Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (110 of 2024)

Schedule 5   Tipping off offence and disclosure of AUSTRAC information to foreign countries or agencies

Part 1   Main amendments

Division 1   Tipping off offence

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006

2   Section 123

Repeal the section, substitute:

123 Offence of tipping off

Offence

(1) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person is or has been:

(i) a reporting entity; or

(ii) an officer, employee or agent of a reporting entity; or

(iii) required by a notice under subsection 49(1) to give information or produce documents; or

(iv) required by notice under subsection 49B(2) to give information or produce documents; and

(b) the person discloses information to another person (other than an AUSTRAC entrusted person); and

(c) the information is covered by subsection (2); and

(d) the disclosure of the information would or could reasonably be expected to prejudice an investigation:

(i) of an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or

(ii) for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or regulations under that Act; or

(iii) for the purposes of a law of a State or Territory that corresponds to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or regulations under that Act.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 120 penalty units, or both.

(2) Information is covered by this subsection if it is any of the following:

(a) that a reporting entity has given, or is required to give, a report under subsection 41(2);

(b) a report given under, or prepared for the purposes of, subsection 41(2);

(c) a copy of such a report;

(d) a document purporting to set outinformation (including the formation or existence of a suspicion) contained in such a report;

(e) a person is or has been required by a notice under subsection 49(1) to give information or produce a document;

(f) a person has given information or produced a document in response to a notice under subsection 49(1);

(g) a person is or has been required by a notice under subsection 49B(2) to give information or produce a document;

(h) a person has given information or produced a document in response to a notice under subsection 49B(2);

(i) information referred to in paragraph 16(5A)(a), (b) or (c) or (5AA)(a) or (b) of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988, as in force immediately before its repeal.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), it is immaterial whether an investigation has commenced.

Exception - crime prevention

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to the disclosure of information covered by paragraphs (2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) by a person if:

(a) the person is a reporting entity, or an officer, employee or agent of a reporting entity, that is:

(i) a legal practitioner (however described); or

(ii) a partnership or company that carries on a business of using legal practitioners (however described) to supply professional legal services; or

(iii) a qualified accountant; or

(iv) a partnership or company that carries on a business of using qualified accountants to supply professional accountancy services; or

(v) a person specified in the AML/CTF Rules; and

(b) the information relates to the affairs of a customer of the reporting entity; and

(c) the person makes the disclosure, in good faith, for the purposes of dissuading the customer from engaging in conduct that constitutes, or could constitute, an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (4) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

Exception - information sharing to detect, deter or disrupt money laundering, the financing of terrorism, proliferation financing, or other serious crimes

(5) Subsection (1) does not apply if:

(a) the disclosure is made to another reporting entity; and

(b) the disclosure is made for the purpose of detecting, deterring, or disrupting money laundering, the financing of terrorism, proliferation financing, or other serious crimes; and

(c) the conditions prescribed by the regulations are met.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (5) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

Courts and Tribunals

(6) Except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of giving effect to this Act, a person is not to be required to disclose to a court or tribunal information mentioned in subsection (2).