AUSTRAC announced that the Australian Government will provide more than AUD 5 million over the next two years to deepen financial crime cooperation with Pacific nations. The funding will expand AUSTRAC’s support for Pacific financial intelligence units through the Pacific Financial Intelligence Community, with the aim of improving the detection and disruption of illicit money flows linked to drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, environmental crime and other serious transnational offences affecting Australia and the region. The investment builds on AUSTRAC’s regional work, including Project Taipan, a financial intelligence system for Pacific FIUs that has been deployed in 10 Pacific countries since its first rollout in Fiji in 2022. It will further strengthen those capabilities, including through the use of artificial intelligence to detect illicit financial flows, and expand training and mentoring for analysts and regulators on practical detection techniques, emerging criminal trends and engagement with reporting entities.