Cross-border movement reports – guidance for reporting entities (Reform)
Find out how to report a cross-border movement (CBM) of monetary instruments into or out of Australia.
On this page
- What you need to report
- How to report
- Timelines for reporting
- Rules about carrying and declaring monetary instruments
- Penalties for not reporting
- Exemptions from reporting
- Related pages
This guidance is for reporting entities who need to report a CBM.
What you need to report
This section refers to the Act section 53.
All reporting entities must report CBMs of monetary instruments in Australian or foreign currency if the combined value is A$10,000 or more. You must submit these reports even if the CBM is unrelated to a designated service.
You don’t need to submit a CBM report for transfers you do electronically.
Electronic transfers are transfers you send from or receive into a bank account or through a remittance service provider.
Types of monetary instruments to report
This section refers to the Act section 17.
‘Monetary instruments’ include physical currency (for example, cash such as Australian notes or coins) and bearer negotiable instruments (BNIs), such as a:
- bill of exchange
- cheque
- promissory note
- bearer bond
- traveller's cheque
- money order, postal order or similar order
- other negotiable instrument not covered above.
You only need to report BNIs that are payable to any person holding them. For example, an instrument payable to Person A who is holding it and would also be payable to Person B or C if they were given the instrument.
Some examples of this includes where the instrument:
- is endorsed without restriction
- doesn’t include a payee
- is payable to a fictional person
- is in such a form that title to the instrument passes on delivery.
This doesn’t include instruments that aren’t payable to the bearer, such as a cheque that’s only payable to a specific payee on specific instructions.
How to report
There are 2 types of CBM reports.
Monetary instrument (carrying) report
This section refers to the Act section 53.
You must make this report if you depart or enter Australia with monetary instruments with a combined value of A$10,000 or more.
Monetary instrument (sending or receiving) report
This section refers to the Act sections 54 and 56.
You must make this report if you send or have received monetary instruments with a combined value of A$10,000 or more by either:
- aircraft, ship or courier
- mail into or out of Australia.
Report online or at the border
If you’re a reporting entity or reporting group, you can make these reports through your AUSTRAC Online account. You can also declare at the border using a paper form.
Timelines for reporting
This section refers to the Act sections 53(7) and 54(4) and the Rules section 9–12(3).
If you’re carrying monetary instruments across borders, you must submit a report before you pass through customs when arriving or departing Australia.
If you mail or ship monetary instruments into or out of Australia, you must submit a report before sending it.
If you’ve received monetary instruments from outside Australia, you must submit a report within 5 business days of receipt.
Rules about carrying and declaring monetary instruments
There are different rules for carrying and declaring monetary instruments.
Carrying monetary instruments for someone else
This section refers to the Act sections 55 and 56 and the Rules section 9–12(2).
You can carry monetary instruments into or out of Australia for someone else, but you must submit a report where the value is A$10,000 or more. On the form, you must give information about yourself and the person you’re:
- carrying the money for
- delivering the money to.
If you arrange for a person to carry monetary instruments into or out of Australia where the value is A$10,000 or more, you must make sure that your details are included on the carrier’s report.
Sharing physical currency between travellers in a group (structuring)
This section refers to the Act section 143.
Sharing physical currency to avoid CBM reporting is called structuring. It’s against the law.
For example, a family might choose to break up a reportable amount of physical currency among themselves, so that each traveller is carrying less than A$10,000. A young child ‘carrying’ A$9,950 across the border may be seen as carrying the currency to avoid reporting.
It’s against the law to make multiple trips across the border with amounts of currency less than A$10,000 to avoid reporting. It’s also against the law to make someone else do this.
Penalties for not reporting
This section refers to the Act section 53(1).
You may face penalties for not declaring monetary instruments with a combined value of A$10,000 or more when you enter or leave Australia. The maximum penalty for failing to report a CBM is imprisonment for 2 years or 500 penalty units, or both.
Learn more about penalties and enforcement.
Exemptions from reporting
This section refers to the Act sections 53(4) and 53(5).
Commercial passenger carriers don’t need to submit a CBM report where the passengers carry the monetary instruments. For example, an airline doesn’t need to report if its passengers are carrying monetary instruments with a combined value of A$10,000 or more.
Commercial goods carriers don’t need to submit a CBM report where the monetary instruments are carried for another person. For example, a shipping freight company doesn’t need to report if it’s transporting monetary instruments with a combined value of A$10,000 or more.
You don’t need to declare carrying, sending or receiving gold bullion to us.
Related pages
This guidance sets out how we interpret the Act, along with associated Rules and regulations. Australian courts are ultimately responsible for interpreting these laws and determining if any provisions of these laws are contravened.
The examples and scenarios in this guidance are meant to help explain our interpretation of these laws. They’re not exhaustive or meant to cover every possible scenario.
This guidance provides general information and isn't a substitute for legal advice. This guidance avoids legal language wherever possible and it might include generalisations about the application of the law. Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.