Every few years, governments globally publish their National Risk Assessment (NRA) on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. These comprehensive documents serve as crucial intelligence for the financial services sector, offering insights that help firms strengthen their AML compliance frameworks, including transaction monitoring, and customer screening.
A Global Perspective on Risk
Australia's 2024 edition takes a comprehensive approach, assessing crimes that generate illicit proceeds alongside the methods and channels commonly used to launder criminal funds. Drawing intelligence from law enforcement, regulators, private sector stakeholders and international FIUs, it evaluates threat levels and existing mitigants whilst identifying improvement opportunities. This assessment directly informs firms' AML Risk Assessments required under the AML/CTF Act.
New Zealand's latest assessment, released by the Police Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) earlier in 2025, outlines current money laundering and terrorism financing risks. It examines how threats have evolved and highlights actions taken following the previous NRA, back in 2019. Building on that previous assessment, it provides what the FIU describes as "the critical foundation for reporting entities on contemporary risk, and the development of sectoral risk assessments."
In the UK, the latest 2025 NRA marks the fourth in the series, setting out key national threats, sector vulnerabilities, and trends shaping the UK's financial crime landscape. As the government puts it, this UK assessment is "a vital tool in our ongoing work to understand and disrupt the evolving threat posed by criminals and terrorists who try to move their illicit money through our financial system."
The UK document examines how threats have evolved since the last assessment in 2020, providing critical insight for regulated firms developing their own Business Wide Risk Assessments under Section 18 of the Money Laundering Regulations.
Protecting Your Business with Insights from the NRA
These assessments aren't meant to sit on shelves gathering dust. Here's how to transform them into practical protection for your firm:
1. Focus on the Relevant Parts
The NRA covers all regulated sectors from banking to gambling, but you only need to focus on what’s relevant for your firm. The NRA is broken into money laundering and terrorist financing threats with example typologies, and even more helpful, provides risks broken down by sector (banking, digital currencies, non-bank financial services etc).
2. Compare Findings to Your Business Model
When the NRA identifies your sector as high risk, your risk assessment and control framework should reflect this reality. This doesn't mean treating all business and transactions as high risk, but it does mean raising your default position for due diligence accordingly.
For example, if mortgages are part of your business, consider the property-related vulnerabilities identified in the NRA.
3. Map Risk Factors to Your Firm Systematically
Take identified vulnerabilities and typologies and match them across your:
- Customer base (PEPs, overseas clients)
- Products and services (mortgages, savings, correspondent banking)
- Delivery channels (face-to-face, online, telephony)
- Geographic exposure (links to high-risk jurisdictions)
4. Update Your Risk Ratings Accordingly
Where the NRA shows risks increasing at national level, update your risk scores and narratives to reflect these changes.
5. Document Everything Clearly
Explain the links to the NRA and detail how your policies, processes and controls are being amended. Clear documentation demonstrates both regulatory compliance and practical risk management.
6. Don't Stop There
Risk assessment maintenance resembles painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge—it never truly ends. Annual reviews represent the minimum standard, but smart firms revisit their assessments after significant updates like NRA releases, sectoral risk assessments from supervisors, or material changes in business operations.
The Bottom Line
The National Risk Assessment isn't just another government report to read and file away. It's a blueprint for understanding the money laundering and terrorist financing threats facing your firm.
Use it wisely, map it effectively to your own risk assessment, and you'll do more than meet regulatory obligations. You'll proactively protect your firm from evolving financial crime threats, giving your team the intelligence they need to stay ahead of criminals who constantly adapt their methods.
For key highlights from the 2025 UK NRA findings, see our breakdown in The FinCrime Connection: UK August 2025 or watch our accompanying video analysis.
Ready to put your risk assessment insights into action? Jade ThirdEye partners with firms across Australia, New Zealand and the UK to implement flexible detection and monitoring systems that match their unique risk profiles. Get in touch to discover how our platform can help you detect and prevent the threats identified in your risk assessment.
Claire Rees is an AML Regulatory Specialist at Jade ThirdEye and has over 25 years’ experience working in Risk Management roles in financial services, 20 years of which were spent specialising in Financial Crime Prevention in several senior roles. Regularly participating in regulatory and industry panels, Claire utilises her expertise to collaborate with both customers and prospects.