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In August 2025, AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas put the remittance sector on notice: if your registration is sitting dormant, either voluntarily withdraw it or AUSTRAC will cancel it for you. The message was blunt, and the scale was significant — more than 900 independent remittance businesses sit on AUSTRAC's register, and a large proportion are believed to be inactive.
This isn't a routine administrative exercise. It's a targeted enforcement campaign driven by a specific threat: dormant registrations being acquired and exploited by criminal networks to move illicit funds through seemingly legitimate channels.
Here's what's happening, why it matters, and what remittance operators should do in response.
Background: The Problem with Dormant Registrations
Australia's remittance sector is large and fragmented. AUSTRAC maintains a public register of independent remittance dealers — businesses authorised to provide remittance services that are not affiliates of a larger registered remittance network provider. At the time of the announcement, more than 900 independent remittance dealers were listed on this register.
The problem is straightforward: a significant proportion of these registrations belong to businesses that are no longer actively providing remittance services. Some may have wound down operations but never formally deregistered. Others may have shifted their business model away from remittance. And some may never have commenced operations at all after obtaining their registration.
Each dormant registration represents a vulnerability. As Brendan Thomas explained, inactive businesses are "vulnerable to being bought and taken over by criminals who can then use them to process illicit funds." A registered remittance dealer can open bank accounts, access payment systems, and conduct international transfers — capabilities that are extremely valuable to money laundering networks. If the business behind the registration isn't actively operating and monitoring for suspicious activity, it becomes an attractive shell for criminal exploitation.
What AUSTRAC Is Doing
The "Use It or Lose It" blitz is a nationwide campaign with a clear two-track approach:
Track 1: Voluntary withdrawal. AUSTRAC is writing to registered remittance dealers it has identified as potentially inactive, urging them to voluntarily withdraw their registration. Voluntary withdrawal is a cleaner outcome — the business simply removes itself from the register.
Track 2: Compulsory cancellation. Where businesses fail to respond or refuse to withdraw voluntarily, AUSTRAC will exercise its powers to cancel registrations. As Thomas stated: "If businesses don't step off voluntarily, AUSTRAC will step in and cancel their registration."
The Digital Currency Exchange Precedent
This isn't AUSTRAC's first registration cleanup. Earlier in 2025, the agency ran a similar blitz targeting the digital currency exchange (DCE) register. That campaign resulted in:
- 22 businesses voluntarily withdrawing their registrations
- 100+ businesses slated for compulsory cancellation
The DCE blitz provided AUSTRAC with a tested playbook for the remittance campaign. The agency has demonstrated it will follow through on cancellation where voluntary withdrawal doesn't occur.
Why This Campaign Matters Beyond the Dormant Operators
The registration blitz has implications well beyond the businesses being directly targeted. Here's why active remittance operators should pay attention:
1. Register Integrity Affects Everyone
The AUSTRAC register is a key tool for correspondent banks, payment processors, and partner institutions to verify that a remittance operator is legitimately authorised. When the register is cluttered with dormant entities, it undermines confidence in the register as a whole. Cleaning up inactive registrations strengthens the register's value as a verification tool — which benefits every legitimate operator.
2. Correspondent Banking Relationships at Stake
Australian remittance operators have long faced challenges securing and maintaining correspondent banking relationships. Banks cite money laundering risk across the remittance sector as a key reason for de-banking. A register full of dormant entities — some potentially compromised by criminal actors — feeds into this sector-wide risk narrative. AUSTRAC's cleanup may, over time, help reduce the perceived risk profile of the sector.
3. It Signals Broader Enforcement Intent
The registration blitz should be read alongside AUSTRAC's other 2025-2026 enforcement activity. Herbert Smith Freehills noted in its February 2026 analysis that AUSTRAC is entering 2026 with "a clear focus on high-risk sectors" and an enforcement approach that is "both assertive and strategic." The remittance blitz is one piece of a broader pattern of targeted sector action.
4. Cancellation Creates a Public Record
Here's a detail that inactive operators should understand clearly: AUSTRAC publishes records of registration actions on its website, including cancellations. Having your registration cancelled by AUSTRAC — rather than voluntarily withdrawing — creates a public record that may affect your ability to re-enter the industry or obtain related registrations and authorisations in the future. It may also trigger adverse findings in due diligence checks by potential partners, banks, or investors.
What It Means If You're an Active Operator
If your business is genuinely active — you're processing remittance transactions, maintaining your AML/CTF program, and lodging reports with AUSTRAC — this campaign is not aimed at you. However, it does highlight several housekeeping items worth addressing:
Ensure your registration details are current. AUSTRAC expects registered businesses to keep their details up to date, including contact information, key personnel, and the services being provided. Outdated details may flag your business for review even if you're operationally active.
Lodge your reports on time. Active operators who fail to lodge threshold transaction reports (TTRs), suspicious matter reports (SMRs), or international funds transfer instructions (IFTIs) on time risk being flagged as non-compliant — which puts you in a different kind of regulatory spotlight.
Review your compliance program. With the new AML/CTF reforms commencing on 31 March 2026, this is a natural moment to review whether your program meets the new outcomes-focused standard. An outdated program on a current registration is not a comfortable position.
What To Do Now
If You're Inactive or Considering Exiting
Step 1: Assess your operational status honestly. If you haven't processed remittance transactions in the past 12 months, or if you have no current intention to resume operations, you are likely in AUSTRAC's sights.
Step 2: Voluntarily withdraw your registration. This is the cleanest option. Voluntary withdrawal avoids the negative record associated with compulsory cancellation. You can withdraw through AUSTRAC Online.
Step 3: Seek legal advice if you're uncertain. If you're unsure whether your registration may be at risk — for example, if you're between business models or waiting on banking approvals — get professional advice before responding to any AUSTRAC correspondence.
If You're Active
Step 1: Verify your registration details are accurate. Log into AUSTRAC Online and confirm that your contact details, key personnel, and service descriptions are current.
Step 2: Confirm all reporting obligations are met. Ensure you're current on TTRs, SMRs, IFTIs, and annual compliance reports. Gaps in reporting may attract scrutiny.
Step 3: Document your operational activity. Maintain clear records of transaction volumes, customer onboarding activity, and compliance program reviews. If AUSTRAC does query your registration status, having contemporaneous evidence of active operations is your best defence.
Step 4: Update your AML/CTF program for the 2026 reforms. The registration blitz is running concurrently with the biggest AML/CTF reform in 18 years. Active operators should be updating their programs now.
Use the free AML/CTF Program Builder to get started.
Step 5: Monitor AUSTRAC's registration actions page. AUSTRAC publishes outcomes of registration reviews and cancellation actions. Staying informed about enforcement trends helps you anticipate areas of regulatory focus.
The Bigger Picture
The "Use It or Lose It" campaign reflects AUSTRAC's broader strategy of proactive sector management rather than reactive enforcement. Rather than waiting for dormant registrations to be exploited, the agency is systematically removing the vulnerability.
For the remittance sector as a whole, this is a net positive — provided active operators use it as a prompt to tighten their own compliance posture. A smaller, cleaner register of genuinely active operators serves the industry's long-term interests, particularly in the ongoing battle to maintain banking access and sector credibility.
The message from AUSTRAC is clear: if you're on the register, you should be operating — and operating properly.
Is your registration current? Use the free Compliance Tracker to check your status, or review the operator guides to ensure you are meeting all obligations.