Registration is open for media representatives to attend the 2018 ASEAN-Australia Codeathon in Sydney on 14-15 March 2018, with an awards ceremony early on Friday 16 March 2018.

Hosted by AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, the event will be held in the lead-up to the 2018 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. The Codeathon will bring together more than 80 future leaders in technology and innovation from across the ASEAN region to find solutions to combat terrorism financing and other serious crime in the region.

Participants will undertake a gruelling 32 hours of coding to solve complex challenges focused on the theme of ‘Leveraging innovation to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and cyber risks’. MC for the event will be television personality, radio announcer, author and ambassador for mathematics and science, Adam Spencer. The high-profile judging panel includes:

• Tony Sheehan, Deputy Secretary, Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator
• Dr Maria Milosavljevic, Chief Information Security Officer, NSW Government
• Dr Alex Johnston, Head of Technology, Thomson Reuters Australia
• Alex Scandurra, CEO, Stone and Chalk
• Paul Xuereb, Secretary, Blockchain Association of Australia
• Leanne Fry, Chief Innovation Officer, AUSTRAC
• Dr John Moss, National Manager Intelligence, AUSTRAC.

The following sessions will be open to media:

Wednesday 14 March

Opening Ceremony

7.45am - Registration opens. You will be required to present photo ID.

8.30am to 9.00am - Opening ceremony, including announcement of challenges, with celebrity MC Adam Spencer.

Friday 16 March

Awards Ceremony

7.45am - Registration opens. You will be required to present photo ID if it is your first time attending this event.

8.00am to 10.00am - Awards Ceremony, including door stop interviews.

Register on the Codeathon Eventbrite page by 5.00pm AEST 13 March 2018.

Media representatives must register their attendance prior to this event in order to be able to attend.

Contact the AUSTRAC Media team on (02) 9950 0488 or email media@austrac.gov.au to discuss media interview opportunities.

Stay in touch with live updates via AUSTRAC on Twitter and follow #ASEANinAus and #ASEANCodeathon on Twitter.

Media contact:

AUSTRAC Media and Communications

P: (02) 9950 0488

M: 0418 103 107

E: media@austrac.gov.au

Follow us on Twitter @AUSTRAC