THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has today tabled its report on its review of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Amendment Bill 2026, calling for urgent action on cryptocurrency ATMs.

The committee found cryptocurrency ATMs (automatic teller machines) are a significant channel for scams and financial crime and has recommended the Minister, on advice from the AUSTRAC CEO, consider restrictions or prohibitions as a priority.

Committee Chair, Senator Raff Ciccone, said the inquiry highlighted the need for Australia's regulatory framework to keep pace with evolving technologies and criminal methodologies.

“Money laundering and terrorism financing continue to cause serious harm to our community, economy and national security,” Senator Ciccone said. “It is important that Australia's laws keep pace with the criminals."

The Bill would strengthen Australia's AML/CTF framework by creating a new mechanism to address emerging financial crime risks, updating terrorism financing provisions and making technical amendments to improve how the framework operates.

The Bill gives AUSTRAC a new power to act on high-risk products, services or channels, like cryptocurrency ATMs, across an entire sector at once. The committee recommended that this power be exercised by the responsible Minister on advice from the AUSTRAC CEO to strengthen accountability and public confidence.

The committee also recommended greater transparency in consultation processes before any ban or restriction is imposed, and endorsed changes to modernise the counter-terrorism financing framework and assess risks associated with legacy payment infrastructure.

Further details on the review and the report are available on the Committee’s website: aph.gov.au/pjcis

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Master Builders Australia broadly welcomes the committee's recommendations, which align closely with the organisation's long-standing advocacy.

The interim report mentions while regulation is essential to ensure safe, resilient and high-quality housing, increasing regulatory complexity is placing further pressures on the construction sector.

It also finds that while placing the CFMEU into administration was an important step, further reforms are required to prevent a recurrence of past practices and restore confidence in the industry. This is a position Master Builders Australia has continued to advocate.

"The Federal Government must deliver lasting reforms including the establishment of an independent regulator to ensure history does not repeat itself once the CFMEU Administration period ends,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said.

Ms Wawn also highlighted that the findings reflect what builders and tradies have been saying for years and that the focus must now turn to action.

“We welcome the committee's recommendation to refocus the NCC on minimum safety and performance requirements, as well as its recommendation that government procurement policies should not preference union backed Enterprise Bargaining Agreements," she said.

“The NCC is no longer fit for purpose and is adding thousands of dollars unnecessarily to the cost of building projects.

“The committee is spot on in identifying the factors undermining productivity across the construction sector. While we look forward to the final report, Parliament must now focus on delivery and implementing reforms that boost productivity, lower costs and support the delivery of more homes, infrastructure and buildings.”

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport’s inquiry into local government funding will hear from Geoscape Australia and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing this week.

The committee wants to better understand from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing how local government can be supported to help deliver medical, aged care and disability services across their communities.

In 2025-26, the Australian Government provided nearly $250 million to local governments for a range of public health services, as well as community-based health and home care services, according to the Department. The funds were also to support critical infrastructure and service delivery, particularly in areas of market failure.

The committee will also hear from Geoscape Australia to discuss its role as the nation’s location intelligence organisation, using location data to deliver geospatial capabilities and insights to support local government and business.

Committee Chair, Fiona Phillips, said, "The committee is keen to hear from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing about whether current funding arrangements are meeting local governments' needs. It also wants to explore how funding can better support councils delivering health, aged care and disability services, particularly in regional and rural communities.

“In regard to Geoscape Australia, the committee looks forward to hearing how Geoscape services can assist local governments with better infrastructure planning, climate resilience, energy management, and how to manage the damage from natural disasters such as flooding.”

Further information on the inquiry, including the terms of reference and how to contribute, is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing

Date: Thursday, 13 August 2026
Time: 11am – 12.30pm
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

A program for the public hearing is available on the inquiry website. A live broadcast of the hearing will also be available on the APH website.

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IF YOU ARE AWAY from home tonight, Census night, your home will be recorded as 'unoccupied' according to HIA senior economist Tom Devitt. And you will could therefore be  misrepresented as being part of the housing supply problem.

“As usual, someone will claim it is one of a million vacant homes that could be utilised to solve Australia’s housing shortage,” Mr Devitt said.

“This and other myths are part of the cause of Australia's housing shortage.

“Every Census the myth of the vacant home resurfaces. Around 10% of Australian homes are recorded as unoccupied on Census night and this is quickly transformed into the claim that Australia has a million vacant homes.

“Unoccupied is not vacant," he said.

“If you're on holiday, away for work, staying with family, in hospital, or simply somewhere else on Census night, your home may be unoccupied. It hasn't suddenly become a vacant home available to solve Australia's housing shortage.

“A home may also be between tenants or owners, newly completed and awaiting occupation, undergoing renovations, part of a deceased estate, or a holiday home.

“A holiday home on the coast does not solve a rental shortage in Sydney. A farmhouse hundreds of kilometres from employment does not house a worker in Melbourne.

“The proportion of Australian homes recorded as unoccupied on Census night has remained remarkably stable over many decades. Vacant homes are not the ‘smoking gun’ that can solve Australia’s housing shortage," Mr Devitt said.

“State governments have even attempted to place a tax on these vacant homes and failed to find meaningful numbers of homes.

“Taxing genuinely vacant homes might sound appealing. But if governments can't find them, it starts to look a lot like taxing a unicorn.

“The tax system already provides investors with a very strong incentive to make their properties available to tenants. An investment property generally needs to be rented or genuinely available for rent for the owner to claim rental property deductions. An investor deliberately withholding a property from the rental market cannot simply claim the associated costs as though the property were producing rental income.

“The idea that enormous numbers of investors are deliberately leaving homes empty while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of negative gearing misunderstands how the tax system works.

“More importantly, it distracts attention from the actual housing problem," he said.

“Australia has a shortage of housing stock in the locations, of the types and at the prices households need.

“Rental vacancy rates remain critically low. Rents are rising. Home prices are elevated and household formation is being suppressed.

“These are symptoms of a housing market where demand exceeds supply.

“Australia is effectively trying to accommodate demand from around 11 million households with substantially fewer suitable and available homes.

“Yet every Census we rediscover around a million homes that happen to be unoccupied on one particular night and convince ourselves that perhaps Australia doesn't need to build more homes after all.

“The solution to a shortage of homes is considerably less exciting, but much more effective.

“Build more homes.

“And if you're spending Census night at your partner's house, visiting your parents, in hospital, away for work or enjoying a holiday, don't worry.

“Your home hasn't suddenly become the solution to Australia's housing shortage,” Mr Devitt said.

ww.hia.com.au

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