Sanctions 2026

AUSTRALIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dennis Miralis, Jack Dennis, Phillip Salakas and Jessica Semsarian, Nyman Gibson Miralis

• sanctions risks of remittance account compro- mises; • sanctions risks of specific banking services; and • sanctions risks with gold smuggling. Export Sanctioned Goods – Russia and Specific Regions of Ukraine These guidance notes highlight the regulatory overlap between the ASO’s mandate and those of other agen - cies, as well as the collaboration between these agen- cies. Specifically, two of the above Advisory Notes were issued jointly with the Australian Border Force (drones and gold smuggling) and one with AUSTRAC (cryptocurrency use). Law enforcement approach The Australian Sanctions Office and Australian law enforcement bodies continue to approach sanctions enforcement with cooperation and education at the forefront. This approach is appropriate given the broad scope of Australia’s sanctions regimes and resultant compliance challenges. This is especially true in the wake of Alumina and Bauxite Company Ltd v Queens- land Alumina Ltd [ 2024 ] FCA 43 and its appeal, in which the Federal Court held that sanctions violations could occur due to conduct by others further down the supply chain. Without published statistics, it is difficult to determine trends, including in the use of section 19 notices and enforcement proceedings. According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ 2025 Annual Report, there were no charges under the Sanctions Act, leaving R v Choi ( No 10 ) (2021) as the only report - ed law enforcement case in Australia. Based on media releases, there may be at least one other case before the Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney. The defendant is a director of an Auburn- registered remittance company who allegedly pro- cessed 543 international currency transfers total- ling AUD649,308 to sanctioned banks in Iran over a 12-month period, in contravention of section 16 (1) of the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth). In July 2025, the Australian Federal Police executed warrants against the individual, then issued charges in Septem - ber 2025. The case was scheduled for October 2025. It is currently unclear whether it is ongoing or resolved.

The case demonstrates the coordinated effort by Aus - tralian agencies in sanctions enforcement, with the Australian Sanctions Office identifying the potential breach and issuing a report; the Australian Federal Police conducting an initial investigation and execut- ing warrants, before an arrest; and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre suspending the company’s remittance licence for 12 months. Permits in Practice Publication but continued limited use An important non-legislative development is in the publication of general permits. Since the inception of the autonomous regimes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (“the Minister”) has had the power to issue gen - eral permits allowing conduct that would otherwise be prohibited by sanctions. Since July 2023, the ASO has published the existing class or general permits for cer- tain areas, including IP and legal services. Previously, they were unpublished and required applications. Typically, these permits expire within two years of issuing. However, they can expire earlier, as illustrat - ed by those related to the Russian OPCs. If they are to be withdrawn, those reliant on the permit may be contacted, as occurred with the Russian OPC with- drawal. Yet it remains the responsibility of each indi- vidual seeking to rely on the general permit to “read the terms of the permit carefully” and to report to the ASO their intent to rely on the permit. For any conduct falling outside these permits, entities must engage with the ASO and apply for an individual permit. The ASO estimates the standard waiting time as three months. Such a length of time can lead to significant consequences for the financial industry and other businesses – the impact of which is com- pounded, given the lack of notice before sanctions are imposed. There is still a distinct lack of general permits seen as key in other jurisdictions. One important absence is a general permit for humanitarian reasons. How - ever, with the recent introduction of the Afghanistan framework, the Minister also granted a general permit for certain activities necessary to provide or facilitate humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan (SAN-2025- 00199).

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