{"id":"financial-transaction-reports-act-1995","name":"Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995","slug":"financial-transaction-reports-act-1995","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30596,"registerId":"wa-financial-transaction-reports-act-1995-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nFinancial Transaction Reports Act 1995\n\nWestern Australia\n\nFinancial Transaction Reports Act 1995\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Object of Act 1\n\n4. Interpretation 1\n\n5. Act binds Crown 2\n\n6. Further information about matters reported under FTR Act 2\n\n6A. Further information or documents about matters reported under AMLCTF Act 3\n\n7. Reports of suspect transactions not reported under FTR Act or AMLCTF Act 4\n\n8. Protection of cash dealers, reporting entities and other persons 6\n\n9. False or misleading statements 7\n\n10. Secrecy 7\n\n11. Proceedings for offences 8\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 9\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nFinancial Transaction Reports Act 1995\n\nAn Act to provide for the giving of further information in relation to matters reported under the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988* (Commonwealth) or the *Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act 2006* (Commonwealth) and the giving of information in relation to suspect transactions, and for related purposes.\n\n[Long title amended: No. 25 of 2018 s. 4.]\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent 1.\n\n##### 3. Object of Act\n\nThe object of this Act is to facilitate the enforcement of the laws of the State.\n\n##### 4. Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Act —\n\nAMLCTF Act means the *Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act 2006* (Commonwealth);\n\n  court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions;\n\nFTR Act means the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988* (Commonwealth).\n\n(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in the FTR Act or the AMLCTF Act have the same respective meanings in this Act.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 25 of 2018 s. 5.]\n\n##### 5. Act binds Crown\n\nThis Act binds the Crown in right of the State and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.\n\n##### 6. Further information about matters reported under FTR Act\n\n(1) This section applies if a cash dealer communicates information to the AUSTRAC CEO under the FTR Act section 16(1) or (1A).\n\n(1A) The Commissioner of Police, or a police officer who is carrying out an investigation arising from, or relating to the matters referred to in, the information may request the cash dealer to give the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the further information specified in the request.\n\n(1B) The period specified in the request for giving the information must be at least 14 days after the day the request is made, unless —\n\n(a) the person making the request considers that a shorter period is necessary; and\n\n(b) the shorter period is reasonable in the circumstances.\n\n(2) The further information must be information that —\n\n(a) may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or\n\n(b) may be of assistance in the enforcement of the *Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000*.\n\n(3) The cash dealer must comply with the request to the extent that the cash dealer has the further information.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.\n\n[Section 6 amended: No. 69 of 2000 s. 15(1)(a) 2; No. 25 of 2018 s. 6.]\n\n##### 6A. Further information or documents about matters reported under AMLCTF Act\n\n(1) This section applies if a reporting entity communicates information to the AUSTRAC CEO under the AMLCTF Act section 41, 43 or 45.\n\n(2) The Commissioner of Police, or a police officer who is carrying out an investigation arising from, or relating to the matters referred to in, the information may request the reporting entity —\n\n(a) to give the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the further information specified in the request; or\n\n(b) to produce to the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the documents about the matter to which the communication under the AMLCTF Act section 41, 43 or 45 relates specified in the request.\n\n(3) The period specified in the request for giving the information or producing the documents must be at least 14 days after the day the request is made, unless —\n\n(a) the person making the request considers that a shorter period is necessary; and\n\n(b) the shorter period is reasonable in the circumstances.\n\n(4) The further information or documents must be information or documents that —\n\n(a) may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or\n\n(b) may be of assistance in the enforcement of the *Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000*.\n\n(5) The reporting entity must comply with the request to the extent that the reporting entity has the further information or documents.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.\n\n[Section 6A inserted: No. 25 of 2018 s. 7.]\n\n##### 7. Reports of suspect transactions not reported under FTR Act or AMLCTF Act\n\n(1) A cash dealer who is a party to a transaction, and has reasonable grounds to suspect that information that the cash dealer has concerning the transaction —\n\n(a) may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or\n\n(b) may be of assistance in the enforcement of the *Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000*,\n\nmust, as soon as practicable after forming the suspicion, prepare a report of the transaction and communicate the information contained in it to the AUSTRAC CEO.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the cash dealer is required to report the transaction under —\n\n(a) the FTR Act Part II Division 2; or\n\n(b) if the cash dealer is a reporting entity, the AMLCTF Act Part 3 Division 2, 3 or 4.\n\n(3) The report under subsection (1) must —\n\n(a) be in the form approved by the AUSTRAC CEO for the purposes of the FTR Act section 16; and\n\n(b) contain the reportable details of the transaction; and\n\n(c) contain a statement of the grounds on which the cash dealer holds the suspicion mentioned in subsection (1); and\n\n(d) be signed by the cash dealer.\n\n(4) The communication of information to the AUSTRAC CEO under subsection (1) must be made —\n\n(a) by giving the AUSTRAC CEO a copy of the report; or\n\n(b) in any other way approved by the AUSTRAC CEO.\n\n(5) An approval for the purposes of subsection (4)(b) —\n\n(a) must be in writing; and\n\n(b) may relate to a specified cash dealer or class of cash dealers.\n\n(5A) Subsection (6) applies if a cash dealer communicates information to the AUSTRAC CEO under subsection (1).\n\n(6) The Commissioner of Police, or a police officer who is carrying out an investigation arising from, or relating to the matters referred to in, the information may request the cash dealer —\n\n(a) to give the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the additional information specified in the request; or\n\n(b) to produce to the Commissioner or police officer, within the period specified in the request, the documents about the matter to which the communication under subsection (1) relates specified in the request.\n\n(6A) The period specified in the request for giving the information or producing the documents must be at least 14 days after the day the request is made, unless —\n\n(a) the person making the request considers that a shorter period is necessary; and\n\n(b) the shorter period is reasonable in the circumstances.\n\n(7) The additional information or documents must be information or documents that —\n\n(a) may be relevant to the investigation of, or prosecution of a person for, an offence against the law of the State; or\n\n(b) may be of assistance in the enforcement of the *Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000*.\n\n(8) The cash dealer must comply with the request to the extent that the cash dealer has the additional information or documents.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.\n\n(9) In this section —\n\nreportable details, in relation to a transaction, means the details of the transaction that are referred to in the FTR Act Schedule 4.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 69 of 2000 s. 15(1)(b) and (c) 2; No. 25 of 2018 s. 8.]\n\n##### 8. Protection of cash dealers, reporting entities and other persons\n\n(1) An action, suit or proceeding does not lie against a cash dealer or reporting entity in relation to anything done by the cash dealer or reporting entity if the thing —\n\n(a) was required under this Act; or\n\n(b) was done in the mistaken belief that it was required under this Act.\n\n(2) An action, suit or proceeding does not lie against an officer, employee or agent of a cash dealer or reporting entity in relation to anything done by the person in the course of the person’s appointment, employment or agency if the thing —\n\n(a) was required under this Act; or\n\n(b) was done in the mistaken belief that it was required under this Act.\n\n(3) If a cash dealer or reporting entity, or a person who is an officer, employee or agent of a cash dealer or reporting entity, communicates or gives information or produces documents under the FTR Act section 16, the AMLCTF Act section 41, 43 or 45, or section 6, 6A or 7 of this Act, the cash dealer, reporting entity or person is taken, for the purposes of *The Criminal Code* section 563A (Property laundering), not to have been in possession of the information at any time.\n\n[Section 8 amended: No. 25 of 2018 s. 9.]\n\n##### 9. False or misleading statements\n\nA person must not, in communicating or giving information under this Act —\n\n(a) make a statement that the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular; or\n\n(b) omit anything from a statement knowing that without the thing the statement is misleading in a material particular.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $50 000 and imprisonment for 5 years.\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 25 of 2018 s. 10.]\n\n##### 10. Secrecy\n\n(1) This section applies to a person who is or has been the Commissioner of Police or a police officer.\n\n(2) A person must not —\n\n(a) make a record of protected information; or\n\n(b) whether directly or indirectly, divulge or communicate protected information,\n\nunless the record is made, or the information divulged or communicated, in the performance of duties relating to the enforcement of the laws of the State, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.\n\n(3) A person is not required to divulge or communicate protected information to a court unless it is necessary to do so for the enforcement of the laws of the State, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory.\n\n(4) In this section protected information means information that is obtained under this Act.\n\n[Section 10 amended: No. 25 of 2018 s. 11.]\n\n##### 11. Proceedings for offences\n\n(1) Proceedings for an offence against section 6, 6A, 7 or 10 are to be dealt with summarily by a court of summary jurisdiction constituted by a magistrate sitting alone.\n\n(2) An offence against section 9 is a crime.\n\n[Section 11 amended: No. 59 of 2004 s. 141; No. 25 of 2018 s. 12.]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* | 10 of 1995 | 30 Jun 1995 | 1 Jul 1995 (see s. 2) |\n| *Criminal Property Confiscation (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000* s. 15 2 | 69 of 2000 | 6 Dec 2000 | 1 Jan 2001 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 29 Dec 2000 p. 7903) |\n| **Reprint of the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* as at 23 Aug 2002**   (includes amendment listed above) | | | |\n| *Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* s. 141 | 59 of 2004 | 23 Nov 2004 | 1 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7128) |\n| *Financial Transaction Reports Amendment Act 2018* | 25 of 2018 | 17 Oct 2018 | s. 1 and 2: 17 Oct 2018 (see s. 2(a));   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 18 Oct 2018 (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\n2 The *Criminal Property Confiscation (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000* s. 15(2) reads as follows:\n\n“\n\n(2) Despite the amendment effected by subsection (1), the *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* as in force before the commencement of this Act continues to apply in relation to the enforcement of the *Crimes (Confiscation of Profits) Act 1988* to the extent that the operation of the latter Act is continued by this Act.\n\n”.\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nAMLCTF Act 4(1)\n\ncourt 4(1)\n\nFTR Act 4(1)\n\nprotected information 10(4)\n\nreportable details 7(9)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1995 Act dealt only with the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 (FTR Act). The 2018 amendments significantly expanded scope by adding section 6A and modifying multiple sections to also cover the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AMLCTF Act). This effectively doubled the legislation's coverage to include a much broader range of reporting entities and transaction types under the newer federal regime, transforming it from a single-purpose FTR Act supplement into a dual-regime information-sharing mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Moderate cross-referencing to two separate Commonwealth Acts (FTR Act 1988 and AMLCTF Act 2006) with imported definitions","Nested conditional logic in request timeframes (14-day default with dual-exception structure: necessity + reasonableness)","Multiple overlapping categories of regulated entities ('cash dealers' vs 'reporting entities') requiring careful parsing of which section applies to whom","Dual-purpose test for information relevance (criminal investigation OR property confiscation enforcement)","Complex protection mechanism in section 8(3) creating a legal fiction of non-possession for Criminal Code purposes","Amendment history showing significant expansion in 2018 to incorporate AMLCTF Act alongside original FTR Act framework"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Western Australian law helps police investigate serious crimes by requiring banks and other financial businesses to hand over extra information about suspicious transactions.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Cash dealers** — businesses that handle large amounts of cash (like banks, casinos, and money exchanges)\n*   **Reporting entities** — businesses that must report under federal anti-money laundering laws (this term was added later to match newer Commonwealth laws)\n*   **Police** — specifically the Commissioner of Police and officers investigating crimes\n\n**How it works:**\n\nThe law creates three main powers for WA Police:\n\n1.  **Follow-up on federal reports** — If a bank reports a suspicious transaction to the federal government's financial intelligence agency (AUSTRAC), WA Police can ask that bank for more details or documents. The bank has at least 14 days to respond (unless police urgently need it sooner).\n\n2.  **Extra reporting for suspicious transactions** — If a bank suspects a transaction might be linked to a crime or to confiscating criminal property, but hasn't reported it under federal law, it must report it to AUSTRAC anyway. Police can then request more information about these reports too.\n\n3.  **Protections for banks** — Banks and their staff are protected from being sued for reporting information, even if they mistakenly thought they had to report it. Also, when they hand over information under this law, they're legally considered to have never possessed it (which protects them from money laundering charges themselves).\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law bridges a gap between federal financial reporting requirements and state police investigations. It ensures that when banks spot potential criminal activity, WA Police can get the full picture — not just the initial tip-off to AUSTRAC. It also includes strict secrecy rules: police who receive this information can't leak it, with penalties of up to 2 years in prison.\n\n**Key penalties:**\n\n*   Failing to provide requested information: $20,000 fine and/or 2 years prison\n*   Making false or misleading statements: $50,000 fine and/or 5 years prison (this is treated as a serious 'crime' rather than a minor offence)\n*   Breaching secrecy: $20,000 fine and/or 2 years prison"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was provided. The submission contains only a broken webpage notice from the Western Australian legislation website."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was provided — only a website error page","Cannot assess true complexity without the Act's content","Score of 1 reflects the simplicity of what was actually supplied (an error message), not the underlying Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe text provided does not contain the actual **Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995** legislation. Instead, it shows an error page from the Western Australian legislation website indicating that the page is no longer available due to system upgrades.\n\n**What we know from the title alone:**\nThe *Financial Transaction Reports Act 1995* is a Western Australian law that historically dealt with the reporting of certain financial transactions — typically requiring businesses (like banks and currency exchange services) to report large or suspicious cash transactions to government authorities to help detect money laundering and other financial crimes.\n\n**However**, no actual legislative content was provided for analysis. To get an accurate summary, the full text of the Act would need to be retrieved — likely via the [Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel's Office](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) or the [Federal Register of Legislation](https://www.legislation.gov.au) if a Commonwealth equivalent applies."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's scope has expanded since enactment. Originally focused on further information linked to Commonwealth FTR Act communications, later amendments added obligations tied to the Commonwealth AMLCTF Act (insertion of s6A by Financial Transaction Reports Amendment Act 2018) and incorporated measures to assist enforcement of the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 (see compilation table and s6(2), s6A(4)). These amendments broadened the class of reporting communications covered and added document‑production powers and updated offence provisions (compilation table; s6A insertion noted in compilation)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑reference to Commonwealth regimes (FTR Act and AMLCTF Act) creates dependence on federal definitions and reporting thresholds (s4(1), s6, s6A).","Multiple reporting triggers and channels: mandatory reporting of suspect transactions (s7(1)), further information following AUSTRAC communications (s6, s6A), and police requests for additional information or documents (s6(1A), s6A(2), s7(6)).","Mandatory minimum timeframes with a short‑period exception: 14‑day default for compliance with police requests, but shorter periods allowed if necessary and reasonable, adding judgment calls and operational risk (s6(1B), s6A(3), s7(6A)).","Significant criminal and civil penalties which increase compliance stakes: fines and imprisonment for failure to comply with requests (s6(3), s6A(5), s7(8)); false or misleading statements are a crime with higher penalty (s9).","Protections and evidentiary rules that alter legal exposure: civil immunity for reporters and officers for acts done (or believed to be required) under the Act, and deemed non‑possession for property‑laundering purposes (s8(1)–(3)).","Secrecy obligations on police restricting recording and disclosure of protected information, but with an enforcement‑related exception, which creates tension between confidentiality and disclosure for prosecutions (s10(2)–(3)).","Operational discretion concentrated with police and the AUSTRAC CEO: police decide when to request information and set timeframes within reason; AUSTRAC approves report forms and alternative communication methods (s6(1A), s6A(2), s7(3)(a), s7(4)–(5)).","Form and data requirements referenced to a Commonwealth schedule (reportable details per FTR Act Schedule 4) require alignment with federal reporting formats (s7(3)(b), s7(9)).","Amendments over time have layered new obligations (see compilation table and insertion of s6A), increasing compliance scope and requiring entities to track legislative changes (compilation table; s6A).","Limited scope of application tied to enforcement of State laws and the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000, rather than a free‑standing investigative power, which narrows but also focuses information demands (s3; s6(2), s6A(4), s7(1))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires cash dealers and certain reporting entities to report suspect transactions to the AUSTRAC CEO and, where state police request, to provide further information or documents relevant to state criminal investigations or confiscation proceedings. Its stated object is to facilitate enforcement of State laws. The law affects banks, cash dealers and reporting entities (who bear compliance costs and penalty risk), AUSTRAC (as recipient and approver of report formats) and police (who decide and time requests)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995","history":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995/history","analysis":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/financial-transaction-reports-act-1995/documents"}}