JURISDICTION SCREENING GUIDES · GUIDEUPDATED 2026-08-20
Jurisdiction Screening Guides
Australia DFAT Sanctions Screening: Consolidated List Workflow
How Australian sanctions screening works — the DFAT Consolidated List, UN and autonomous regimes, the Australian Sanctions Office, sanctions permits, and who the laws apply to.
Australian sanctions screening checks counterparties against the Consolidated List published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia operates two parallel sanctions streams that feed one register. United Nations Security Council sanctions are implemented through the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 and the regulations made under it, while Australia's own autonomous sanctions are imposed under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 — including the thematic, Magnitsky-style regimes for serious human rights violations and abuses, serious corruption and significant cyber incidents introduced in 2021. Both streams are published together in the DFAT Consolidated List of all persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions under Australian sanctions law. The regulator is the Australian Sanctions Office, established within DFAT in 2020, which issues sanctions permits, publishes guidance and handles compliance engagement, while the Australian Federal Police investigate suspected offences. Australian sanctions laws apply to activities in Australia and to Australian citizens and Australian-registered bodies corporate anywhere in the world, so an offshore structure does not remove the obligation.
What this workflow covers
SCOPE- Screen the DFAT Consolidated List, the single register of persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions under both Australia's UN and autonomous regimes, published in spreadsheet formats for screening use.
- Distinguish the two legal bases: UN-mandated designations flow from the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945, while Australia's own designations flow from the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011.
- Cover the thematic regimes as well as the country regimes — Australia's Magnitsky-style measures address serious human rights violations and abuses, serious corruption and significant cyber incidents.
- Apply the two core prohibitions: dealing with assets owned or controlled by a designated person, and directly or indirectly making an asset available to or for the benefit of that person.
- Note travel bans, which operate through declared persons under the migration framework and are recorded alongside financial designations in the Consolidated List.
- Apply for a sanctions permit through the Australian Sanctions Office where an activity would otherwise be prohibited — the Australian equivalent of a licence, granted by or on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- Remember the extraterritorial reach: obligations bind Australian citizens and Australian-registered bodies corporate wherever they operate, in addition to anyone acting in Australia.
- Keep export controls in view alongside sanctions — the Defence and Strategic Goods List and the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 impose separate permit requirements on controlled goods and technology.
- Do not treat the Australian list as a mirror of OFAC, EU, UK or UN lists; the autonomous stream produces designations that do not appear elsewhere, and the reverse is equally true.
- Re-screen when the Consolidated List is republished, and retain the list version, identifiers compared, reviewer and rationale in the case record for compliance reporting.
Key statistics
DATA- Regulator
- Australian Sanctions Office, within DFAT (established 2020)
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- UN implementation basis
- Charter of the United Nations Act 1945
- Federal Register of Legislation, Australia
- Autonomous sanctions basis
- Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011
- Federal Register of Legislation, Australia
- Thematic regimes
- Human rights, serious corruption, significant cyber incidents (from 2021)
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Compliance glossary
TERMS- DFAT Consolidated List
- The register published by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of all persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions under Australian sanctions law, covering both UN-implemented and autonomous designations.
- Autonomous sanctions
- Sanctions imposed by Australia as a matter of its own foreign policy under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011, independently of any United Nations Security Council decision, including country-based and thematic regimes.
- Australian Sanctions Office (ASO)
- Australia's sanctions regulator, established within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2020, responsible for the Consolidated List, sanctions permits, guidance and compliance engagement.
- Sanctions permit
- The Australian authorisation allowing an activity that sanctions law would otherwise prohibit, applied for through the Australian Sanctions Office and granted by or on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- Targeted financial sanctions
- Measures directed at named persons and entities that prohibit dealing with their assets and prohibit making assets available to them, directly or indirectly, as distinct from broad trade or sectoral restrictions.
Authoritative references
SOURCES- 01Consolidated List — Australian sanctions
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- 02Australian Sanctions Office
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- 03Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011
Federal Register of Legislation, Australia
- 04Charter of the United Nations Act 1945
Federal Register of Legislation, Australia
Expert perspective
NOTE“DFAT's consolidated list runs UN-mandated designations and Australia's own autonomous sanctions in parallel — a program built only for UN listings misses the autonomous half.”
Frequently asked questions
Q&A- What is the DFAT Consolidated List?
- The Consolidated List is the register published by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade naming all persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions under Australian sanctions law. It combines designations made under the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 with Australia's own autonomous designations, and is published in spreadsheet formats suitable for automated screening.
- What is the difference between UN and autonomous sanctions in Australia?
- UN sanctions implement Security Council decisions and reach Australia through the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 and its regulations. Autonomous sanctions are Australia's own foreign policy measures, imposed under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, and can target persons and conduct that no Security Council resolution covers. Both appear in the same Consolidated List.
- Who regulates sanctions compliance in Australia?
- The Australian Sanctions Office, established within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2020, is the national sanctions regulator. It maintains the Consolidated List, issues sanctions permits, publishes guidance and engages with business on compliance. Suspected criminal breaches are investigated by the Australian Federal Police and prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
- Who must comply with Australian sanctions?
- Anyone undertaking an activity in Australia, and Australian citizens and bodies corporate registered in Australia wherever in the world they operate. The extraterritorial reach means an Australian company's foreign subsidiary activity and an Australian citizen's conduct abroad can both fall within scope, so an offshore structure does not remove the obligation.
- What is a sanctions permit?
- A sanctions permit is the Australian authorisation that allows an activity which sanctions law would otherwise prohibit — for example making a payment to, or dealing with an asset of, a designated person. Applications are made to the Australian Sanctions Office and are decided by or on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs against the criteria in the relevant regulations.
- Does Australia have Magnitsky-style sanctions?
- Yes. Thematic sanctions regimes introduced in 2021 allow Australia to designate individuals and entities for serious violations and abuses of human rights, serious corruption and significant cyber incidents, without needing a country-specific regime. Designations under these thematic regimes appear in the DFAT Consolidated List alongside country-based ones.
- How often is the DFAT Consolidated List updated?
- It is republished whenever designations are added, amended or revoked, which happens as Australia makes new listings and as UN Security Council decisions are implemented. There is no fixed cycle, so screening programmes should refresh from the published file on change rather than on a periodic calendar, and record the list version used for each decision.
- Is screening the DFAT list enough for an Australian business?
- Rarely. Australian law obliges compliance with the Consolidated List, but a business with US dollar payments, EU or UK counterparties, or exports touching those markets also carries exposure to OFAC, EU and UK measures, which contain designations Australia has not made. Most Australian trading businesses screen the Consolidated List together with the major foreign regimes.
Q.01
Q.02
Q.03
Q.04
Q.05
Q.06
Q.07
Q.08