Accountants baulk at funding AUSTRAC changes

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

20 June 2024

At the same time as financial advisers continue to express concern about the ASIC levy, accountants have sent a clear message to the Government that new arrangements within AUSTRAC need to be funded from the public purse.

The major accounting organisations have acknowledged that upcoming changes to the AUSTRAC regime will see more entities being covered by the regulator but arguing that this is a cost that needs to be carried by the Government, not accountants.

“We reiterate our position that the structure of the current industry levy, which applies to large reporting entities, should not change with the inclusion of tranche-two entities. Exponentially increasing the number of reporting entities will benefit all Australians so it is appropriate that the costs of the supervisor, AUSTRAC, should be primarily funded by all Australians,” Chartered Accountants ANZ, CPA Australia and the Institute of Public Accountants have told the Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus.

“We acknowledge that the government has allocated funds in the recent budget to aid the implementation of tranche-two. We refer to advice provided by Mr Thomas [AUSTRAC CEO, Brendan Thomas] in the recent Senate Estimates on how the government’s provision of $166 million over the coming two years to prepare for tranche-two implementation will be utilised,” the accounting bodies said.

“Mr Thomas advised that ‘Most of that money is coming to AUSTRAC for us to prepare for that implementation, in terms of data systems, the uplifting of staff and the investments that we’ll be making in terms of education, training and engagement with industry’,” it said.

“We look for the government to continue to provide the funds sought by AUSTRAC and the Attorney-General’s Department over future budgets to enable a smooth transition of the proposed reforms,” the major accounting groups said.