21 August 2026

Kia ora koutou,

It has now been over a month since DIA became New Zealand's single AML/CFT supervisor. For reporting entities, the immediate message is one of continuity – your obligations remain the same and our focus remains on effective, risk-based supervision.

The move to a single supervisor gives us an opportunity to lift the quality and impact of AML/CFT supervision. We want you to experience a regulator that is clear in its expectations, consistent in approach and focused on risks that matter. We will build on what works well, address what can be improved, and listen to the experience of those we supervise.

We recognise this is a busy period for reporting entities, with annual reporting underway alongside recent changes to guidance. We appreciate the work involved in keeping pace with these requirements. Our focus is on providing clear, practical information that helps you understand what is expected and to help you meet your obligations.

Also, in this edition of In the Know, we introduce our Deputy Directors, highlight the key changes to guidance published on 1 July, and share the recording of our recent Real Estate Agent Sector Risk Assessment webinar.

Ngā mihi,
Caroline BridglandHill
Acting Director AML/CFT

Meet the Team: Introducing our AML/CFT Deputy Directors

As part of the AML/CFT Group’s new leadership structure, we’re pleased to introduce our new AML/CFT Deputy Directors. Together, they bring extensive experience across regulation, supervision, law enforcement and financial crime prevention, helping lead the next chapter of AML/CFT regulation in Aotearoa.

Damian Henry

Damian leads the team responsible for regulating banks and non-bank deposit takers (more commonly known as deposit takers) and life insurers.  He previously led the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s AML/CFT supervision team and has served as the AML/CFT Compliance Officer for some of our major banks. He is a qualified lawyer and has specialised in AML/CFT and Sanctions on ‘both sides of the fence’ for almost 25 years. Damian is a strong advocate for building and maintaining authentic working relationships with reporting entities and considers collaboration to be the ‘secret sauce’ for achieving better AML/CFT outcomes.

Kirsty Pleace

Returning to DIA from the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Kirsty leads the team that regulates the financial markets. During her 4.5 years at the FMA, Kirsty led the AML function including relationships across the transnational organised crime portfolios. Prior to this, she was part of DIA's AML/CFT Group and recalls the cross-agency roadshows in 2011-2012 supporting entities with their obligations ahead of the implementation of the AML/CFT regime in 2013. As a trained financial expert, Kirsty was an assessor of a Pacific jurisdiction and enjoys working towards the best collective outcome.

Kerri Fergusson

Kerri is responsible for the sectors supervised by DIA prior to the single supervisor transition. She brings more than 30 years' experience across central and local government in law enforcement, investigations and regulatory compliance. Kerri holds a Master of Arts majoring in Fraud and Financial Investigation, with a specialisation in AML/CFT. Throughout her career, she has worked with international partners to develop intelligence-led work programmes, presented at the Bali Process, and collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to develop training materials on the use of data in transnational organised crime investigations.

New resource: Summary of key changes to our AML/CFT guidance

Following the publication of our comprehensive suite of new and updated AML/CFT guidance on 1 July 2026, we've developed a new summary document to help reporting entities quickly identify what's changed across the guidance package.

The summary brings together the key changes from each guidance document into a single, easy-to-reference resource. It includes both new and updated guidance, providing a high-level overview of the substantive changes while making it easier to identify which publications are most relevant to your business.
The summary is intended as a companion to the full guidance documents and should be read alongside them. The individual guidance documents, along with the summary of key changes, are available on the DIA AML/CFT website. 

If you have any questions after reviewing the guidance, please contact us at amlcft@dia.govt.nz or seek independent legal advice if required.
 

Real Estate Agent Sector Risk Assessment webinar now available

The Department recently hosted a webinar on the Real Estate Agent Sector Risk Assessment (SRA) 2026, delivered in partnership with the Real Estate Authority (REA).

The webinar provided an overview of the key money laundering and terrorism financing risks identified in the SRA, highlighted emerging trends, and explained how reporting entities can use the SRA to review and strengthen their own AML/CFT risk assessments and compliance programmes.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the session. It was encouraging to see almost 500 people attend live, reflecting the sector's strong commitment to understanding and managing AML/CFT risks.

If you were unable to attend, or would like to revisit the discussion, the webinar recording is available here: Real Estate Agent Sector Risk Assessment 2026.

And while you’re at it – be sure to check out our latest Reg Talk podcast episode “What is a Sector Risk Assessment?” which goes into what SRAs are and how they can help reporting entities identify and manage risks.

Annual reporting reminder

Thank you to those that have already submitted their annual report.

If you have not yet submitted your annual report, please remember that submissions are due by 31 August 2026 via AML Online.

If your business is no longer conducting captured activities under the AML/CFT Act, read our Knowledge Hub article on Offboarding a reporting entity with the Department.

Have your say: AML/CFT cost of compliance survey

The Ministry of Justice is reminding reporting entities to complete the AML/CFT Cost of Compliance Survey.

Thank you to those entities who have completed the survey. The survey deadline has been extended for one week and will now close on Friday 4 September.

Key points to remember:

• The survey is being conducted by IPSOS on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
• Individual responses will remain confidential and will not be used by DIA for supervisory purposes.
• Responses will be anonymised before analysis, with only aggregated findings reported.
• Only one response should be submitted per reporting entity.
• If you are part of a Designated Business Group (DBG), please respond on behalf of your individual reporting entity only.

If you have not yet completed the survey, we encourage you to take part and share your experiences. The full list of survey questions is available in the survey introduction.