The Albanese government is planning to increase its crypto oversight and curb money laundering by granting the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) authority to restrict or ban crypto ATMs.
This is according to a speech that Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, made on 16th October at the National Press Club in Canberra. Burke noted that he will seek to introduce legislation that gives the AUSTRAC CEO power to restrict or prohibit certain high-risk products, services, and delivery channels.
Top of the list is crypto ATMs, which have been on the radar since AUSTRAC established a Crypto Taskforce in December 2024. When welcoming the news, AUSTRACT CEO Brendan Thomas said that if Parliament passes the law, AUSTRACT will be ready to use them.
“We’re still seeing an unacceptable risk of money laundering across some channels,” Mr Thomas said, adding that the new powers will help the CEO adapt and respond faster to emerging threats. “For example, crypto transactions are now being woven into laundering methods, and crypto ATMs pose even greater risks because they let people turn cash into digital currency that can move instantly and almost anonymously worldwide.”
Concerns Over Crypto ATM Expansion
AUSTRAC established a cryptocurrency taskforce in December 2024, as it believed crypto exchanges, and particularly crypto ATMs, were actively being used in money laundering. In a report in July 2025, the taskforce reported that almost 150,000 transactions were occurring through crypto ATMs annually, with about A$275 million being moved in Australia each year.
The taskforce added that the majority of high-value crypto ATM transactions were directly related to scams and money mules. It stated that in a sample of 90 of the most prolific crypto ATM users, 85% had fallen victim to scams or were being tricked or coerced into moving money. In addition, most crypto ATM users are aged between 50 and 70, accounting for almost 72% of the transactions by value.
Mr Thomas then notes that the threat is heightened by the sharp increase in the number of crypto ATMs in the country.
“This is a product that is multiplying quickly – six years ago, there were 23 machines in operation. Three years ago, there were 200.
“When we established the Crypto Taskforce at the end of last year, there were 1,200. That number has now risen to 2,000.”
This number is supported by data from Coin ATM Radar, which lists Australia third in the number of crypto ATMs by country. It’s only behind the United States and Canada and has six times more ATMs than Spain, the country ranked fourth.
Diversifying Regulatory Measures
In Australian law, crypto ATMs already fall under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act 2006. This requires the digital currency exchanges (DCEs) operating the services to:
- Monitor all transactions.
- Complete know your customer (KYC) information checks on customers
- Report suspicious activity in suspicious matter reports (SMRs)
- Submit threshold transaction reports (TTRs) for cash deposits and withdrawals of A$10,000 or more.
However, in March, Mr Thomas stated that AUSTRAC’s Crypto Taskforce had “identified worrying trends and indicators of suspicious activity, including transactions that may be linked to scams or fraud.”
The regulatory agency then introduced several new requirements for all crypto ATM providers in July. These include:
- Limits of A$5,000 on cash deposits and withdrawals
- Enhanced customer due diligence controls
- Mandatory scam warnings.
These new conditions are already in place, but AUSTRACT is still reviewing their effectiveness.
Meanwhile, the agency continues to strictly monitor crypto ATM activities, and it even refused to renew one provider’s registration in May. The agency stated that the provider’s services bore unacceptable risk that could be exploited for criminal misuse. The provider joins a long list of DCEs that AUSTRAC has struck down, and more could follow soon, considering the upcoming legislation.
Expanding Access to Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) Checks
The legislation Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke promised will also extend strict oversight to banking transactions.
Despite the government’s tight banking controls, cybercriminals continue to use ‘mules’ to get access to legitimate bank accounts. In most cases, the mules are international students who are paid to give access to their bank accounts when their visas expire or they leave Australia. The criminals then deposit proceeds of crime, especially revenues from ransomware extortion. They can then move the funds from the country without the knowledge of the authorities.
“What then happens in terms of our organisations trying to track and trace is an account that has been completely legitimate for three years, for five years, sometimes for longer is now in the hands of organised crime,” asked Burke.
The nature of the crime makes it hard for banks to flag the transactions, as they fit the pattern of existing accounts that have been receiving international funds for a while. However, Burke also added that Australian banks closed 22,000 mule accounts in the last financial year.
To make it easier for banks to curb this type of money laundering, Burke proposes giving banks access to immigration data. This is meant to help banks perform a quick immigration status check when they notice an account behaving differently.
“For that reason, I’m updating the visa entitlement verification online terms and conditions. Financial institutions will, as a result of this, be able to get access to visa information if they believe that they’re dealing with a mule account to determine whether or not someone, in fact, is likely to have left Australia,” he added.
If the legislation passes, banks will get access to the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system so that they can quickly query a customer’s visa status with Home Affairs.
When responding to this, Australian Banking Association CEO Simon Birmingham said, “Giving banks the ability to check visa details when they detect unusual account activity will be a valuable additional tool for banks to stifle the ability of criminals to steal money from Australians.
“This will help build on ongoing efforts and measures by banks to identify and shut down mule accounts, which are a key part of many scammers’ business model.”
What’s Next for Operators?
While digital crypto exchanges will argue that they already implement KYC measures, the new move signals destabilisation. Whether or not the country will ban crypto ATMs is yet to be seen, but this calls for strengthening compliance, enhancing risk management, and ramping up transaction monitoring.
