AUSTRAC post reporting advice for businesses affected by the Australian bushfires

January 9, 2020

The Australian wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes, killed millions of animals and damaged businesses all over the country.

Now the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has posted advice for businesses fearing that they will not be able to live up to their reporting obligations due to the natural disaster.

“If your business has been affected by bushfires and you are concerned about meeting your AUSTRAC obligations, such as reporting transactions or completing your 2019 compliance report, please contact us to discuss ways we may be able to assist,” it said on the dedicated webpage.

AUSTRAC added, “Customers who have been affected by bushfires may have lost some of their identification documents. There are several options for businesses to identify and verify their customers in these circumstances. For example, you might use several types of secondary documents to establish a customer’s identity instead of a primary identification document.”

For those, the financial crime regulator suggested that they check out AUSTRAC’s advise for customers who do not have conventional forms of ID to identify themselves.