The Consolidated List is Australia's sanctions list. It names every individual, entity and vessel subject to Australian sanctions, and the Australian Sanctions Office (ASO) inside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) maintains it. If your business deals with someone on it, you can commit a serious criminal offence, so it is the list to check before you pay a supplier or take money from a customer.
If you are new to sanctions lists in general, start with what a sanctions list is and how screening works.
What are Australia's two sanctions frameworks?
Australia imposes sanctions under two separate laws. DFAT's Legislation and Sanctions Frameworks page sets them out.
- UN sanctions. When the United Nations Security Council sanctions someone, Australia applies it through the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 and the Charter of the United Nations (Dealing with Assets) Regulations 2008. Each UN regime also has its own set of regulations.
- Australian autonomous sanctions. These are sanctions Australia decides on itself, without a UN decision. They run under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011.
Autonomous sanctions can target a country, such as Russia or Iran. They can also be thematic. Section 3 of the Act lists themes that include malicious cyber activity, serious human rights abuses and serious corruption.
For a business, the split matters less than the result. Both frameworks feed the same list, and both make it an offence to deal with a listed party's assets.
What is on the DFAT Consolidated List?
DFAT's Consolidated List page says the list "includes all individuals, entities and vessels subject to Australian sanctions." That covers targeted financial sanctions, travel bans, arms embargoes and maritime sanctions.
Each entry can hold names, aliases, dates of birth, places of birth, citizenships and addresses. DFAT's guide to the Consolidated List explains every column. The ones that matter most for a payment check:
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Name Type | Whether the row is the primary name, an alias, or the name in original non-Latin script |
| Alias Strength | "Strong" if the alias is closely linked to the sanctioned party, "weak" for all others |
| Committees | The UN committee or Australian framework the listing falls under |
| Control Date | The last date the entry was updated |
| Targeted Financial Sanction | TRUE means the party is subject to an asset freeze |
UN listings appear on the Australian list as they appear on the UN Security Council Consolidated List.
What the list does not include
DFAT says the Consolidated List "only lists individuals and entities listed under Australian sanctions laws." It does not include names sanctioned by other countries. A party can be on the US OFAC list or the UK list and not on the Australian one. If you trade with the US, UK or EU, those lists can apply to you as well.
Where do you download the list, and how should you search it?
DFAT publishes the list as an Excel file. On 12 October 2026, the Consolidated List page showed a file last updated on 7 October 2026. DFAT also runs a mailing list that sends updates when the list changes.
DFAT calls a check of the list "a precaution you can take" before dealing with an individual, entity or vessel. AUSTRAC's guidance on persons designated for targeted financial sanctions adds practical advice on how to search:
- Download the latest file each time. AUSTRAC says "Sanctions change often, so always check for the most recently published list."
- Search the alias rows too, not only the primary names.
- Allow for spelling. AUSTRAC says non-English names translated into English can vary, and "You may need to check alternative spellings and use fuzzy searching."
- Do more thorough checks for international customers, parties in countries known as intermediaries for sanctioned countries, and companies with complex structures or foreign owners.
In Excel, a search for part of a name (a surname, or the main word of a company name) catches more variants than a search for the full name. A name match is a lead. Compare date of birth, citizenship and address before you treat it as a real match.
For a Xero user, the starting point is an export of your contacts. Our guide on how to check Xero contacts against sanctions lists walks through the export and the comparison step by step.
What does an asset freeze mean for your business?
Most entries on the list carry targeted financial sanctions. DFAT says that where a listed party is subject to them, it is prohibited to:
- directly or indirectly make an asset available to, or for the benefit of, the listed party
- use or deal with assets owned or controlled by the listed party. DFAT says this is "commonly referred to as an 'asset freeze'."
"Asset" is wide. Section 4 of the Autonomous Sanctions Act defines it as "an asset of any kind or property of any kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, however acquired." Money is an asset, so paying a listed party's invoice makes an asset available to them. Goods are assets too.
The ban reaches indirect payments too. DFAT's guidance note for accountants gives the example of paying money to another person to settle a designated person's debts.
Who has to comply with Australian sanctions?
DFAT's sanctions offences and penalties page says Australian sanction laws apply to:
- activities conducted in Australia
- activities conducted overseas by Australian citizens and bodies corporate
- activities conducted on Australian-flagged vessels and aircraft
Business size makes no difference. A sole trader in Brisbane and a listed company in Sydney are both covered. For a small business, the practical steps are in our guide to sanctions compliance for small businesses.
What are the penalties, and do you need to know you broke the law?
DFAT's penalties page sets out the maximums as of 1 July 2026:
| Who | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Individual | Up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of 2,500 penalty units (A$910,000) or three times the value of the transaction(s) |
| Body corporate | A fine of 10,000 penalty units (A$3.64 million) or three times the value of the transaction(s) |
DFAT's accountants guidance note says the higher of the two amounts applies.
For companies, intent is not required.
Sanctions offences are strict liability offences for bodies corporate, meaning that it is not necessary to prove any fault element (intent, knowledge, recklessness, or negligence) for a body corporate to be found guilty.
There is a defence. Section 16(7) of the Autonomous Sanctions Act says the offence does not apply "if the body corporate proves that it took reasonable precautions, and exercised due diligence, to avoid contravening that subsection." The UN Act gives bodies corporate a matching defence for its asset offences in sections 20 and 21. The company carries the burden of proving it.
What should you do if you find a possible match?
DFAT's first instruction is to "seek legal advice before proceeding with any dealings" with the person, entity or vessel, or any of their assets. Then:
- Stop. Do not pay, ship or refund anything to the party while you check.
- Compare the details. Check date of birth, citizenship and address on the list against what you hold. Many hits are only shared names.
- Freeze what you hold. If you hold, or think you may hold, an asset owned or controlled by a listed party, DFAT says you must hold it and inform the ASO by email at asset.freezing@dfat.gov.au.
- Tell the police. DFAT also says to notify the Australian Federal Police through its Report a crime form as soon as possible. Asset holders must give the AFP specific details about the asset.
- Report other concerns. For any other information about a possible breach, DFAT's penalties page gives sanctions@dfat.gov.au.
Can you get a permit?
Sometimes. A sanctions permit, issued by the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a delegate, authorises an activity that would otherwise break the law. You apply through the Pax Portal, which DFAT describes on its Apply for a sanctions permit page as the ASO's platform for permit applications and general enquiries. DFAT says to allow at least three months for processing. It also says permits are generally appropriate only when a contravention is clearly likely, and that broad risks are better managed through precautions and due diligence.
How do the 2024 AML/CTF reforms change sanctions screening?
On 29 November 2024, Parliament passed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. These are often called tranche 2. AUSTRAC's About the reforms page says businesses providing certain services typically offered by these professions "will be regulated by us from 1 July 2026":
- accountants
- lawyers and conveyancers
- real estate professionals
- trust and company service providers
- dealers in precious stones, metals and products
- businesses providing certain virtual asset services
As of 12 October 2026, that start date has passed. These businesses are now reporting entities with AUSTRAC.
The reforms tie AML/CTF checks to the sanctions list. AUSTRAC says a reporting entity must establish on reasonable grounds whether any of the following are designated for targeted financial sanctions before it provides a designated service:
- the customer
- any beneficial owner of the customer (except in limited circumstances)
- any person on whose behalf the customer is receiving the service
- any person acting on behalf of the customer
AUSTRAC also says you must check whether any of them become designated during the relationship, and monitor customers for possible breaches. The list AUSTRAC points to for these checks is DFAT's Consolidated List. If you suspect on reasonable grounds that you hold information relevant to a sanctions breach, AUSTRAC says you must submit a suspicious matter report.
If your practice falls under the new rules, our guide to sanctions compliance for accountants covers how the screening fits into client onboarding.
Which sanctions lists apply to an Australian business?
| List | Authority | Law | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated List | Australian Sanctions Office, DFAT | Charter of the United Nations Act 1945; Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 | dfat.gov.au |
| UN Security Council Consolidated List | United Nations Security Council | UN Charter; given effect in Australia by the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 | main.un.org |
The Australian list is the one that binds you under Australian law. DFAT says it includes the people and entities listed by the UN Security Council.
Sanctions Clear, opening to QuickBooks Online and Xero users, will screen your contacts against the Australian Consolidated List alongside OFAC, UK, EU and UN lists. It downloads DFAT's file daily, rechecks a contact when it changes or turns up on a new bill or invoice, and keeps a dated record of each check. Until it launches, the manual search above does the job.
