Terms of Reference

Pursuant to subsection 7(1) of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010, the committee will inquire into and report on the capability of law enforcement to respond to money laundering and financial crime, with reference to:

  1. the scale and forms of money laundering and financial crime in Australia, including their effect on the community and the economy, the types of criminal activities they fund, the methods employed by serious and organised crime, and emerging trends and threats;
  2. Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) legislation as well as comparison with other jurisdictions and the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force;
  3. proposed ‘tranche two’ reforms to extend the existing AML/CTF legislation to services provided by lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, real estate agents and dealers in precious metals and stones and implications for law enforcement;
  4. whether existing criminal offences and law enforcement powers and capabilities are appropriate to counter money laundering, including challenges and opportunities for law enforcement, such as those relating to emerging technologies;
  5. the effectiveness of collaboration, coordination and information sharing between Commonwealth agencies, including law enforcement, and with authorities in other jurisdictions and the private sector;
  6. the role and response of businesses and other private sector organisations, including their level of awareness, assistance to law enforcement, and initiatives to counter this crime;
  7. the operation of unexplained wealth and asset recovery legislation, the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce, and the Confiscated Assets Account; and
  8. any related matters.

Committee Secretariat contact:

Committee Secretary
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3419
le.committee@aph.gov.au