AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dennis Miralis, Jack Dennis and Phillip Salakas, Nyman Gibson Miralis
Sanctions Under the COTUNA Sanctions Regimes The UNSC sanctions regime comprises sanctions passed by the UNSC. The primary instrument of its implementation is the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth) (COTUNA). Sanctions Under the Autonomous Sanctions Regimes The Australian autonomous sanctions regimes com- prise sanctions imposed by the Australian government that target specific countries or regions and, since the enactment of the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021 (Cth), address particular issues (referred to as “themes”) such as threats to international peace and security, malicious cyber-activity, serious violations or serious abuses of human rights or activities that undermine good governance or the rule of law. This second set of regimes is primarily implemented by the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth) (the “Sanctions Act”) and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (Cth) (the “Sanctions Regulations”). Under Section 10 of the Sanctions Act, the regulations may make provisions relating to several prohibitions, including: • proscription of persons or entities; • restriction or prevention of uses of, dealings with and the making available of assets; • restriction or prevention of the supply, sale or transfer of goods or services; and • restriction or prevention of the procurement of goods or services. In other words, the main types of sanctions employed by Australia are: • designation of specific individuals or entities as subject to financial sanctions (eg, prohibiting mak - ing assets available to that person, as well as asset freezes); • travel bans on certain persons, preventing them from entering or transiting through Australia; • restrictions on trade in or procurement of goods and services (eg, prohibiting the export or the import of specific goods or services);
remittance companies in Australia. Warning letters are typically the first port of call for the ASO for suspected or low-risk breaches, suggesting the ASO may have already issued section 19 notices and that this charge arose from a broader review of this industry. 1.3 Key Industries Sanctions can be imposed on individuals, regardless of industry, which consequently affects how other individuals and entities interact with those designated. Financial industries are particularly affected by sanc - tions, given the requirement to freeze the assets of designated individuals. As noted before, it appears that the AFP and ASO are focusing particularly on remittance services, sending warning letters to mul- tiple companies. Australian sanctions can be targeted towards specific industries. By way of example: • the sanctions concerning Syria have an express focus on the oil and gas industry or the petrochem- ical industry; and • the sanctions concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”) expressly sanc - tion any service that assists with or is in relation to an “extractive or related industry”. Court decisions in 2024 have shone a spotlight on the application of Australian sanctions on the resources (coal, alumina and bauxite) and transport industries. The ramifications may be felt across many global industries with complex, intersecting operations. Finally, with the new amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules, governance obligations related to sanctions are expanding to more industries, including the real estate and legal professions. 1.4 Overview 1.4.1 Types of Sanctions In Australia, there are two sets of sanction regimes: the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions regimes and the autonomous sanctions regimes.
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