An amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, which was passed in the Senate on Monday, strengthens AUSTRAC’s ability to use infringement notices as part of its enforcement activity. The amendment, which was included in Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2023, clarifies the civil penalty provisions for an entity that fails to enrol with AUSTRAC. Under the old rules, an infringement notice could be issued if an entity did not enrol with AUSTRAC within 28 days of commencing to provide a designated service. AUSTRAC could only give the entity an infringement notice in relation to a single contravention, even when the entity continued to provide the service while unenrolled. According to the information memorandum accompanying the bill, AUSTRAC had no power to deal with ongoing breaches in a way that was commensurate with serious and ongoing breaches. The amendment clarifies that a separate contravention occurs each day that an entity fails to apply for enrolment. AUSTRAC is now able to issue infringement notices for each contravention. This will increase the penalties that apply for non-compliance with the enrolment obligation. The amendment also gives AUSTRAC the option of pursuing civil penalty proceedings for more serious and systemic contraventions.