Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988

PART III - ACCOUNTS  

SECTION 21A   CHANGE OF NAME  

21A(1)    

Subject to subsections (1A) and (1B), this section applies to an individual ( " signatory " ) who wishes to open, or become a signatory to, an account with an identifying cash dealer in a name by which the signatory intends to be commonly known ( " new name " ), being a name:

(a) which the signatory has adopted by marriage; or

(b) if the signatory has changed the surname by which the signatory is known to that of the signatory ' s spouse or de facto spouse - by which the signatory was known before making that change; or

(c) which the signatory, being a person who has been the victim of violence or threats of violence, or the dependent child of such a person, has adopted or intends to adopt to ensure his or her personal safety; or

(d) if the signatory is an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander - which is a traditional name of the signatory.

21A(1A)    

This section does not apply to an individual who wishes to open an account if the account is opened after the commencement of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 in circumstances that amount to the provision of a designated service.

21A(1B)    

This section does not apply to an individual who wishes to become a signatory to an account with an identifying cash dealer in a name by which the individual intends to be commonly known if:

(a) the individual wishes to become a signatory to the account in that name after the commencement of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 ; and

(b) either:

(i) the account is opened after the commencement of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 in circumstances that amount to the provision of a designated service; or

(ii) the account was opened before the commencement of that Division in circumstances that would have amounted to the provision of a designated service if all the provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of that Act had been in force at the relevant time.

21A(2)    
If the signatory gives to the identifying cash dealer change of name statements signed by the signatory and by a prescribed person:

(a) the new name is taken to be a name by which the signatory is commonly known; and

(b) the statements are taken to constitute an identification reference for the signatory in the new name.

21A(3)    
A person must not:

(a) intentionally make a statement in a change of name statement, reckless as to the fact that it is false or misleading in a material particular; or

(b) intentionally omit from a change of name statement any matter or thing, reckless as to the fact that without the matter or thing the change of name statement is misleading in a material particular.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 4 years.

Note:

Subsection 4B(2) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose in respect of an offence an appropriate fine instead of, or in addition to, a term of imprisonment. The maximum fine that a court can impose on an individual is worked out by multiplying the maximum term of imprisonment (in months) by 5, and then multiplying the resulting number by the amount of a penalty unit. The amount of a penalty unit is stated in section 4AA of that Act.

21A(4)    
For the purposes of this section:

"change of name statement"
, in relation to a signatory, means a statement that:

(a) sets out the name or names by which the signatory has been commonly known; and

(b) states which paragraph of subsection (1) applies to the signatory; and

(c) sets out the reasons why this section applies to the signatory; and

(d) sets out the new name; and

(e) states that the new name is one by which the signatory will be commonly known.