Shock Job Cuts at Austrac Despite Expanding Role Battling Financial Crime

Australia's main agency for fighting money laundering, called Austrac, is getting ready to cut jobs. This is surprising because the agency was just given a bigger job to do — watching over tens of thousands of new businesses. The cuts could remove up to 8 percent of its workers, bringing the total staff to fewer than 800 people. The news came just weeks after Austrac's role was officially expanded in March 2025.

Austrac is known as one of Australia's most powerful financial regulators. It watches over banks, casinos, and many other businesses to find signs of illegal activity. This includes money laundering, which is when criminals hide money they made from crime to make it look legal. Austrac also looks for signs of terrorism financing, fraud, and even payments connected to child abuse.

The agency's chief executive, Brendan Thomas, confirmed that the organisation is looking at changing how it is set up. He said no final decisions have been made yet about which jobs will be cut or how the agency will be restructured. 'Consultation is underway on a number of potential organisational and workforce changes, and no final decisions have been made on structures, positions or individual outcomes,' Thomas said. Staff inside the agency were not allowed to speak publicly about the cuts because of how sensitive the issue is.

Thomas explained that Austrac had grown a lot in recent years. Since 2024, the agency hired more than 300 extra people to help carry out big anti-money laundering reforms. Many of those workers were hired for short-term projects that are now finishing up. As those projects end, the agency is deciding how to best use its remaining staff and money.

People inside the agency say two things are behind the job cuts. First, the government wants all departments to spend less money to avoid a budget blowout. Second, a large transformation project at Austrac has now been completed, so some of the extra workers are no longer needed. In November last year, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed the government was asking agencies to save up to 5 percent of their costs. That announcement warned that public service jobs across the country could be at risk.

Even as it faces job cuts, Austrac's responsibilities have grown. Last month, the agency was given the job of watching over real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, and dealers in precious metals and gems. These groups were added because criminals sometimes use them to hide dirty money. Thomas said bringing these sectors into the system would help stop illegal money before it gets too deep into the economy.

Austrac has a strong track record of taking big companies to court and winning huge fines. In 2020, Westpac bank was fined $1.3 billion — the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history — for breaking anti-money laundering laws. Eight years ago, Commonwealth Bank was hit with a $700 million penalty for similar breaches. In 2023, Crown Resorts was fined $450 million for allowing money laundering to happen at its casinos.

Criminals launder an estimated $60 billion in illegal profits through the Australian economy every year. That money is used to fund more crime, including drug trafficking and the sale of illegal tobacco. Thomas recently gave a speech warning that the problem is getting worse and harder to fight. He pointed out that criminals are now using artificial intelligence tools to create fake identities — including fake passports, payslips, and bank records — all within minutes. Austrac says it must keep finding new and smarter ways to stay ahead of these fast-moving threats.