The Federal Government has launched a $14.5 million department to serve as a hub for investigations into trafficking, identity theft and money laundering.
The Criminal Intelligence Fusion Centre will bring together the Australian Federal Police, Centrelink, The Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Customs and Border Protection, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and state law enforcement.
Investigators will provide departmental analysis to specific criminal intelligence and that will help identify high-risk cash flows, patterns of crime, and local and multinational criminal enterprises, according to the Federal Attorney-General.
The centre will reside in the Australian Crime Commission.
Federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, said organised crime costs Australia about $15 billion a year.
The fusion centre was announced as part of the Federal Budget and represents a “key element” of the Federal Government’s Organised Crime Strategic Framework, McClelland said.