In the first half of 2025, both New Zealand and Australia have enacted major regulatory overhauls that are reshaping risk management across financial services, environmental protection, and operational resilience.
🇳🇿 New Zealand: AML/CFT Reform & Fast-Track Infrastructure
- AML/CFT Phase 3 – Effective 1 June 2025
New Zealand’s final tranche of amendments to the Anti‑Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 mandates customer-specific risk assessments, especially for online markets and each customer relationship. Organizations must now integrate risk-rating frameworks into ongoing monitoring and adjust customer risk profiles dynamically.
Additional relaxations—like broader verification relief for low-risk customers—arrive July 2025, but core AML obligations continue to firm up. - Fast-track Approvals Act – Enacted December 2024
The new regime establishes fast-tracked approval pathways for major infrastructure and housing projects — heightening environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk considerations for consenting bodies. - CoFI Regime for Financial Services – Effective 31 March 2025
New Zealand’s Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime brings licensed insurers and deposit-takers under stricter oversight—mandating fair customer outcomes from product design through to claims.
🇦🇺 Australia: Scams, Cyber, IPOs & Climate
- Scam Prevention Legislation – Rolling throughout 2025
Australia’s crackdown mandates banks, telecoms, and social platforms to comply with anti-scam duties and mandatory reporting. Non-compliance could result in fines upwards of $100 million in the first year. - APRA CPS 230 Prudential Standard – Effective 1 July 2025
APRA now requires regulated entities to embed robust operational risk controls—especially around outsourcing and business continuity—ensuring severe disruption scenarios are planned for. - ASIC IPO Reforms – Two-Year Fast-Track Trial
ASIC is piloting a fast-track filing process to reduce IPO timelines by up to a week and enhance regulatory clarity—responding to decade-low listings on the ASX. - Mandatory Climate Financial Reporting – From 2025
As a result of the Treasury Laws Amendment, Australian companies must disclose how climate risks and opportunities are integrated into governance and financial decision-making. ASIC is also actively clamping down on greenwashing and ESG misrepresentation.
What This Means for Risk Managers
| Regulatory Change | Risk Impact | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| NZ AML/CFT Phase 3 | Higher compliance burden; customer-level risk controls needed | Update AML/CFT programs, integrate CRMs with dynamic risk ratings |
| Fast-track Approvals | Increased ESG due diligence for consented projects | Enhance environmental risk frameworks, stakeholder engagement |
| CoFI | Stronger oversight on “fair conduct” obligations | Develop fair conduct programs, review product lifecycles |
| Scam prevention (AU) | Mandatory reporting and anti-scam infrastructure | Upgrade detection systems, train staff |
| APRA CPS 230 | Stronger controls around outsourcing | Review third-party controls & resilience testing |
| IPO reforms (AU) | Changing disclosure requirements, faster compliance expectations | Prepare financial and legal advisory teams |
| Climate reporting | ESG transparency, reputation and alignment risks | Embed ESG disclosures in risk reporting and strategy |
Why You Can’t Afford to Wait
With such sweeping reforms underway, failure to adapt could result in financial penalties, reputational damage, or exclusion from fast-track approval channels. Whether dealing with AML, ESG, scams, or cyber resilience, you need a proactive roadmap.
âś… Ready For a Full Governance Review?
Our team specializes in integrated regulatory compliance and risk frameworks across NZ and Australia. We help you:
- Build customer-level risk-rating models aligned with AML/CFT requirements
- Embed ESG and fair conduct checkpoints in product and project lifecycles
- Upgrade cyber, scam detection, and operational risk controls per APRA standards
- Navigate ASIC’s new IPO timelines and fast-track processes
Don’t wait for an audit or enforcement action. Call us today for a tailored consultation.
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