading - Money laundering

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, which means the words below will be added to the usual second reading motion "that the bill be read a second time" (which is parliamentary jargon for "that the main idea of the bill be agreed to").

Motion text

At the end of the motion, add "but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the explanatory memorandum to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Bill 2006 forecast a second tranche of legislation that would regulate real estate agents, jewellers, and a range of non-financial transactions provided by accountants and lawyers,

(ii) in April 2016, the Government released the statutory review of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 that contained a recommendation for the Government to develop options for regulating lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, high-value dealers, real estate agents and trust and company service providers under the Act,

(iii) the Government commenced consultation on the regulation of lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, high-value dealers, real estate agents and trust and company service providers under the Act, and submissions to this consultation closed in January 2017,

(iv) the Financial Action Task Force's April 2015 Mutual Evaluation Report on Australia's measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing stated that Australia is an attractive destination for foreign proceeds of crime, particularly corruption-related proceeds flowing into real estate, and

(v) the December 2017 OECD Phase 4 Report on Australia's implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention recommended that Australia address the risk that the real estate sector could be used to launder the proceeds of foreign bribery; and

(b) calls on the Government to introduce legislation that would address money laundering through real estate".

What is the bill's main idea?

According to the bill digest:

The purpose of the Bill is ... to introduce:

criminal offences for the production, distribution, possession and use of electronic sales suppression tools (ESS tool) which are used to falsify tax records created by electronic point of sale systems and

administrative penalties corresponding to the criminal offences and

reporting obligations on entities that provide a courier or cleaning service and engage other entities to perform a courier or cleaning service on their behalf.