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Rules Mate

AUSTRAC enrolment infringement notice: $21,840 or $4,368 per contravention

How the infringement notice amounts are calculated, why they multiply, and what the alternative is.

Short answer: $21,840 / $4,368

For failing to enrol (s 51B(1)), an infringement notice is 60 penalty units ($21,840) for a body corporate or 12 penalty units ($4,368) for anyone else, per alleged contravention, at the $364 penalty unit that applies to conduct from 1 July 2026 (ss 184, 186A).

Why the amount multiplies

  • Each day a designated service is provided while unenrolled can be a separate contravention (s 51B(2C)).
  • One infringement notice can cover several contraventions (s 185(2)).
  • AUSTRAC must give the notice within 12 months of the alleged contravention (s 184(2)).
  • The same amounts apply to failing to notify changes to enrolment details (s 51F(1)).

Other obligations with the same infringement amounts

Section 186B applies the same 60 / 12 penalty unit amounts to designated infringement notice provisions, including designating and notifying an AML/CTF compliance officer (ss 26K, 26M), governing body and senior manager duties (ss 26N(2), 26P(3)), suspicious matter and threshold transaction reports (ss 41(2), 43(2)), the annual compliance report (s 47(2)) and record keeping (ss 111(2), 116).

If you receive one

  1. Read the notice for the contraventions it alleges, the amount, the payment period and the alternatives it sets out.
  2. Stop the count: if you provide a designated service and are not enrolled, enrol in AUSTRAC Online straight away, because every further day can be another contravention.
  3. Check the obligations that sit behind enrolment: an ML/TF risk assessment and AML/CTF policies, a designated compliance officer notified to AUSTRAC, trained staff and a way to report suspicious matters.
  4. Keep a dated record of what you did and when, including correspondence with AUSTRAC.
  5. Take legal advice before deciding not to pay; the notice is an alternative to court proceedings, not a replacement for compliance.

The alternative: civil penalty proceedings

Instead of a notice, AUSTRAC can seek a civil penalty in the Federal Court of up to $36.4M for a body corporate or $7.28M for an individual per contravention. Ignoring a notice is not a safe option: in May 2026 the Federal Court imposed penalties, plus costs, on two businesses that did not pay AUSTRAC infringement notices.

These figures use the Commonwealth penalty unit of $364, which applies to conduct on or after 1 July 2026. Figures quoted elsewhere that rely on older penalty-unit values are out of date for Tranche 2 conduct.

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Questions

How much is an AUSTRAC infringement notice for not enrolling?
$21,840 for a company or $4,368 for an individual, per contravention.
Can each day unenrolled be a separate contravention?
Yes. Section 51B(2C) provides that each day can be a separate contravention, and one notice can cover several.

Related

Sources

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.