Before ParliamentCrime & Courts Introduced in the House of Representatives, 12 Mar 2026

AUSTRAC could ban risky money services like crypto ATMs

Australia has about 2,000 crypto cash machines, where people swap cash for digital money. Scammers use them. This bill would let the agency that tracks dirty money limit or ban services like these. It would also update the rules on funding terror.

Official name: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Crypto cash machine owners and other money businesses: They could be limited or banned from using a risky product or channel. Breaking the rules could bring heavy punishments.
• People who use crypto cash machines: They could face limits on how much cash they can put in, or lose use of the machines.
• Scam victims: The government says the power aims to cut scams that push people to send cash through these machines.
• Banks and other businesses that must check customers: Some customer checks would become simpler.

Australia's 2,000 crypto ATMs

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre is the agency that tracks dirty money. Its short name is AUSTRAC. In this article we call it the dirty money agency.

Businesses that handle money must tell the agency about anything that looks wrong. They must also check who their customers are.

Money laundering means making money from crime look clean. The main law against it was passed in 2006. It was given a big update in 2024.

The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. It says Australia has about 2,000 crypto cash machines. That is the most in the Asia Pacific. You put cash in these machines and buy crypto, a kind of digital money.

The agency thinks almost 150,000 payments worth over $275 million go through them each year. Nearly all are cash put in, which is hard to trace.

The Australian Federal Police, the national police force, got 150 reports of scams using these machines in 2024. People lost more than $3 million. Police say the real figure is much higher. The agency has already set a $5,000 limit on cash in and out at some machines.

In October 2025, the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, made a promise. He said the agency would get power to limit or ban high-risk products, with a focus on crypto cash machines. This bill does that. It has three parts.

Power to restrict or ban

Part 1 lets the agency's head limit or ban businesses from using a high-risk way to provide a money service. That way can be a product, a service or a delivery channel. It can be any other thing too. The government's example is a crypto cash machine.

The head must be sure the thing has caused serious harm, or is likely to. The harm can be to the money system or to the community. The ban must also be good for the public.

The head must weigh how much harm there is and whether the ban would help. The head must also think about whether there are other options.

A limit can cap how much money moves, how it moves, or where it goes. It can also make businesses give the agency information or take steps to cut the risk.

The government says the power is not meant to ban something just because it uses crypto. Nor is it meant to ban something because it is risky to invest in or hard to control.

Say scammers keep telling victims to feed cash into crypto cash machines. The agency could cap how much cash each person can put in. Or it could stop the machines being used for that service.

Checks on the power

Before making a ban, the head must ask the public and other agencies for comment. This must run for at least 30 days. The agency would publish what it wants to limit, the harm it sees and the planned rules.

In urgent or rare cases, the head can skip asking for comment. A ban made that way can only last 6 months, unless it is extended.

A ban made after asking for comment can last up to 3 years. It can be extended or cancelled. Either house of Parliament can vote to cancel any ban.

Penalties

Breaking a limit would be a crime. So would offering a service that would break one. The top punishment is 4 years in prison, a $330,000 fine, or both.

For these crimes, the prosecutor, the lawyer who brings the case for the government, does not have to prove the person meant to break the rule. A person can still argue they made an honest and fair mistake about the facts.

The agency could also ask a court to set a fine. The Parliamentary Library says these fines reach $33 million for a company. They reach $6.6 million for a person. The agency could also hand out on-the-spot fines.

Terrorism financing

Part 2 changes what funding terror means in the dirty money law. In November 2025, Parliament made new crimes for funding a foreign government that backs terror. This change brings those crimes into the dirty money rules.

The government could also write detailed rules to add crimes under Australia's sanctions laws. Sanctions are rules that block dealings with some people, groups or countries.

This would let Australia include United Nations sanctions against terror groups. Those were dropped from the meaning of funding terror in 2008.

The government says this keeps Australia in line with the Financial Action Task Force. That is the world group that sets standards against dirty money.

Technical fixes

Part 3 fixes problems found while putting the 2024 changes in place.

Some people hold powerful public jobs, so they are at higher risk of bribes. Businesses would no longer have to check if someone acting for a customer is one of these people. Businesses must still check that person against sanctions lists.

The meaning of these powerful people at home and overseas would work properly for businesses with branches overseas.

You have a right to keep advice from your lawyer private. Forms that claim this right would go to whichever agency asked for the papers.

The agency could make rules that make businesses update their sign-up details. Businesses would also have to hand over papers when they apply to sign up as money transfer or crypto businesses.

A report on money sent overseas could be needed even if the business does not know the other country. A business that does not follow its own dirty money policies could get an on-the-spot fine.

Start date

The power to limit risky services would start on 1 January 2027. The terror funding change would start 28 days after the bill becomes law. Most technical fixes would start the day after it becomes law, or later if they depend on the 2024 changes.

A bill becomes law when the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General is the King's representative in Australia.

The bill was brought into the House of Representatives on 12 March 2026. The House agreed to 25 government changes. It passed the bill on 16 September 2026. The bill went to the Senate on 12 October 2026. The Senate must now debate it and vote on it before it becomes law.

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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