Consultation hub

The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments to tackle the issue of forced marriage through a coordinated national approach.

On 5 July 2024, the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG) agreed to conduct public consultation to inform the development of enhanced civil protections and remedies for people in or at risk of forced marriage.

Led by the Australian Government in partnership with all state and territory governments, consultations commenced on 29 July 2024 and concluded on 23 September 2024.

Public consultation focused on 3 key areas:

• building a shared understanding of forced marriage as a form of family and domestic violence
• enhancing education and awareness raising
• strengthening forced marriage civil protections and remedies.

We travelled to every state and territory and held targeted consultation meetings with over 240 people from more than 130 organisations. We also received 44 written responses.

We heard from a range of stakeholders including:

• people with lived experience of forced marriage
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• people with disability
• family and domestic violence service providers
• legal organisations
• academics
• faith leaders
• courts
• government
• civil society organisations.

We will continue to consider all submissions and responses received as part of the consultation. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of participants to the consultation processes.

For more information on the outcomes, read the Forced marriage public consultation overview.

Feedback received during the public consultation will inform future work to strengthen Australia’s response to forced marriage.

We held a second round of consultation on reforming Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime between May and June 2024.

This second round of consultation built upon the first round of consultation undertaken in 2023. We considered feedback from the first round of consultation and used it to develop detailed reform proposals outlined over 6 consultation papers. 

We sought public input through written submissions and through virtual and in-person meetings with affected sectors.

We held over 40 targeted consultations with industry and government stakeholders, including roundtables with peak industry bodies, bilateral engagements with industry members and addresses at industry events. 

We received over 130 submissions from stakeholders across all affected sectors, as well as from government, academics, civil society and individuals. With consent, we have published 104 of these submissions.

Key themes

Reflecting similar feedback from the first round of consultation, there was broad support for the reforms. Submissions provided useful insights into how the AML/CTF regime could be strengthened to build Australia’s resilience against criminal exploitation and protect businesses that are at the frontline of financial crime prevention. Stakeholders noted several inefficiencies in the regime that limit the effectiveness of Australia’s response to transnational crime.

Overall, stakeholders supported the proposed reforms to simplify, clarify and modernise the existing regime to make it easier for regulated businesses to identify and mitigate illicit financing risks and to comply with their AML/CTF obligations. 

Current reporting entities welcomed proposals to expand the regime to address vulnerabilities in ‘gatekeeper’ professions, including lawyers, accountants, real estate professionals and dealers in precious stones and metals (also known as tranche two entities). There was also support for ensuring the regime keeps pace with the increasingly digital, instant nature of the global financial system, by updating digital and virtual asset services.

Most stakeholders demonstrated an understanding that the proposed reforms aim to improve Australia’s compliance with the global standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Stakeholders sought additional details on the specific impacts on their businesses – this information will be set out in forthcoming consultations on amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No. 1) (AML/CTF Rules). 

Thank you to everyone who contributed valuable feedback to the consultation processes. 

Feedback from both rounds of consultation will inform government consideration of the final policy changes and legislation. Timing for any legislation is a matter for government. 

There will be ongoing opportunities to influence and work with government on the detailed impact of the reforms on businesses through upcoming consultation on the AML/CTF Rules led by AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC will also collaborate with industry on fit-for-purpose, tailored industry education and guidance, particularly for new tranche two entities.

On 27 February 2024, the Attorney-General released the Terms of Reference for a Review of Australia’s Credit Reporting Framework (the Review). The Australian Government appointed Ms Heidi Richards as the independent reviewer.

The Review is considering the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Australia’s Credit Reporting Framework in the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

On 26 April 2024, Ms Richards released an Issues Paper, which was open for written submissions until 31 May 2024. The issues paper set out key areas of focus for the independent review and included around 50 discussion questions.

The Review received 31 submissions from a broad range of stakeholders, including regulators, external dispute resolution services, credit providers, credit reporting bodies, consumer groups, industry peak bodies and others. Ms Richards has also undertaken bilateral discussions with stakeholders to support the findings of the Review. 

The Review is currently considering the submissions which will inform Ms Richard’s report to Government. The report will be provided to the relevant ministers no later than 1 October 2024. We have published submissions where consent has been given to do so.