Hon Nicole McKee
Associate Minister of Justice

The Government is moving to reduce the regulatory burden on New Zealand businesses by improving the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009, Associate Justice Minister Hon Nicole McKee says.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which had its first reading in Parliament today includes a range of amendments to reduce the compliance burden for businesses.

“This Bill will make 26 changes to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and consistency of the AML/CFT regime by relaxing requirements on low-risk activities and entities, such as family trusts,” Mrs McKee says.

“These amendments are the first of the Government’s programme to reform the AML/CFT regime and will benefit New Zealanders by empowering businesses to make the call about the level of checks they need to do on their customers.”

“The changes address key difficulties for many low-risk businesses who are currently required to undertake onerous checks even when there is clearly very little risk. These are part of the Government’s plan to make the AML/CFT system work better with less overly prescriptive requirements by allowing businesses to take measures in line with the actual risks that they face.”

The amendments also include the government’s first measures to reduce duplication in the AML/CFT system by:

• clarifying the definition of a ‘trust and company service provider’ to resolve confusion and unnecessary duplication of obligations for some businesses currently captured by two definitions; and
• removing unnecessary duplication of border cash reporting when someone physically brings cash with them when moving into New Zealand.

“This is just one part of a wider package of reforms to improve the regime and deliver regulatory relief, to support tackling organised crime and to improve New Zealand’s compliance with international standards.

“Other changes currently being progressed by the Ministry of Justice will build on these amendments and further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the AML/CFT regime for businesses, agencies and ordinary New Zealanders. These changes include a new supervisor model, the introduction of a levy, and a wider regulatory package of reforms.”

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