Your details could be logged at the till

By Justin Vallejo
Daily Telegraph
Nov. 29, 2006

EVERYDAY transactions such as buying a store gift card or playing pokies could lead to your details being recorded on a government database under a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism.

Top law firms, privacy groups and shopping giant Westfield fear low-risk and low-value items such as gift cards, phone cards and toll road passes could be subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Bill, which was passed in the House of Representatives last night.

Submission documents tendered to a Senate inquiry, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, show the Bill could affect every aspect of our lives.

Law firm Freehills said the Bill requires financial agencies, gaming organisations, pawnbrokers, bookmakers, jewellers, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and any operator handling thousands of dollars in cash to make "risk assessments" of clients.

If there is even a slight suspicion of money laundering or terrorism funding, operators must report details of a client's income and assets to the Federal Government's AUSTRAC database.

Moreover, 2700 people - more than half from the Australian Tax Office - are authorised for online access to the database.

Westfield's lawyers, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, told the inquiry that under the Bill, gift cards could be classified as "debit cards" and subject to the same scrutiny unless the Bill is amended.

"It would become a criminal offence under Section 139 to issue gift cards on an anonymous basis," Westfield's submission said.

"Unless the Bill is amended, the 'low-value' exemption that is intended to apply to the gift card will not apply and many similar low-risk products will attract the full force of the regime as debit cards."

The Australian Privacy Foundation fears a technical back door is open to providing details to organisations such as the Australian Taxation Office for purposes other than anti-terrorism.

APF policy co-ordinator Nigel Waters told the Senate inquiry that the Bill gathers subjective intelligence from thousands of amateur informers "without any of the normal quality control or natural justice safeguards".

"As stored-valued cards gradually replace cash, the anonymity of low-value cash transactions could become a thing of the past - no doubt a welcome prospect for the tax authorities," he said.

Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis told the inquiry there were concerns over the 2700 people authorised to access the AUSTRAC database, with more than half from the ATO. "Information collected for the purpose of enforcing serious crime, such as terrorism, should generally only be used for such purposes."

Andrew Cavanagh, of Coogee, said the prospect of being treated like a terrorist for using a gift card was ludicrous. "It is just not necessary for that level of purchase, it's overkill," he said.