Sanctions 2025

AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dennis Miralis, Jack Dennis, Henry Yu and Darren Pham, Nyman Gibson Miralis

there is increased utilisation of these sanctions in relation to human rights violations in the Israel‒Pal - estine conflict, there has been a notable drop-off in any usage in relation to corruption, with the last set of still-in-force corruption sanctions dating back to 2022. Statistics on Permits Statistics on reports, contraventions, enforcement actions, and permits remain undisclosed to the gen - eral public. In July 2021, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released a “Sanctions Regu - lator Performance – Self-Assessment Report”, dis - closing that in 2020–21 there were 55 permit applica - tions finalised (where ASO assessed that a sanctions permit was required). Co-Ordinated Sanctions Australia continues to impose sanctions in co-ordina - tion with the UK and the USA. All three governments have sanctioned key figures in cybercrime networks and the financial networks of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Court Proceedings and Enforcement Action The slow trickle of judicial decisions on Australia’s sanctions regimes has come to a stop in terms of con - tractual and administrative law, signalling the com - plexity of the former and difficulty (if not futility) with the latter. There also remains a distinct lack of enforce - ment cases commencing or enforcement action being publicly announced or pursued. The Australian gov - ernment may be looking to shift gears, as additional powers for the regulator are being contemplated and sanctions evasion continues to feature prominently in the government’s reviews across 2024 and 2025. 1.3 Key Industries Sanctions can be imposed on individuals irrespec - tive of their industry, which in turn impacts how other individuals and entities can interact with those desig - nated. Commonly, financial industries are particularly affected by any sanction, given the requirement to freeze the assets of designated individuals. 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 throughout many global industries with complex and intersecting operations. Finally, with the recent amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and proposed new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules, govern - ance obligations related to sanctions are expanding. 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. 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 Australia 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

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