The compliance report is a report you submit to AUSTRAC each year that includes questions about how you have met your anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations.

The compliance report is a requirement under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). There can be penalties for failing to submit your compliance report. Find out more about the consequences of not complying.

When to submit your report

You must submit your compliance report between 1 January and 31 March of each year. Your report will cover your business activities for the previous calendar year.

Preview the questions in the 2023 compliance report to help you prepare.

How to submit your report

To submit a compliance report, you must be listed as an administrator in your AUSTRAC Online account. An AUSTRAC Online account can have up to four administrators.

To complete and submit your report:

1. Log in to AUSTRAC Online
2. Go to ‘My Business’
3. Click the plus sign (+) next to ‘My Business’ to see more menu options
4. Select ‘Compliance Reports’
5. Select ‘Open Compliance Report’ for the applicable year
6. Complete the questions
7. Review and submit

There are instructions in the form to help you complete it.

You can save the form as you go so you don't need to complete it in one session.

You can also access previous compliance reports you have submitted.

Make sure you know when it’s time to submit

We will send reminders by email and messages to your AUSTRAC Online account. Make sure your contact details are up to date, including email addresses for your compliance officer and primary contacts.

How we use the information in your compliance report

The information in your compliance reports helps us:

• to see if you need any extra assistance to meet your obligations.
• improve our education and guidance for businesses.
• develop supervision campaigns and assessments.

Who must submit a compliance report

If you provide designated services you must submit a compliance report to AUSTRAC. See below for special circumstances or exemptions that may apply.

Designated business groups

If you are part of a designated business group (DBG), only one member should lodge the annual compliance report on behalf of all members in the group. The member who submitted the report should notify all group members so that everyone knows the report has been lodged, as we don’t advise other members of a DBG when we receive a report.

Any group member can choose to submit their own compliance report if substantially different from other DBG members. To do this:

1. log in to AUSTRAC Online
2. open Compliance Reports in the My Business menu
3. find the submitted DBG report in the Existing Reports list and select the override link.

When you have closed or sold your business

If any of the following apply to your business, you are only required to complete the first question of the compliance report to advise AUSTRAC of your circumstances:

• you sold or closed your business
• you didn’t provide any designated services during the reporting period
• your business was merged with or acquired by another business.

Note: If you have stopped providing designated services, you must request removal from AUSTRAC’s roll or registers. You can do this through your business profile page in AUSTRAC Online. You will continue to receive emails from AUSTRAC until you have requested removal.

Exemptions

You don’t need to submit a compliance report if you:

• are a small gaming venue with a licence for no more than 15 electronic gaming machines and you don’t provide any other designated services
• are solely registered as an affiliate of a remittance network provider (RNP) and you don’t provide any other designated services
• hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and the only designated service you provide is to make arrangements for customers to receive a designated service rather than providing the designated service yourself.
• you have been granted an exemption specifically exempting you. You can check if your business already has an exemption that applies to the compliance report.

Penalties for not submitting a report

If you are required to submit a compliance report and you don’t submit your report by 31 March, you may be subject to enforcement action, which can include a remedial direction, and/or an infringement notice. Find out more about penalties and enforcement.