Parliament passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Amendment Act 2024 in December 2024. As previously reported, these new laws are designed to ensure Australia’s AML/CTF regime can effectively deter, detect, and disrupt crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
These changes have significant implications for the jewellery industry. There have also been changes around gift cards, which may require ‘know your customer’ (KYC) checks.
These checks involve requesting customer identification, which the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) says will create high cost, complexity, and disruption for retailers, shopping centres, and consumers. CEO Angus Nardi highlighted the impact on retailers and consumers.
“These are low-value, low-risk products used mainly for birthdays, seasonal gifting, and everyday purchases. Applying heavy-handed KYC checks is impractical and unnecessary given existing risk controls,” Nardi said.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) clarified that exemptions under the Act apply only to closed-loop cards redeemable at a limited number of retailers.
The SCCA recommends that exemptions also cover gift cards usable across broader retail networks and urges Austrac to expand its scope. Nardi noted that such checks mischaracterise the low risk of these products.
“Most shopping centre gift cards will not qualify for the exemption because they can be redeemed anywhere EFTPOS, Visa, or Mastercard is accepted,” Nardi added.
“The idea that someone buying a $50 Christmas gift card for a family member must provide formal identification simply doesn’t align with how Australians shop.”
The SCCA has proposed that all cards below the $1,000 stored-value thresholds, depending on cash redemption, be exempt from KYC requirements. Nardi explained that many stakeholders may not yet fully understand the potential impact of these changes.
“It underscores the need for clear guidance from the government and AUSTRAC. We believe our approach is evidence-based, workable, and protects both consumers and against financial crime. We hope Austrac acts quickly to consider our exemption,” he added.
These new regulations are scheduled to take effect on 31 March 2025.
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